Allotment News

A few days ago I shared chocolate mousse Quinoa style recipe and I told you that I'd been really busy with my allotment. That is an understatement!

To remind you what it was like when I first took it on here are a few photographs.

I was a proud owner of a massive plot which needed a hell of a lot of work, but I didn't let this worry me. Spending time down here is fabulous, and as an added bonus Marco loves it too.

You can shut off from the world and get on with what needs doing. Before you know it you've spent hours down there, and I mean hours :o)

At first I must admit some days I did get a bit disheartened as I'd spend hours with not really much to show for it. But I needn't have worried my hours of work has paid back a plenty.

The first thing I needed to do was to weed the front part of the plot, the weeds were growing faster than I could weed! Thankfully I had a little help from my Mum and sister and it wasn't long before I started planting. Thanks guys! The plot is seriously huge and is in two distinctive parts; the front part which had been cultivated previously and the back part which was a jungle but did 'house' two apple trees, an eater and a cooker.

After digging over half of the front part of the allotment I was ready to plant. The first thing to go in? Two rows of potatoes, Charlotte potatoes to be exact. Boy are they tasty too!

In the front of the above photograph you can see the rhubarb starting to grow, and my chest freezer is full of rhubarb crumbles, 12 to be precise! Plus bags of frozen rhubarb just in case I run out! The rhubarb is coming to an end now but its still growing the odd few tasty stalks for me to pick. I'll post my rhubarb crumble recipe very soon.

Once the potatoes were in it was time to plant two rows of onions and a row of shallots. The onions are doing great and I pulled a few on Saturday to leave out to dry but unfortunately the Great British weather has let me down! It has done nothing but throw it down with rain since! That'll teach me to believe the weather forecast! 

The next job was to dig out a bean trench and fill it with grass cuttings and vegetable peelings to help retain water (runner beans are thirsty plants) and provide some nutrients to the soil.

Mum in the trenches!

Once the trench had been filled we watered it and shovelled back the soil. Next job was to erect the climbing frame for the runnerbeans. Yes its a play ground for vegetables!

The plot had a lot of 'rubbish' on it which we put to good use. The goal post frame and middle post are similar to that of old washing line posts. There are still a couple more to be used on the plot which I'm sure I'll find a use for. Next we tied two canes either side to form an upside down V shape and secured them with twine at the top.

We spaced them out so we could plant a runner bean plant or sow a seed to each post. As it turned out we sowed two seeds per cane or planted two runner bean plants to a cane. It hasn't done the plants any harm. In fact my first harvest from the plants weighed 1 stone in weight!

OK, so potatoes and onions in, runnerbean area prepped and ready to go, what's next? Why its the carrots, spring onions and leeks of course :o)

I was warned that the plot suffered with both carrot root fly and onion fly and that last year a lot of people lost their crops to both pests. Not to be put off I still sowed two rows of carrots, an old English heritage variety which is purple in colour and a second row in a more traditional variety. 

Unfortunately the purple variety never germinated but the more traditional variety produced some huge carrots, even if some of them were weird and wonderful shapes. I'm certainly not a grower of beautiful vegetables. 

I covered both rows in a fleece to protect from the carrot root fly, but to be honest it didn't last long with the bad weather we had and after a couple of weeks it was full of rips and gaping holes. However I never took it off until the carrots had pushed it to its limits. Boy oh boy when I did I was so disappointed the rows were covered with weed! And the weed was bigger than the carrots. After hours of careful weeding, trying not to disturb the carrots so they release their scent to the carrot root fly the job was done. However if I could smell the carrots then that little pest would be able to!

Back home I was busy sowing seed, broad beans, runner beans, cauliflower, purple sprouting broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, French beans, courgettes and winter squash. After a few weeks the broad beans were ready to be transplanted and I had more than a few! It turned out that the shop had sold me two varieties of broad beans instead of a pack of broad beans and a pack of runner beans! Even when I was sowing the seeds I did think the runner beans looked strange more like a broad bean but I thought the shop knows best and they did say they were a new variety of runner bean they were trying out so I ploughed on.

You can see in the photo above that the potatoes had started to grow, so too had the onions and shallots. Behind them are the fleeced carrots and behind that on the left is the broad bean patch and then the runner bean patch. That's me! Sticking my thumb up ha ha ha. You can see that the back part of the plot is a jungle, it might look very lush and green but don't let your eyes fool you its a mass of brambles, old raspberry plants, red currents and black currents and thickets of stubborn grass! The earth itself is in no way flat either its full of mounds of earth, you have to be careful not to twist your ankle when you walk over it!

