Such a lovely job to shell out the beautiful beans, some for drying and some for now … simmered gently with aromatics from the huerto – onion, carrot, garlic, sage & rosemary:
I was late in sowing winter salads for the greenhouse. Had meant to get everything done in early September but life intervened. Then, when I did have time, my Gardening by the Moon calendar said that these were Bad Days! … Continue reading
Chicory – bitter but delicious in salads with the sweetness of pears and walnuts in a honey and mustard dressing. Borlotto bean Lingua di Fuoco – filling out nicely and nearly ready to harvest for dried beans over the winter. The … Continue reading
It started with a wee pip, about the size of a melon seed. Which then grew and grew and pretty well took over the greenhouse. Achocha ‘Fat Baby’. Looks prickly but isn’t. Tastes rather like green peppers and can be … Continue reading
And an overblown view of the huerto in late summer languor… the ammi visnaga having rather taken over!
An old fashioned way of preserving fruit; basically just make a thick puree and then dry it in a thin layer on baking parchment in a very low oven (bottom of the Aga). No sugar, easy peasy, and the result … Continue reading
A poem by Laurie Lee prompted me to consider the fragrant tenderness of bean flowers with a new appreciation. DAY OF THESE DAYS by Laurie Lee (published August 1946 in Horizon) Such a morning it is when love leans through … Continue reading
Andrew Marvell – aptly named; a marvellous poet. How astonishing to be so touched all the way from the 17th Century…
Such a pleasure; first the picking… And then the eating!
Such a beautiful evening. The grass easily cut by my new lightweight lithium battery mower. Thyme flowering with bee-enticing display. Fruit cage starred with jewelled currants and strawberries. O Joy. And baby leeks from Andrew’s bountiful flower stall at Stamford … Continue reading
A handful of mixed greens (kale, beetroot tops, red & white chard, brocolletti) and a baby yellow courgette. Supermarket all-butter puff pastry. An egg and a glug of cream. Yum.
I do like this little poem by George Ellis, The Twelve Months: Snowy, Flowy, Blowy, Showery, Flowery, Bowery, Hoppy, Croppy, Droppy, Breezy, Sneezy, Freezy June is indeed ‘bowery’ in the huerto, and although the sweet peas have not yet reached … Continue reading
Preparing a picnic for our village Great Get Together party, here are the very first little mangetout and sugar snap peas, calabrese and baby courgettes (varieties alba, soleil and romanesco) – delicious crudités with aioli made with the early wet … Continue reading
The greenhouse is starting to look quite ‘professional’, even though I’m making it up as I go along… I have discovered that using twine for tomatoes to grow up doesn’t work – the strings that I secured into the planting … Continue reading
Every year it seems like things are never going to come right. Either my planting scheme hasn’t worked, or I’ve been chaotic or over-exuberant. Or all three. And then suddenly it comes together. There’s a turning point where everything looks … Continue reading
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