Rainbow Haul & Delicious Dinner

Went up to the lottie for a harvest and a poke about today. Lots to sort out there but that's for another day. Picked some goodies and what a pretty, colourful selection. I expect the courgettes will get turned into chocolate cakes (got a bit of an obsession with them now!). The marrow will be ratatouilled I think as I love that taste and texture. The gooseberries have gone in the freezer. They're marvellously translucent now - very, very ripe and sweet. I ate a few that burst in my hands :) The solo kohl rabi is a bit pathetic. If I grow them again, they'll need more water but I don't think I will bother next time. The purple radishes were grown for their colour really - radishes don't really do it for me! Silly eh. The patty pans on the front-left are a slightly different that the other yellow patty pans - paler and taller. There's a normal one in there too. The green beans are prolific, as per usual. But I love them so it's all good :)

The purple radishes are very pretty - almost as if they've been painted with ink.

I decided to roast up the patty pans, radishes, some (supermarket) onions, 

as well as the beetroot that was languishing in the fridge with some oil & rosemary.

Everything took on a lovely pink colour from the sweet beetroot :)

I had a portion with some lottie green beans. Yum yum!

Gooseberry & green peppercorn chutney

From last year's harvest, my freezer still contains lots of fruit that needs using. Amongst the goodies were lots of gooseberries. Stewed fruit is NOT my cup of tea, so I needed to make something with them that I would eat. I spotted this recipe for gooseberry & green peppercorn chutney a while back - it has been on my recipe list (see the side bar) since last year! Anyway, this morning I cooked up a batch...

• 600g green or red gooseberries
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 300ml cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp green peppercorns
• 175g raisins
• 175g brown sugar

1. To make the chutney: put the gooseberries, onions, garlic, mustard and lemon juice in a preserving pan and pour over two-thirds of the vinegar. Add the peppercorns and bring to the boil.

2. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick.

3. Add the raisins, sugar, the remaining vinegar and a pinch of salt. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for up to 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick and syrupy. Remove from the heat, leave to cool, then store in the fridge for up to a month. Alternatively, pour the hot mixture into hot sterilised jars, seal and store in a cool, dark place.

I am storing two jars as a preserved chutney which should be ready in a few months - they may even make good Xmas presents. I kept one jar to go in the fridge to use straight away. I think it will probably have a bit of a kick to it.

Sunday wasn't a day of rest!

So, first things first - I've been away for a week, skiing :) Had a lovely time and contrary to this photo, it was glorious sunshine most of the week. In fact at times it was too hot! I'm the one in the pink, my little bro is next to me, and his girlfriend's the one on the end. I missed my usual ski pal though, my dad, who couldn't make it this time. Next time eh, pops! ;) x

I was still feeling pretty healthy and energetic, the sun was out, so I went to the allotment for a dig on Sunday. It is official - Spring is here! I have evidence...

These pretty purple and yellow crocuses are growing next to my shed. They're so lovely :) Anyhoo, back to digging. Yep, I dug myself a new bed. Aren't I good?! So far I've just de-turfed it. I am going to bury the grass, grass-side-down, a spade's depth in the bed. (I read that is what I need to do!) That will be next weekend's task. I got a bit bored of digging after two hours and had some other tasks I wanted to do too. However, I was very proud of my achievement :) Look what I made...

Yes, it is a pile of turf and a muddy strip in the grass, but it is just so noble and magnificent... :P

Here, I took another pic of it to show the position, next to my two other strip beds at the 'shed end'. The ground was nice and soft to dig, which was a relief. (Cath - I used your Xmas pressie spade. Worked a treat and easier to use than my bigger one, which I try to load up with too much at once!)

Next came the fun part - having a fire. This went reasonably well, until I got a little nervous when the flames got pretty big and I suddenly realised I hadn't got the two watering cans of water ready in case it got out of control! I ran into the shed and got that sorted just after I threw some damp grass on to calm the flames :) Phew! Clears a lot of space, having a fire.