Back to the front part of the plot, the part I could manage. The next job was to sow the runner bean seeds as I hadn't got any plants to transplant! Lucky for me the other plot owners are a generous lot and T gave me a few runner bean plants too.

There was a sense of urgency now as time was ticking into the growing season and I had so many things left to do. Let alone dig over the remaining front part of the allotment. I ended up buying some strawberry plants which I planted. I haven't had any strawberries this year but I've pinned down a few runners and hopefully next season I will be blessed with lots of juicy ripe strawberries. I was also given quite a few sweetcorn plants too from another plot holder so they went in behind the runner beans. Next I needed to erect some tunnels which were covered with fine mesh for my brassica plants so they wouldn't be harmed by the white cabbage butterfly and other pest that love to devour a whole row of brassicas. Thanks again to T who showed me how it was done using plastic water hosing and the fine net you can buy in the shop. Two tunnels were made and one 'housed' my purple sprouting broccoli plants and the other a selection of other brassicas including, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and kale.

Once the two tunnels had been erected it was a case of finding a space for all the other plants I had grown from seed, including parsnips and celeriac. The courgettes just slotted in nicely next to one of the mesh tunnels and the parsnips the other side. The celeriac kept my broad beans company and the winter squashes found a home in the middle of the runner bean plants and to the side of the carrots and onions which for some reason I had missed digging over.

Once everything was planted it was a case of nurturing and keeping the weeds down and preparing myself for the harvest. In fact my next door neighbour on the plot had joked and asked if I'd put an advert in the paper to help harvest. I thought she was kidding, but now I know she was quite serious! Once the fruit and veg start producing they continue to produce at some rate! If I don't go down at least twice a week then I end up paying when I do get down there. Some days I can spend three hours just harvesting! Yes you read that right three hours! The work doesn't end there either, I spend at least a day in the kitchen afterwards preparing and storing my harvest. Let the good times roll! This is what its all about! You cannot beat growing and eating your own fruit and vegetables. In fact I'm rather proud of myself! :o)

From this.........

To this..............

That's my gorgeous and lovely Mum in the photo above, she has been a fantastic supporter and we've had some fantastic fun down on the allotment! Thank you Mum for all your help! 

Just to give you an insight into my harvested produce here is a few photographs to whet your appetite and get you interested in growing your own. Some days I could quite easily open up a shop with the amount I harvest, thankfully I have a large chest freezer now which isn't far off bursting at the seams!

Courgettes, potatoes, cabbage, rhubarb, runnerbeans, onions, shallots, broadbeans, French beans & kale

Potatoes, carrots, raspberries, courgettes, French beans, kale, rhubarb, runner beans

Tomatoes, runnerbeans, onions, raspberries, apples, courgettes, mooli, potatoes

There is still plenty to harvest too, I've only dug up half a row of potatoes, but I've chopped the tops of the remainder in case there is a blight attack. They won't grow any more but they will store quite well until about the end of October so I'm told. There are still plenty of bright red flowers on the runner beans and the courgettes seem to be multiplying by the second! There are lots and lots of winter squashes growing too so that should be another great harvest. My Autumn raspberries grow enormous fruit and I've never tasted a raspberry like it, so my daily smoothie is a taste of heaven. I can't wait until both apple trees are ready to be picked my freezer will be full of apple pies and my dehyrator will have to come out to make some apple crisps. Gardening is great fun and the fruit and vegetables that you grow will taste better than any shop bought produce. So what are you waiting for, get on out there and grow your own fruit and veg, it is well worth the effort! 

Jasmine x

Menu - September Harvest

As always on the first day of the month I am sharing with you the menu for the month ahead. But this month there will be more meals and ideas from the specials board as its also Vegan Mofo and I am hoping to post most days throughout September.

I hope the above gets your taste buds tingling but if not come back each day to see what else is being featured from the specials board. There may be quite a few courgette recipes popping up as my courgette plants are still producing lots of fruit!

