Foraging for autumn flowers…

There's something deeply comforting about being indoors, warm and cosy, when the wind is howling outside and the rain batters against the windows, don't you find?   As a result, I've had a very enjoyable weekend.  (That, and the fact that I don't have a shed for the roof to blow off.)  We've had some extremely variable weather over the last couple of days - in common with the rest of the UK - but I managed to get out for a bracing walk and foraged for these beautiful hydrangea heads (actually, growing by one of our flats so not too much foraging!) 

I was inspired to think again about hydrangeas as a cut flower after being given a bunch of flowers used as a table decoration at a wedding reception.  This posy was full of rich plums, purples, aubergines and greens, being made up of hydrangeas, berries and another plant which I can't identify: 

This, by the way, is the dried up version. (It's stayed on my kitchen windowsill for at least two months while I've pondered this puzzle!)  The plant also crept into an earlier photo when I posted a recipe for custard tarts:

So, gardening friends: If you know what this is (and I'm positive there's a fair few of you who do), please please put me out of my anguish!  (So far I'm thinking fennel or angelica but I'm probably way off the mark.) 

It's a Bug's Life…

(Harlequin Ladybird:  Harmonia axyridis succinea)

There's been a lot of fuss over the summer about ladybirds - both our native UK ladybirds (Coccinellids) and the Harlequin ladybirds (Harmonia axyridis) aka Multicoloured Asian Ladybirds.  The Harleys are causing concern over here because they're born survivors and will eat the eggs of UK ladybirds and butterflies when hungry - but their first choice from the menu is aphids. 

(A few more Harlequin ladybirds caught on camera.)

I've been seeing quite a few Harleys in the last few weeks (one had managed to get through my third floor windows!) - and I wondered, "Where do ladybirds go in winter?" (if not to my kitchen).

A tiny bit of googling reveals that they hibernate.  (I know, I should have guessed.)  Their food supply dries up with the colder November temperatures and they start to look for somewhere to bed down, preferably together, sometimes hundreds together!  If you find any indoors, it's kindest to put them back outside as the warmth indoors will wake them up too early (normally they sleep until March) and they'll starve for lack of food (they search out early aphids prior to mating).  They like to shelter under a bit of tree bark or a few leaves, as long as it's frost free and where they're less likely to be attacked by predators (usually sparrows).

Or, using only two recycled items, you can make a lovely little Spotty Lodgers Hotel.  One which presumably sparrows can't get in to.  Find instructions here on the UK Safari website.   You only need an empty 2 litre drinks bottle and a piece of corrugated cardboard to roll up loosely inside it.  Easy Peasy.  (Here's a sneak preview, click link above for full instructions.)

But, if you do this, please don't put our natural ladybirds in with the Harleys.  It could get nasty.   And don't forget, as you're (hopefully) depriving the food chain of a few ladybirds, it's helpful to put out some sunflower seeds or millet in a feeder for the sparrows.  (Using another cleaned, empty water bottle, the RSPB has an instructable for making a Recycled Bird Feeder here.)

Yesterday was a very good day …

It's a strange old thing, this blogging lark, isn't it?  One minute I'm feeling that there's nothing to tell, then suddenly I find there's almost too much to fit into one post.  So here are three lovely things that happened yesterday:

1.  I (think I might just have) saved a bumblebee.  As I left home,  I noticed a large, very still, bumble bee on an expanse of cold concrete path outside the door.  It's not often you get to see one of these beauties close up and, as I bent down for a closer look, one of it's legs stretched. So, not dead but probably too tired and cold to move to safety.  Having recently been prompted to read up about bee hotels, I scooped it up (on my shopping list as it was probably not too tired to sting me!) and took it to some sheltered ground level Knotweed stems, where it perked up a bit, and I left some freshly picked flowers within easy reach so it could get to the nectar.  (That may have been calling to my inner Girl Guide a bit, but it satisfied my need to nurture.)  Any hoo, the bee was not to be seen when I returned, so I like to think it made it to underground Bee Safety.

2.  Passing through a local Garden Centre (oh, alright then… Homebase), among all the almost empty gardening shelves was a box containing winter hardy Onion Sets…  (slaps forehead) a veg which I'd completely forgotten about!  (And they're a staple of my shopping list.)   One purchase later, I consider this a very serendipitous encounter indeed.

3.  Returning home to post my October photo collage, I notice a comment from a lovely fellow gardener, Jo at The Good Life, who has nominated my little bloggy-woggy for an award.  Gosh.  I'm totally awed and honoured.  So, thank you - and yes, I'm very, very pleased to accept.  (It may take me a while to pass the award on, in the time honoured tradition, as I first have to check out my fellow nominees, but I'll do my best.)

So, now that I have proof that people out there are reading my scribblings,  to celebrate, I think it's time for a piece of this…

(Rather Belatedly) my October photo review …

Over the last few days, skies over the Veg Patch have been leaden, trees bare and the air decidedly damp, cold and unwelcoming. (I catch myself singing "California Dreamin'" quite a lot.)  However, I'm quite sure the next sunny but crisp day is just around the corner so, to cheer up an indoors moment, I've put together a little collage of my photos taken in or near the Veg Patch in October.

First up is our (still) wondrously lush parsley, strangely beautiful seed heads appearing in the borders, mushrooms sprouting up in the grass (a sign of damper days?), the ripening of L's lovely pumpkin (an experimental seed shoved into the ground!), lots (and still lots) of Vinca clearing to be done, brilliant late season flowers, beetroot at last (hooray!) and, finally, watching the leaves changing to their autumn colours in a burst of late season sunshine.

