There were 49 responses and the top five received seeds of the "Banjo" pumpkin.

Terry Murphy of Aranda was a winner for the name "Bironbray", a play on words combining parent varieties "Buttercup" and "Ironbark" with the creator's surname, Bray. It also refers to Byron Bay, the original home of Norco, of which his great grandparents were founding members in 1895 - it continues to this day.

Terry's mother, Isobel, was a teacher and mother of five, who always had vegetables and kept chickens on their large Sydney suburban block in Girraween. His father, Charles (Paddy) was a ship's cook in the Australian merchant navy. Roasted chicken with a mound of vegetables cooked in a classic Rayburn wood stove was always the favourite meal to welcome him home.

When studying environmental science at the then CCAE in Bruce, Terry lived in a share house in Aranda. With family, he lived in O'Connor, their vegie patch fuelled by homemade compost and liquid manure from chickens. Then, with his family, he returned to Aranda in 2004.

He has completed the landscaping using six tonnes of Wee Jasper basalt stone as borders to create terraces and raised garden beds of edibles. These are in full sunlight, the only area of the house block not shaded by 13 large eucalypts, remnants of the original Aranda bushland.

Autumn vegetable production this year was rewarding with capsicums, zucchini, eggplant, snow peas, sugar snap peas, lettuce, shallots, potatoes, tomatoes and strawberries. Herbs include French tarragon, native mint, apple mint, parsley, basil, sage, oregano, dill, garlic chives, lovage and rosemary to bring wonderful flavours from beds close to the kitchen.

Two olive trees, "Manzanilla" and "Frantoio" varieties, are seven years old and they produced three kilograms of fruit this season. Terry also picked another 15kg of olives from the trees of friends. After sorting and slicing the fruit with two cuts, he is leaching the bitter compound "oleuropein" from the fruit by soaking it in water for two weeks with daily water changes. After seeing the trees, I was taken into the home laundry area "laboratory" where Terry is curing the olives in a 10 per cent brine solution of rock salt (non iodised/no anti-caking agent) for about four to six weeks, changing this solution each week. For storage he plans to use a weaker salt solution with added red wine vinegar, some herbs and a little sugar.

There is also a small hothouse on site where Terry propagates from seed many species of native plants indigenous to the Southern Tablelands region. These are raised for the Southern Tablelands Ecosystems Park (STEP, Forest 20) at the National Arboretum Canberra. This project is conducted by a keen group of volunteers who meet regularly for digging, planting, weeding and morning tea.

Five "Banjo" seedlings raised by Terry, grown rapidly throughout summer and autumn in full sun, had produce eight medium-sized pumpkins. On my visit to the garden the harvested fruit were ripening (reclining, said Terry) on comfy deck chairs under a glass table, protected from frost. This was a clever way to "cure" the pumpkins for full flavour and ripeness.

Last week they enjoyed the first pumpkin soup of the season. Terry's partner, Lyn Murphy, created a pared-back recipe, with no added spices to allow the rich flavour and texture of the new pumpkin to be tasted and tested. She has shared the recipe with us.

Ingredients

1.5kg Banjo pumpkin, peeled, diced)

300g potato (peeled, diced)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion

2 beef style stock cubes (Massel brand, plant based)

750ml water

150ml light cream

pepper and salt to taste

Greek style plain yoghurt (optional)

Method

1. Dissolve stock cubes in the water. Gently heat the olive oil in a large heavy based pot. Add the onion and cook on medium heat for two three minutes. Add the pumpkin, potato, pepper, salt and stock.

2. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes or until the pumpkin and potato are soft. Remove from heat, cool a little and blend to a creamy texture. Gently stir through the cream and reheat. Serve with a swirl of your favourite homemade plain yoghurt.