Each recipe I share will include produce harvested from my garden alongside store cupboard or other bought ingredients. On occasion there may be a recipe using foraged produce too! If I had more time I would also like to provide the cost per portion and the nutritional values of each meal, but unfortunately I don't think time will allow, unless anyone out there can offer their services to calculate the nutritional values for me? Cheeky ;o)

I'll also give you some tips on how to grow the vegetable I am featuring or at least a little tale from its growing life, which will probably be dominated by stories about my battle against the little critters that I have trying to fend off!

Garden Stir Fry

There is nothing better than walking outside into your garden, picking vegetables to have for your dinner! You really can't get any fresher than that can you?

After wondering round my garden I managed to harvest an eight ball courgette, a handful of mange tout, 2 green peppers and a bunch of spring onions. I instantly craved a stir fry with all this green goodness. I love stir fries as they don't take long to make and with a couple of added ingredients can taste amazing and fresh!

Ingredients - Serves 2

Splash of Groundnut oil
1 Bunch of spring onions, cut down the centre, stalk and all
1 Red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 Piece of ginger, finely grted
3 Garlic cloves, finely grated
1 Green pepper, cut into strips
1 Courgette, cut into half moons
150g Mangetout, cut into strips
3 tbsp Soy sauce
½-1 Tsp Five spice powder
160 Tofu (I used the cauldron marinated tofu for super quickness)
250g Cooked brown rice
Good grind of black pepper

Method

Heat the oil in a wok or similar pan and throw in the spring onions, chilli, garlic and ginger and saute for 1 minute. Add a splash of water if things start sticking and be careful not to burn the garlic or ginger.

Add the green pepper strips and stir fry for another 3 minutes. Add the courgette and stir fry for another two minutes. Keep adding a splash of water if things start to stick. Add the Mangetout with the soy sauce and stir fry for another minute.

Add the five spice powder and stir to coat all the vegetables. Add the marinated tofu (or if you prefer marinate your own). Stir to coat in the five spice and soy sauce then add the cooked rice and stir through. Serve straight away with a good grind of black pepper for extra heat.

You could serve this with some of my homemade garlic bread too.

August Menu - Tales from my Garden

As my garden is in full swing now providing me with plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs I thought the menu theme for August could be "Tales from my Garden". This month I will be sharing recipes with you that I create with the fresh produce from my small vegetable plot.

Some recipes may include store cupboard ingredients or things I haven't grown but the main ingredient in each recipe will be picked fresh from my back garden.

I love this time of the year and I'm enjoying the sunshine even if it does mean watering my garden with a watering can that needs 30 refills and takes about an hour. I really should invest in a hosepipe!

If only I had more time to give, just imagine what I could grow. If you're thinking about growing your own next year or even this year (yep there is still time) take a look at my post on gardening and the infographic on what to grow when.

And just to tantalize your taste buds here is a few shots of what I've been growing......

Gardening and More Gardening

Did you see my article in Fresh Vegan, from garden to plate?

You can’t beat the flavour of a home grown carrot, tomato or that first crop of those “oh so  weet” peas, nor can you beat that wonderful feeling of stepping outside and picking your own food for dinner. You really can’t get any fresher than that, can you?”

How can you not want to grow your own? The food you eat will be seasonal, it will have no food miles and you will know exactly what you are eating, without worrying about what nasties have been sprayed on the crop. It’s win, win in my book.

In the article I give advice about growing your own, no matter how small your garden or patio is, tips and tricks of keeping your plants healthy and companion planting or other defenses to keep the pests away!

Since the article and visiting my blog the people at "Good to be Home" a Home and Gardening Magazine have been in touch. They have kindly given me permission to share their "Vegetable Growing Cheat Sheet", which is great!

So if I inspired you to pick up a spade, or buy a few pots and some compost so you can grow your own, why not take a look at the sheet below for further information.

If you have room in your garden, perhaps in a border or even better dig up some turf and make yourself a raised bed you can still sow some seeds. If you haven't got a large garden, fear not you can still sow seeds in pots and put on your patio. So, if you thought it was too late to start, think again and get sowing. 

Choose from beetroot, carrots, french beans, lettuce, spinach, raddish, spring onions, swiss chard and turnips! What a selection, you could easily whip up some tasty meals with that lot.

Once your produce is ready to harvest check out my recipe page for inspiration on what to cook. Why not try my spinach and mushroom pie when your spinach is ready to harvest? This recipe is very popular and was also featured in the animal friendly cookbook which was put together by Mino Valley Farm Sanctuary.