Additionally, the first of our fruit trees arrived (just waiting for the raspberry canes now), more veg has been planted for the Winter - am I alone in being totally thrilled when the seedlings appear? - and there's still an awful lot to be done before spring (which sounds pessimistic, but absolutely isn't).

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P.S.  By the way, I make no claims to being any kind of photographer - just thought I'd say it first before anyone else does! - but it makes me happy to look back at my snaps, so you'll have to excuse this moment of indulgence. 

Goodbye Autumn, Hellooo Winter!

 Not that I generally give too much thought to such things, but today is traditionally the Last Day of Autumn as we are at the midpoint between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice.  And, no, I didn't just make that up - I read it on the Dorset Cereals website and I believe them.  Yes I do.

Having watched the leaves drifting steadily off the trees in the chill breezes of last week, this is a timely reminder to get out this weekend for a good long leaf-kicking walk, find some conkers and celebrate what little good weather we may have left.

We're very lucky in that we're minutes away from Hampstead Heath (plenty of conkers over there!) but for inspiration further afield, have a look at 'Catching the Colours of Autumn' from the Telegraph online - it's a tiny gallery, just 12 beautiful photos, of autumn colour the world over.  Personally, I quite fancy Kew Gardens (in West London) where, until December 6th, they have an 18 metre high walkway where you can view the treetop transformations in the Gardens.  Catch it while you can!

Have a great weekend everyone - I'll be gathering in any beetroot and planting broad beans…  and, with a bit of weather luck, having a walk on the Heath.

Bees on Earth … Goodwill to all men

Recently, a friend of the York Rise Growers wanted to come over and show our children how to build bee hotels but, in the end, didn't have time.  The idea, though, remains a good one - I love bees; for me, they signal the arrival summer - and children, taught properly, have a healthy interest in bugs and the environment.

I took the photo above during a walk earlier this summer.  This little fella was too busy collecting nectar (and pollinating the flowers) to notice my camera lens nearby.  I've also had a number of buzzing visitors to my balcony this summer - by chance I grew lavender, marjoram, mint and marigolds (amongst others) which they love - and several have found their way indoors and had to be rescued with the old "tumbler and card" trick.

But there's a continuing international crisis in the bee world: a Bee-mergency, if you like.  Their numbers are rapidly diminishing due to an inability to resist larvae-borne disease and environmental factors such as loss of habitat (chalky grasslands, meadows and hedgerows).  In the UK alone, three species have become extinct - including the wonderfully named Bombus Pomorum (Apple Bumblebee).

Several campaigns are under way to try and reverse the trend but, amazingly, the plight of the bumblebee is not yet a conservation priority.  Not only are bees major pollinators of wildflowers but they're also commercially important due to their vital role in pollinating many arable and horticultural crops.  No bees: no crops to harvest; no wildflowers; no colourful UK countryside; loss of rare plants and a knock on effect on other wildlife.  Now times that by Europe, USA and Asia.  Okay, now you're getting the scale of the problem. 

There are ways that we can - and should - help.  After all, bees are the only insect to make food for mankind.  On a modest scale, if we make space in our gardens for more traditional flowers - the cottage-garden varieties or wildflowers - everyone should be able to attract at least 6 species of bees into their gardens.  Fruit and veg growers especially will benefit as we need bees to pollinate our plants.  (Beans in particular will thrive if companion planted with marigolds at their feet to draw in bees, as their scarlet flowers must be pollinated for an abundant crop.)

Until the end of December in the UK, look out for special jars of Rowse Blossom Honey which have a unique code for claiming a free packet of wildflower seeds.  (Rowse has already donated £100,000 to the University of Sussex's Apiculture Lab for research into developing disease-resistant UK bees.)

As they said at the Isle of Wight Festival this year:  (All.We.Are.Say-ing)… is Give Bees a Chance!

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Here's how to help:

Build little Bee Hotels so that the queen bee has somewhere nice to make more baby bees. Find out more at BBC Gardener's World.  (Loving this one as I can use dead Japanese Knotweed stems – of which we have many – instead of bamboo!) 

Build a bee nesting box - lots of ideas here from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

Plant flowers which will attract bees (and butterflies!).  Here's a list of flowers to get you started from (unsurprisingly) the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

Teach your children about bees:  Rowse Honey have set up Bee School (a teacher's resource for children aged 5 - 7), including a free honey tasting kit and free seeds for the class!  (There's also honey recipes to be found on Rowse's own website here.)

More fun can be found on the Edible Playgrounds website - scroll down to Help the Honey Bees.

When Herbs Freeze over …

 I read somewhere that parsley can be difficult to grow from seed - a fact which I'm questioning as our parsley (grown from seed by a child) is lush, tall, abundant and still growing strong.

We're all cutting it for our casseroles and soups but there's still loads.  I know you can chop and freeze parsley but it was still pleasant to come across an article on freezing herbs on the Gardener's World website.  Apparently Basil and Mint, as well as Parsley, can all be frozen in individual ice cubes which is great news as I've never had much luck growing herbs indoors.  Still… maybe I'll give it another go this winter - I'll let you know.

A nice cup of Tea with Cake …

Sundays, weather permitting, seems to be the day when we go out to the Veg Patch and dig, sow, harvest, chat or loaf around discussing next year's planting plan whilst (if you're me) gazing encouragingly at this year's plants.  And at the end of all this hard work, in the time honoured tradition, a nice mug of tea and a slice of cake has been earned. 