While the burning was happening, and I kept one eye on it, I had a poke about the rest of the 'shed end' of the allotment to see what was coming through, as well as tidying up and throwing any dried dead stuff onto the fire. I was very pleased to see some of the annuals starting to show new growth:

Both the lupins are coming through again, one more advanced than
the other. They were really pretty last year so I am happy they
made it through the snowy winter.

Mrs Bradshaw, my double geum is also showing strong signs of life.
I look forward to enjoying her again this year :)

The aquilegia is also emerging. I have now pulled off all
the dead stalks from last year's growth.

I was concerned last year that I'd wasted my money on the
caraway plant I bought. It spent most of the summer being floppy
then died back to nothing in autumn. However, it seems to still be
alive and has put on some healthy-looking growth already.
Let's hope it fares better this year :)

The tree onions I moved last year are making an
appearance, so they're still happy.

I wasn't expecting to see the spring onions, already in the allotment
when I took it on, coming through again. Hopefully they will be ok.
I'll see, andif not, they will have to go.

The three globe artichokes are all coming through again. I love the
thistle-type flowers they put on and they taste lovely so I look
forward to munching these when they are ready :)

In the strawberry bed there is this line of daffs. They were
flowering when I took the plot over almost a year ago so I
was expecting to see them again.
Note to self: change straw under strawberries once you've weeded ;)

And look at this - the garlic I planted before Xmas is making
a strong start :) The other bulbs I put in at the same time are
all coming through, some slightly more advanced than others.
Photos will be taken to show their progress.

This is a snap of the herb bed, next to the shed. I have now pulled out the dead growth and have tidied it a little. I managed to edge one side and will do the other next weekend. The caraway can be seen on the bottom edge of the photo - a bright vibrant green. I am still surprised to see it!

Another job I did was I finally trimmed out all the old wood from the raspberries and pruned the black/red/whitecurrant and gooseberry bushes, so this summer I can actually walk around them to harvest the fruit, without being impaled so much! They did fight back though and my arms look like I've lost a fight with a cat! I know really I should've done this job in the autumn. I didn't get round to it then, but I found it easy to spot the new canes v the old canes on the raspberries, as the new ones had buds on, the old ones didn't. The buds & new growth on the currants etc also showed me where to cut the branches back to. Maybe I've mucked it all up but there is only one way to see - wait a few weeks :) I am hoping that it is all pretty resilient and I've not messed up the growth too much, if at all.

I worked right up until it went dark and felt a big sense of achievement. Seeing the new growth coming through and anticipating the new growing year ahead I am now officially excited :)

I took my seed box home with me to plan what to do over the next few months. I can see I need to buy some seeds, as well as wait a while and cheat with some seedling plants. ;) I've been perusing my allotment books and I look forward to going down again on Saturday (still too dark in the evenings at 6.30pm when I get home from work). This time I'll have a helper so I should get twice as much done!


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Edit: Oh, I didn't mention that I noticed John, my next-plot-neighbour @ the 'shed end' must be giving up. I didn't see him much over the late summer. His sheds have gone and his plot seems pretty much abandoned. :(

I also managed a whole lottie time without being interrupted, just me and ma tunes! Huzzah :) Get so much more done like that. I will be more sociable soon, I'm sure!

Firsts in the latest food harvest

I didn't get too much done this weekend down the allotment. Mum and I did pop down on Saturday morning to water - and, as usual, got distracted by other tasks! We did some harvesting which was the main reason for going. We picked raspberries and gooseberries and the final redcurrants the birds hadn't eaten! They look beautiful, like little jewels. Hopefully there is enough to make a jar of jelly. I am planning on making a cake and some oat bars with the raspberries and some chutney with the gooseberries - all will be adapted recipes I am sure :) Mum took some fruit for herself.

We also got to harvest my very first broccoli florets and a head of cauliflower. I also picked a bunch of sweetpeas but have found the flower stems are shorter on the new blooms. That means a smaller vase is needed! When I inherited the allotment, some produce was already there. I had a poke about in amongst the weeds and found a few (what I assume are) shallots ok to pick. I am drying these out and will see if they are edible!