Now get outdoors and start gardening, you'll wonder why you haven't started before................

Thanks go to anglianhome.co.uk for letting me share the above infographic.

Curry in a Hurry

Do you remember the Three Lentil Soup I made on Sunday? Well hubby and I have been enjoying this for lunch on Monday and Tuesday, with the spicy potato and onion bread, but there was still some left over. I hate to waste food, so I had to come up with another recipe which used the remainder, which was about a portion and a half. 

The soup was fairly spicy and had thickened in the fridge, it reminded me of a curry sauce, which gave me an idea, curry in a hurry. Jamie Oliver isn't the only one who can use leftovers to make another meal! You don't have to use the vegetables listed any will do, you could use the left overs from your Sunday dinner. 

After adding the vegetables the one and a half portions of soup turned into a meal for 4 people so we can enjoy it for lunch tomorrow too, bonus!

Ingredients
2 Red onions, cut into wedges 
Handful of frozen peas
1½ portions of three lentil soup
1 Tsp Chipotle paste
2 Tsp Ground coriander
1 Tsp Ground cumin
½ Lime, juiced
2 Carrots, sliced
100g Green beans
Small head of broccoli, broken into florets
2 Small potatoes, diced
12 Sprouts, halved
100ml vegetable cooking water


Method
Fry the onions in a little olive oil for 5 minutes, add the frozen peas and continue to cook for another 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the chopped vegetables to a pan of boiling water and simmer for 5-8 minutes until vegetables have cooked but still have a little bight to them.

Add the soup to the onion and peas along with the chipotle paste, ground coriander and ground cumin. Stir to combine and cook over a low heat for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently to stop the sauce sticking to the bottom of the pan. If it starts to stick, add a little of the vegetable water a bit at a time. Add the lime juice and stir.

Drain the vegetables and reserve the cooking liquid, see I don't waste anything! Add the drained vegetables to the pan and stir through. 

Add the desired amount of the vegetable water, I used 100ml to thin down the curry sauce and coat the vegetables.

Serve with rice. I served it with a mixture of brown basmati and basmati pilau rice.

Any vegetable water you don't use save and use as a stock base for your next soup.

To those of you who are thinking sprouts in a curry, no! Try it, you will be surprised.

Showing off and Making Yet More Soup

Today, my sister popped round to see what all the fuss was about with my new Vitamix. Before she arrived I asked her to bring a vegetable and we would make soup for lunch. She brought round a packet of mini veg which consisted of baby carrots, green beans, tender stem broccoli and babycorn.

Basically all of the above was put in the vitamix, raw, along with a little chilli, garlic, parsley, cashews and water and blitzed for 4 minutes until steam came out of the ventilation holes in the lid.

The soup was very fresh and light tasting with a kick of heat, just what we needed on a damp and miserable day!

I must start experimenting now with other recipes and not just soups and smoothies!

Med Veg Medley Puff

Tonight is another Mediterranean Vegetable dish. I'm craving Mediterranean vegetables at the moment, it must be because the weather has warmed up a little and we are enjoying a little sunshine. I can't wait until I can eat al fresco! 

Tonight I made hubby a salmon parcel which uses puff pastry, and as regular readers of my blog know, Jus Roll puff pastry is vegan so whenever I make hubby something with pastry I can enjoy a slice of pastry too. 

Ingredients
½ Sheet of Jus Roll Puff Pastry
2 Tbsp Vegan or Homemade pesto
1 Red Pepper
1 Onion
½ Aubergine
½ Courgette
4 Mushrooms
1 Tbsp Black olive tapenade
Handful of spinach leaves
Salt and pepper

To finish
Lemon & basil olive oil
Chilli olive oil


Method
Turn oven on to 180°C and while you wait for the oven to heat up chop all the vegetables to a similar size. Score a border in the puff pastry about ½ inch from the edge. Spread the pesto over the pastry excluding the border. Bake in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, this allows the base of the 'puff' to cook a little before we load the vegetables on! Whilst the pastry is baking saute the vegetables in a little olive oil until soft. Add the tapenade, salt ans pepper and stir to combine. Take off the heat. Remove the pastry from the oven and pile on the vegetable medley, keeping the border free. Bake in the oven until the pastry is golden brown, about 5-10 minutes. Remove form the oven and pile on the spinach leaves. Drizzle over the two oils and serve straight away.