I like a bit of cake at teatime, it's the way I was brought  up.  My mother ran a tight ship where meals were concerned and you could set your watch by her schedule for afternoon tea.  When my siblings and I were very young, we had proper tea: sandwiches first - or perhaps boiled egg and soldiers (fingers of bread and butter) - then fruit or jelly (if we were lucky) and, finally, cake. Always, always, homemade.  My maternal grandfather was a baker by trade and, when we went to visit, he would make the most beautiful fairy cakes for us; I particularly remember a plate of cupcakes iced with tiny swans - and I don't mean drawn on; they swam in 3D formation across the tops of the little cakes. How totally cool is that?   

My cupcakes are nowhere near so spectacular but I still believe they should look tempting.  With lingering thoughts of the cupcake mountain from the Regent Street Festival, I decided to make cupcakes rather than a whole cake.  Half these cupcakes were swirled with coffee buttercream and sprinkled with chocolate strands (above) and the other half were reserved for my Secret Surprise.

The recipe is what is known as a basic 4, 4, 4 and 2.  (Experienced bakers will immediately recognise this as a classic Victoria sponge cake mixture).

Secret Surprise Cupcakes
(makes 12 in a Muffin tin.  Use Muffin sized cases.)

4 ounces butter; 4 ounces caster (fine) sugar; 2 eggs at room temperature (UK medium size); 4 ounces flour (Self Raising, sieved).
Also 1 teaspoon Baking Powder and 1 teaspoon good quality Vanilla Extract.
Milk to loosen if mixture is not 'dropping' consistency at the end - add as needed but go easy and start with 1 Tablespoon.

Preheat oven to 180C.  Mix softened butter and sugar together until very pale and creamy.  Add eggs plus a couple of tablespoons of flour to stop any tendency for the eggs to curdle.  Mix.  Use a metal spoon to fold in the rest of the flour (with baking powder added). This keeps the air in the mixture.  Add the vanilla extract.  Test consistency of mixture.  If it feels thick, add a little milk.

Two-thirds fill each muffin case.  (Any leftover can be shared between the cases.)  Bake for 15 minutes.  Then test by patting the top with your finger.  If the cake resists, they're done.  If not, give them another 3 or 4 minutes.  Remove to a cooling rack.

Here's the surprise:

When cool, slice out a cone shape from the top.   Add a dollop of strawberry jam in the hole (preferably homemade) and a spoon of whipped or thickened cream.  Replace the cone of cake, push down slightly and dust with icing sugar.  Secret Victoria Sponge (cup)Cake!  And, to my  mind, utterly delish - and a fair reward after a day's gardening.

Cupcake revealed …

Temptingly Tasty … (lovin' this lunch)

Loving this lunch …

One of my gardening books that I'm re-reading - and thoroughly enjoying - is 'Veg Patch:  River Cottage Handbook No. 4' by Mark Diacono.  He's the Head Gardener at River Cottage in Devon (the restaurant/farm/venture that put chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on the media map) and also teaches on the River Cottage courses.  He's written the book in a way that makes a first-time veg grower like me feel excited about what I'm doing – his passion for gardening is evident on every page; listen to this: "If you've got better things to do at 8 o'clock on a mid-June evening than pop freshly shelled peas into your mouth as you amble round your vibrant plot with a glass of what you fancy, then life must be pretty special."  (Definitely a  kindred spirit, especially the addition of "a glass of what you fancy", although I would also add a friend or two into this scenario.)

On making a wish list for what to grow, Mark advises:  put away your growing books,  get out all your food books and make a list of all the food you like that can be grown.

"Think firstly of flavour and you won't go far wrong."

And that's what I thought of when I sat down to eat my lunch: a delicious mix of Rainbow Stir Fry, rice noodles and coriander cut fresh from the kitchen windowsill.  Every crunchy, flavoursome, filling mouthful tasted of good health on a fork.

So now I know…  next year I have to grow bean sprouts, cabbage, red and yellow peppers, baby corn, red onions, carrots and edamame soya beans.  In the meantime, there's always Waitrose* …

*For non-UK readers, Waitrose is one of the big 5 food retailers in UK.

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Foodie Fact:  

A lunch like this will make you feel good beyond it's sheer visual delights:  A rainbow of veg will supply fibre as well as a range of vitamins and minerals.  Vitamin A is found in carrots and peppers as beta-carotene, an antioxidant that converts to VitA when the body needs it. (And did you know carrots are more nutritious when cooked?) Soya beans supply protein and are rich in potassium and a good source of magnesium, phosphorus, iron, folate and Vitamin E (needed for healthy bones, teeth, nerves and muscles).  The peppers are excellent for Vitamin C (green peppers contain twice as much VitC as oranges, red peppers three times as much) - as are the Sprouted Mung Beans (one portion provides three-quarters of the adult daily requirement for VitC).  Cabbage is vitamin rich and well known for it's anti-cancer properties, especially bowel cancer - and only 16 calories per portion when boiled (hence the famous Cabbage Soup diet - which I loathe to mention as I hate "dieting".)  Small bunches of Coriander are used in Herbalism as a tonic for the stomach and heart and also strengthens the urinary tract.  Rice is a good source of starch protein which steadies blood sugar levels, but you can't grow it in the UK.

See?  Yum, yum - and anti-aging from all that vitamin C (vital as a building block for collagen).

The best for your blueberries

(Blueberries, raspberries and redcurrants atop a large dollop of Greek Yoghurt.  