We also picked, but didn't photograph, more charlotte potatoes (delish!) and the first globe artichokes. I am going to try mine tonight and see how it tastes. Will let you know! Cauliflower cheese is also on the menu. Yummy :) I hope you are enjoying your harvests.

I have now taken the netting off the strawberries and started to pot on the runners. Hopefully this will give me more strawberry plants to keep or to pass on to others, perhaps in a plant swap which they do at the allotment - not that I have had time to go to one yet!

Allotment produce already growing

I really have come top trumps in the allotment lottery. You don't pick a plot, of course, you are allocated one. I was lucky. I didn't receive one full of brambles and all overgrown. Oh no, I got one with an amazing shed, full of tools and bits of useful 'stuff', along with crops already planted and growing! Most of these I have more or less identified. Here goes...

gooseberries - don't like them myself but i know folk that do! they do look pretty amazing though :)

black?currant perhaps - i know it is either black or red currant as 'betty', the old allotment owner's mum told me so! lots of flowers anyway so that is looking promising :)

red?currant??

parsnips, i think - yum! [edit: yes, defo!]

smaller onions, maybe shallots? garlic? [edit: just onions]

onions [edit: no, these are spring onions - delish!]

globe artichoke (there are about 4 of these). never had them but apparently they're nice. they look spectacular so i am looking forward to seeing these

asparagus - discovered this while poking about on day2. i LOVE asparagus :D:D

strawberries

um...? answers on a postcard! i have 2 rows of this stuff - not sure if they are identical, but the leaves are similar.

so, yes, very lucky! lots of goodies to get me started. will keep you posted on how they get on.

my next post will be about my amazing shed which i am in love with! hehe!

Photos of the allotment, day1

every blog needs photos and now I have them. all 61 from day1 of being the offical owner! i picked the keys up for the shed from the previous tenants and they were really sorry to be handing them over, i think. every allotment has a story, eh. i met the previous owner's mum, 'betty', who had owned it before him and she was lovely. she wished me luck and i invited her to pop up whenever she felt like it to check how i was getting on :) i think she liked that.

so, here is my shed. have you ever seen such a quirky, fun shed? what a fab thing to inherit. it's crammed full of useful/not-so-useful things and i think it is quite charming. i think that great big window is such a bonus. it will be great to hide in here if the rain catches me out :) i am taking the horseshoe as a good omen for happy times ahead :)

i also have this little bench to sit on, take a break, contemplate life, sup wine/tea and admire my hard work. the allotment really is well stocked and i have inherited lots of fab goodies. look, i have 4 big butts! these fill with water from the shed roof so that should keep me going for a while :) i've been really lucky to get the allotment in the first place, but to get one which comes with lots of bits and pieces is a dream. i know most of the things won't be very expensive to buy but if you have 30 or so 'little bits and pieces' to buy it soon adds up. i also love the history of it too.

looking out over the allotment from the side of the shed - water butts, compost bins/heap and 2 old metal dustbins down here. you can see the little seat too

my allotment is already divided nicely into 3 areas. part 1 is near the shed...

this is furthest away from the access road and will be most likely where i spend most of my time. there are already crops growing away in this area, the 'shed end', such as asparagus (new discovery!), strawberries, onions and some sort of leafy thing! ha! such a novice!!

part 2 is full of soft fruits. 'betty' told me it was gooseberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants and that they had a fabulous crop from them last year. fingers crossed for a repeat!

i think i need to take out some of the dead bits and maybe prune a little but i shouldn't imagine i need to do that much in this area. it was nice to inherit something nicely established like this.

part 3 is the area nearest the access road. it has a few things in it at the moment but needs more work. there is a little area for me to park my car here so that is ideal for offloading/loading :)

the stuff in the front of the allotment was some sort of gourd-type squash and there are a lot of old ones left so i will try to gather some seeds and see how they go. you can see the full allotment in this photo now. the 'shed end' furthest from us, the soft fruit area, and the 'road end'!

...and just because i could park on my allotment, i did! (can you spot me!?)

so, that's the tour so far. later i'll post about the produce already growing away when i took ownership and the inside of the quirky shed :)