Yum.  I'm looking forward to recreating this dessert with my own soft fruits next summer!)

Even I have to admit that it's now Autumn.  Crisp, sunny days (a rare treat) alternate with grey skies.  The ends of the day are not yet frosty but soon, I think …  weather that's giving us a sharp reminder of pre-winter work to be done in the veg patch. 

I've got broad beans to go in with the other overwintering veg - a vegetable which I'm personally not very fond of (too many memories of school dinners) but maybe Home Grown will change my mind and, if not, plenty of others have professed a liking for them.  And, of course, there's our four blueberry bushes and two lemon trees to go in, all of which need to be planted before the rest of our Orchard arrives … and the beds have to be cleared and prepared.

So, because we're not yet seasoned gardeners, I just like to have a quick nod to the experts and today's invaluable advice comes from the BBC Gardeners' World website with a little video of the correct treatment when planting blueberries (and cranberries), most importantly the use of Ericaceous Compost.  Click here if you're interested in viewing this for yourself.

I've just learned that the above video is no longer there so I've edited to include this page from Gardeners' World about blueberries. 

P.S.  The photo is of one of my favourite ways to eat fruit (i.e. over thick Greek Yoghurt) and, obviously, any fruit is nice on top but I also like to finish it with some chopped pecan nuts and a drizzle of runny honey.

Our Brick Skip Hour …

A load of old bricks

If you happened to be in the Kentish Town Road at 6.30 a.m. last Friday you might have seen my … ahem … derrière sticking out of a skip.  (If you were sensible, you'd have looked away quickly.  Ho, ho;  No, not really, I'm sure my bum didn't look that big in it …  Er, why's it all gone quiet?)

I'd spotted a skip load of lovely old weathered bricks as I cycled home the previous afternoon, a sight which quickened my heart.  (And, believe me, there's not a lot that does that these days…)

As the ground in the vegpatch is a lot damper in these Autumn days (which is good) and quite a lot of it goes home on the soles of our shoes, we needed to put down some little paths next to our raised beds.  And because we want to keep appearances up, we thought brick would be nice … except they're expensive and we have a tiny budget.  So the Skip Sisters (L and me) were on the lookout, and also passed the word around.  After many weeks, and many people claiming to have "only just got rid of" theirs, fate presented us with this bountiful haul.  And, by the way, I wasn't up at the crack of dawn because I doing anything illegally, but because the traffic is dreadful in Kentish Town.  I had, of course, asked permission to take the bricks as, I imagine, would all of you lot.

Now then, where are those builders when you need them?  Er, Frank?  Frank?  *Tap, Tap*  Is anyone there?

A matter of priorities …

October Peppers - still growing!

I can't believe how quickly the time has gone since Saturday's jaunt to Camden's Good Food Day, what with the arrival of our first fruit trees on Tuesday and Wednesday (on which topic, I think enough has been said), plus we've had a couple of beautiful sunny, fresh autumnal days so, obviously, back out into the Veg Patch for some happy time, and a chance to look around the place with my camera lens. Sometimes there's so much good stuff going on you just don't know where to start …

Ooo… lucky D.  What a stunner! 

But first, a quick update on Saturday's event.  It was quieter than I anticipated - but hopefully lots of people went along later because there was some good stuff there: inspiration and education for food growing, advice about healthy eating and food waste, food co-ops and the seed exchange.  I chatted to a variety of folk doing sterling work in the community; hopefully a few of you will click through to their websites, below, and be inspired by the good they do - or maybe you already have something similar in your part of the globe.

Let me just say this - Real Bread making skills are back on everyone's agenda (as part of a community food project and as a free workshop on the South Bank on 24th Oct - more details nearer the time)  and I'm pursuing a line of enquiry about making huge baskets for plant growing - see Global Generation below, and I've made simple recycled plant markers from a top tip on City Leaf's website. (I also made some of my own which I'll show with a tutorial - mine are also recycled, but prettier, naturellement.)  Utterly F.A.B.

And, as they say, last but certainly not least:  Pumpkin progress.  We're watching this one.  Only 2 weeks to go before (say it quietly) … snip, snip, snip.  (Ouch! I feel so mean saying that.)

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Here are a few highlights from Saturday:

Sustain - loads on their website about food, the environment, urban agriculture, workshops, training and grants.  Recommended! 

FoodWorks - Cooking and redistributing surplus retail food overstock as nutritious meals to needy people in the local community.  (Inspired by the Campus Kitchens Project in the U.S.A.)

Global Generation, engaging with younger generations to promote change in both the community and business.  (Take a look at their website; I was inspired by the large baskets they made to grow veg in at a local school, especially good if you only have a concrete patio, balcony or rooftop at your disposal.)

City Leaf:  Helping would-be gardeners make the most of their growing space (however small).  The website has some interesting tips and advice for gardeners - even if you're not local to London!! (Yayy, something for the non-London readers!)  …  I would, however, take them to task with their by-line "Grow Food Not Flowers".   For shame, guys!  Flowers are edible (nasturtiums, violas, lavender, marigolds, sunflower seeds, for heaven's sake!) … and companion plants … and pretty up your growing space to make it even more inviting.  Okay, I rest my case.  Point made.  Getting off my soapbox (for now).

One size fits all …

Folded tree on right, Snapped tree on left.  (Middle tree not a lemon)

A few weeks ago when placing our Orchard Order, we added lemon trees thinking it would be so educational for the kids to watch lemons growing… nothing at all, of course, to do with the usefulness of having a ready supply for the occasional G&T or Tequila shot - although, now you mention it …  (And yes, apparently these particular trees are hardy enough to bear fruit even in the UK.)

So, today:  Arrival of lemon trees.   In gardening terms, this is the equivalent of getting a new puppy and should have generated a surge of excitement but, as it happens, turned out to be a bit of a damp squib.   The supplier had packed them into one-size-fits-all boxes and literally folded them in half to get them in!  [Sighs with utter disbelief.]  Hello??  Is there anyone with a brain in there?  Needless to say, branches are snapped off and phone calls will be made...

Blueberry Thrill …

Welcome to our world - our new arrivals!

The hot news of the day here is the arrival of our Blueberry Bushes - were we excited?  OhYes!  We love blueberries. Immediate thoughts of next summer's harvest:  blueberry pies, blueberry cake, blueberries picked straight from the bush - blueberry heaven!   The packaging around the shrubs was Very Clearly Labelled:  Bottom (Heavy) and Top (Light) …

And then we found ourselves wondering, "Which part of that didn't the van driver understand?"  One of our bushes arrived with it's bottom in the air and understandably, after hours of plant yoga, no longer at it's best.  There is a very happy outcome to this though;  L contacted the supplier - the (newly) highly recommended Wiggly Wigglers - and they immediately offered to send another bush and gave advice on pruning the damaged one, which they said we can keep.  They are very nice people, and we thank them.

Seedy Saturday …

 Share the Love…  

Butternut Squash seeds (I hope you don't throw yours away!)

Have I  mentioned that we're in the Borough of Camden (yes, reasonably close to that Market/tourist magnet -  more info here).  Far more interesting though, I've just heard that today is the launch of Good Food for Camden with various events being staged across the Borough, including Apple Day (with prizes for the best Apple Cake!), tours of growing spaces and my nearest event a seed and produce swap (with food tasting and plants to take home) at Somers Town (round the back of the British Library).

Gosh, I do love the fact that we have all this great stuff going on.  So, spur of the moment decision, I'm off to flaunt my wares. Don't look at me like that.  I'm talking about my veg - as you well know - and possibly a few swopsy seeds in my little seed packets.

I'm going with my Investigative Reporter hat on, and camera, and will report back on Monday.

Thrilling times, folks, thrilling times. 

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If you can get to this event, check out What's On in Camden for times, etc. (the map's wrong, go by the postcode).

Oh My Gourd!

Change of plan folks - and my Secret Surprise cakes will have to wait for another post.  (Sorry, 'bout that but I have an urgent veg/soup situation).

I've been granted permission to harvest one of L's butternut squash, lovingly grown on her YorkRise allotment and, having recently tasted the most delicious B'nut Squash soup made by my niece, I had to make a batch and bring this bowl of goodness to your attention.  A soup, by the way, which can be made in haste whenever a quick and satisfying lunch (or supper) is needed for extra guests or hungry children – my family are all soup-makers and use whatever veg we have available.

Here we go:

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

You will need:
1 Squash, 1 Sweet Potato, 1 Onion, 1 litre (2 pints) chicken (or veg) stock, 1 oz butter.
Optional:  a few fresh herbs (dill, coriander, parsley) - finely chopped, swirl of chilli sauce, homemade croutons.

Melt butter slowly in large pot or casserole dish.  Chop onion, add to pot. Cover with lid so that the veg 'sweats'.  Peel and dice squash and sweet potato.  (In case you're wondering, I don't use garlic in this recipe as I make my chicken stock with garlic, but you can add a clove or two if you wish.)

Add diced veg to the onion in pot, replace lid.  Leave to cook for about 10 - 15 minutes on a very low flame (we're still just softening the veg), but check and stir round from time to time.  Add the stock.   Season with a quick grind of sea salt and pepper.  Bring just to the boil, then simmer on a low heat for about 40 minutes.  Allow to cool and blitz in a blender. (If you blitz before cooling,  you'll blow the lid off your blender if it's over half full - and scald yourself in the process.  Believe me, I know.)  Or leave chunky if you prefer. 

Blitzed to a puree and waiting to be heated through for lunch.

Either way, heat up a bowl for lunch, garnish with herbs, croutons, creme fraiche or chilli sauce - any or all of these! - and chunks of warm crusty bread …

Here's a thought:  Instead of adding chilli sauce at the end, you could chuck a finely chopped chilli in at the beginning with the other veg - or add a dash of Tabasco sauce during the simmering. 

Just Sow Stories …

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."  
~Theodore Roosevelt

Excuse me while I just chortle gleefully and give thanks for the fantastic weather we've been having.  And, yes, I am talking about the rain over the last three days.  It was just what we needed to give our newly sown seeds a good start, and - correct if I'm wrong - aren't the clouds supposed to keep the warmth down on earth level and keep the frosty nights at bay?  And today's glorious warm sunshine has been the icing on the cake. (Mmmm, caaaake…  check back tomorrow for the weekend recipe - cupcakes with a surprise!)

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Anyway … last weekend, as I worked in the VegPatch, I decided that it's only just no longer September.  We're an Urban VegPatch (cities being warmer than the countryside) and taking global warming into consideration as well, I thought there might just be time to get some more seeds in the ground.  ("He that waits upon fortune is never sure of a dinner."  Wise words indeed from Benjamin Franklin).  So, maybe it was a bit foolhardy, but another five lots of veg have gone into the raised beds and I'm keeping my fingers firmly crossed for a slow descent into winter.

So, what d'ya reckon?  Could I be channelling Percy Thrower at the moment? (What do you  mean, who's he! I'm not that old.)

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The view this bright and sunny morning. The parsley is huge after all that rain!

October Overview 

Still eating: lettuce and other salad leaves, radish, parsley (and from YRG allotments: butternut squash, tomatoes, sweetcorn, tomatoes).

Almost ready:  beetroot, salad onions, green tomatoes

Watching:  L's enormous Hallowe'en pumpkin ripen!

Just sown:  Kale (Nero di Toscana), winter spinach (Scenic & Viking), Raab (broccoli), garlic, blue radish (Hils Blauer Herbst und Winter).

Still to sow:  Green Manure (Phacelia tanacetifolia) for next year's beds. Allegedly improves soil structure and revitalises soil.  I've also just dug sand into our heavy soil… we'll see.
On order for November delivery:  Fruit trees (apple, pear, Victoria plum, Morello cherry); UK hardy lemon, early and late raspberry canes, blueberry bushes, watercress seeds.

Still to buy:  Horticultural fleece for the chilly months ahead and some cloches.

On the lookout for:  a nice cheap wooden greenhouse.  Anyone got one going spare near London?

From Plot to Pot …

 (Photo courtesy of BBC Dig In Recipe booklet)

Here's a little something you gardening cooks might enjoy… a little pdf booklet of simple vegetable suppers from Nigel Slater (well known TV chef in UK).

His recipes are inspired by the vegetables grown from free seeds distributed as part of the BBC's Dig In project, for example - Carrot Fritters, Stove Top Squash with Toasted Crumbs.  As Nigel says, "Growing your own grub is the best seasoning your food can have."  (Er, Nigel, let's just keep it real. Home grown might taste better but nothing substitutes for salt and pepper in my book.)

See what you think.  Download the booklet from the BBC website here.  (And enjoy the rest of the site while you're there … there's a little blog about the project with some good tips for winter veg.

Cardoons (I think)!

 Found on a recent walk round …

Okay, I may be getting a teeny bit obsessed with seed collecting.  My eyes now rake across the content of other people's gardens and process the location of any seeds worth gathering.  This beauty stopped me in my tracks a couple of days ago.  A seed head about 9 inches across, fluffy and spiky.  What a beaut! But still standing up (and in someone's front garden) so off limits.  However … on the return journey I noticed quite a few seed heads lying on the ground within easy reach (Yayy!) - and quite obviously neglected by the householder.   So I've rescued one and have since been dissecting, pulling and photographing.

 

I didn't know what it was but after a very satisfying flick through 'RHS Garden Plants and Flowers', I have my answer: it is a Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) or, possibly, Wild Thistle Artichoke.  

Apparently it's almost a weed, grown for architectural interest in UK gardens, loathed by farmers as its parachute seeds (plumose hairs with achenes attached) settle happily into their crop fields.  See what a little bit of reading will do?

Forgive my naiveté, and stop laughing seasoned gardeners, but this learning curve is what makes gardening so compelling.  And imagine my surprise when I found out from Sarah Raven's book 'The Great Vegetable Plot' that you can eat the stems! Awesome. Apparently they do it all the time in the Mediterranean.  

Yes, you're right … I really should get out more …

Achenes (ahem) on blue linen

Tasty Tomatoes recipe …

Well, I promised … and I like to think I'm a woman of my word.  So for those of you that fancy packing your lunchbox this week with a few tomatoes on Ciabatta (or an oven-dried tomato salad) and want the recipe(s), go here. (This will open up in Google Docs and allow you to view and print.)

And from the reader's forum of Grow Your Own magazine, I've found Green Tomato Soup - which sounds, er, fascinating… I'll let you know.  More Green Tomato recipes on that website here.

Green Tomato Soup (courtesy of http://2-sheds.blogspot.com/ ) serves 6

1 oz butter
1 lb green tomatoes, sliced
8oz potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 pints stock
1 tin beans like barlotti/pinto/cannellini
1/4 tsp dried sage/thyme/mixed herbs/whatever
salt and pepper
a handful of rice
125ml single cream or a splash of chilli sauce (optional)

1. Fry the tomatoes, potatoes and onion in butter until softened.
2. Add the beans, stock, herbs, rice, salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
3. Simmer for 30 mins or until the veg is tender.
4. Blend 2/3 of the soup and return to the pan (If you like it a bit lumpy)
5. Stir in the cream/chilli sauce and reheat.

Bon appetit, lovely readers!  Let me know how you get on if you decide to give these a go …

An Excess of Delight… (Gardener's variety)

From this …

… to this

Those two days of heavy rain earlier on seem to have worked wonders on Miss P's outdoor reared tomato vines. (Or could it be that she's been talking to her plants again … Hmmm.) I found her in her growing space carrying off a huge bag of toms - with plenty more ripening on the vine and masses of green tomatoes still waiting.   One option is to freeze the ripe tomatoes (I'm told it works well and the skins slip off easily when defrosted) but also worth mentioning is a version of Nigella's moon-blushed tomatoes - one of my favourite kitchen makes (after cake, of course! - priorities, people).  

It's incredibly basic but very yummy (if you like tomatoes … um - duh).  Preheat oven, chop tomatoes in half, lay out on a tray, sprinkle with a couple of teaspoons of fine sugar, dried herbs, salt and a glug of olive oil.  Bung in oven.  At this point Nigella would have us turn the oven off and leave overnight (hence 'moonblushed' - how sweet).  What suits my tastes (and greediness) better is to leave in the oven for 10 minutes with it still on, then turn off and leave tomatoes in oven until it's cold (about an hour). They're still juicy but the flavour is probably less concentrated than it should be. (I tried the original way once and found the tomatoes too dry.) 

What I did this time, though, was to remove the tray of tomatoes after 15 minutes to the smaller oven above my main oven (which had heated up nicely from the cooking going on below), and then I quickly knocked some bread together. (That'll be my inner domestic goddess showing off…)  When the bread was ready, the tomatoes were taken out of the oven and spread over slices of warm bread (are you feeling hungry yet?); and the remainder spooned into storage pots.  (I always save those small lidded pots as they have many, many uses. Take note.)  I also tried using fresh chopped herbs from our various gardens, which I feel worked well (and with the added bonus that I'm not dead yet).

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If you want the full recipe (my version), I will shortly add a pdf link to a downloadable page.

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Foodie Facts:  This recipe is good for you! Tomatoes contain lycopene which is concentrated by cooking and which may help to prevent some forms of cancer.  Tomatoes are a good source of vitamins C and E so very good for fighting off those Free Radicals.  Fresh herbs (Sage, Thyme, Oregano) are also beneficial.  Sage is antiseptic and antibiotic; Thyme aids digestion, helps break down fatty foods and is also antiseptic; Oregano (sweet marjoram) eases bad colds and has a calming effect on nerves.   Olive Oil helps in the absorption of Vitamin E and is high in mono-unsaturated fatty acids which lower blood cholesterol.

The Day the Earth wouldn't move…

Back at the beginning of our vegpatch adventure, after we'd cleared the tiny walled rose garden for planting, we laid down raised beds over the newly cleared earth to kick start the Veg Patch into some sort of growing season.  The area around the beds is (or was) earmarked for fruit trees surrounded by other herbs and vegetables but, frankly, the soil needs a lot of improving. Recently re-discovered lurking under the surface are back-breaking clumps of pure clay.  Why I thought they would somehow mysteriously disappear goes some way to illustrating what an optimist I am.  Still, there we are.  Now I have something else to obsess over.

 My intrepid camera lens goes under the skirts of our beetroot crop

Nevertheless we have enjoyed, dare I say it, a modicum of success in our first veg patch this summer, and we're now all abuzz with preparation for the next stage:  choosing seeds for winter planting and clearing Veg Patch 2.  In Veg Patch 1, our Johnny-Come-Lately beetroot continues to grow - at this stage it's more of an experiment than a crop - all show and no substance;  the salad leaves are still delicious and abundant and the radishes continue swelling into enormity but are, curiously, still exceptionally tasty.

 Now that's what I call…  Ugly

Having tidied our tools away after our Sunday afternoon dig, we agreed the promised hour had arrived for a reviving libation down at our local hostelry.  As luck would have it,  whilst there I was able to corner our local gardening guru about our soil problem.  I now have it confirmed (on the highest authority) that we have to treat the soil with horticultural sand and revive it with well-rotted manure or at the very least recycled compost.  Righty-ho, then.  Well that's my spare time this week sorted.

The Last Hurrah of the English Summer…

I'm unashamedly going to do the Brit thing and chat about the weather because what an absolutely great weekend we've had here in London.  Beautiful clear cloudless deep blue skies, the sort that make you lift your face towards the sun with your eyes closed to better bask in it, losing where you are in the warmth of the moment (and, admittedly, looking as if your brain has been abducted by aliens as you stand there wobbling with an idiot grin on your face).

The photos above were snapped when I went for a stroll around the flats with my camera on Saturday.  Everything seemed to have it's best party clothes on as the sun was shining.  Looking at sunny images of our fruit and flowers makes me feel happy so this could well be my inspiration in the long months ahead.

And another plus is that when I'd done basking and snapping, the sun had recharged my batteries and Things Got Done.  A few of us ventured into the Veg Patch for weeding and digging and afterward produce from our various growing spaces was used to make batches of  soup*, oven roasted tomatoes* and fresh bread - leaving me with just enough energy to pop down to the Regent Street Festival in the West End where a huge stack of pink and purple cupcakes had been set up - happy birthday Regent Street! (Even though it seemed you could look but not touch - boo! hiss!)

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* Some of our team have very kindly said they thought these recipes sounded good, so I'm going to share the love on these later in the week.  Watch this space …

Bring on the tarts!

Best enjoyed warm and crisp from the oven …served with a jug of maple syrup and cream

Time to down tools!  Well it can't be all dig, dig, weed, water, prune, now can it?  If there's one thing I find as satisfying as watching seeds grow into food, it's cooking.  Usually that's of the necessary feed-the-family kind (soups, roasts, stews, stir-frys, the occasional pudding - salad doesn't count) which I'm not knocking - hey, if something has to be done, you may as well enjoy it.  But, every so often, I get a real urge to do some slow-down-cooking, the kind that you have to not rush, the cake-y non-essential, put some feelgood music on kind (current fave is Norah Jones), and pour the love into what you're creating. These custard tarts definitely tick that box – and luckily I don't have to eat them all by myself otherwise I might have a teensy problem squeezing back into the greenhouse.

I know you'll be tempted so I've added a printable recipe here  – assuming you won't want your laptop covered in flour.  

Here comes the confession:  This is not my original recipe! - can anyone lay claim to that? However, over time I have fine tuned it from a number of sources to finish up the way I like 'em.  Really good ingredients will add to the whole happiness factor:  organic flour and milk, fresh laid eggs, cream, natural unbleached sugar, high quality vanilla extract – but I'm guessing you've all got these already, huh?  Occasionally I cheat with this recipe and use Bird's Custard Powder instead of cornflour, but that's okay in my book because Mr Bird created his custard powder out of love for his wife who longed to eat custard but was allergic to eggs.  (Sigh! What a lovely man.  I guess making millions had nothing to do with it… )

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Don't be put off by the length of the recipe - it's just making the custard and rolling out the pastry.  It takes a little over an hour, leaving plenty of time for a sit down with a good book or magazine and a cup of tea.  And the finished result looks (and tastes) just beautiful - even if it has nothing to do with gardening.

Make your own Seed Packets…

 This is a little overdue, but I hope you'll forgive me.  Two months ago I knew nothing about blogging and, since then, I've had huge fun learning how to tweak and fine tune this site.  There's a wealth of helpful advice from other bloggers about how to do this but this week I've had a problem finding a way of getting a pdf template to you all.  Hopefully I've now managed this.

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So… following on from last week's promise of creating seed packets, I've made an A4 template (the size of a sheet of printer paper) which can be printed and cut out to make a blank seed packet for the kids to draw on.  (The template includes instructions.)

Because I wouldn't let this loose on my lovely readers without trying it myself, I've done some experimenting.  Most of you will have glue to hand for sticking the sides and be using that rather than tape, so I've made a few packets using different glues.  I found that PVA (white glue) left the paper a bit damp and 'blobby'.  Next I tried stick glue (such as Pritt Stick) but I think this will dry out over time, leaving you with a muddle of spilled seeds.  Finally, (my favourite) I used a gel all-purpose glue (UHU glue in UK) and this worked perfectly, although I had to rub the residue off my fingers.  Also, it's best to smooth the glue out to a thin layer and keep it towards the fold - it's best if the inside of the packet doesn't stick together!

Before filling the envelope with your seeds, your children (or you ~ I like to think there's something here for everyone!) should write down on the back all you know about the plant seeds that will go in the envelope.   Information such as when to sow, when they'll flower, how big the plant is, whether the plant prefers sunshine or shade, etc.  If you still have the kids attention,  the activity can be extended by taking a stroll down to your local library and check what else you can find out about your seeds.

The front of the packet has been left blank for a lovely drawing - or a photo, if you prefer.  Seal the packet when filled with a little bit of sellotape for easy opening in the springtime. 

My seed packet template can be downloaded by clicking here.  (I hope this works, please let me know if it doesn't!)

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P.S. If I have any readers who would like this in a size other than 8 inches by 11 inches, I'll be happy to oblige.

Coming up…

As I won't be posting again until Tuesday, here's a little taster of what's in store for next week:

• Seed packets to make yourself
• Felted art inspired by seed pods and nature
• A recipe for Portuguese Custard Tarts
• Recycled watering

All this and photos!  Really, I spoil you.

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In the meantime, here's a meditation of the garden variety to take with you into the weekend:

He who shares the joy in what he's grown,

Spreads joy abroad and doubles his own.

(Author unknown)

Off to the country…

I'm away to the countryside this weekend, to stay with my niece who is an aspiring Urban Farm Girl and who keeps chickens as pets.  So, in fair exchange for a few new laid eggs to bring home with me, I'm taking a medley of our freshly picked garden produce, notably some of our magnificent lettuce (pictured above), giant radishes and parsley - but not the beetroot this time because the radishes are currently winning in those size stakes.

But all the seed harvesting has sparked a few creative memories and I promise that when I get back, I'll make a little downloadable template for making your own seed packets to keep your seeds safe until next year.

Found! Giant Mutant Radishes…

Oooh… look what we've got!  And I promise I haven't messed with this photo, nor is it one of those trick photos that alters perspective!  This really is the size of the radishes we're picking at the moment and I promise you they're very, very tasty indeed. 

Luckily quite a few neighbours have confessed to liking a quick munch of radishes - is that another collective noun, a munch of radishes, do you think? - because we still have rather a lot, having rushed to grow all our seeds at the end of the summer. 

I'll just withdraw a respectful distance while you quietly salivate, shall I?

Gone to seed…

Sweet pea pods - look how they twist round on themselves once split! I'm trying to be creative about how to use the empty pods; any thoughts?

After my recent thoughts on collecting seed from various plants, a quick walk around reveals how bountiful the harvest could be:  sweet pea pods, poppy heads, sunflower seeds, aliums, hollyhocks, wallflowers and runner beans - with courgettes, cucumber, tomatoes, pumpkin and peppers waiting in the wings.

I'm absolutely stunned because free seeds is something I'd never really thought about until now.  But the success of our little patch is inspiring very exciting thoughts of what's possible for next year - and not just in the veg patch but throughout all the gardens here.

Gardens and allotments are still (just) really beautiful and it's worthwhile going to take some photos while they're still flowering, fruiting, or otherwise good to eat.  Or why not, on a sunny afternoon (or a rainy one… it  happens), give the kids some paper and crayons and get them to draw the plant that they've collected seeds from.  And treat yourself to a big mug of tea, and five minutes peace.

Wallflower seed pods, splitting on the plant. Take a bag to collect these - the tiny seeds will get lost in your pockets!

Just a thought…

"Green fingers are the extension of a verdant heart."

~Russell Page, Landscape Architect and professional garden designer, 1906-1985

What do you think?  Do you enjoy gardening - or do you prefer just to eat the veg?

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