Butter Beans

Baked Butter Beans



Soak the butter beans overnight. Boil rapidly in fresh water with 2 celery sticks with leaves, 5 peppercorns, 1 carrot and then simmer for approx an hour. Make the tomato sauce with 2 onions, 5-6 cloves garlic fried in olive oil and add either fresh tomatoes or tinned, (if fresh, puree in a blender first), tomato puree, parsley and salt and pepper. Spoon cooked beans into an oven dish, pour tomato sauce over them and then sliced tomatoes. Bake in oven for an hour or so until the sauce has thickened.

These are great just eaten alone with a fresh buttered baguette, feels like it should cost a lot more than around 50p per portion to £1 depending on quality of ingredients and what you have growing in your allotment/garden.

Butter Beans (or any other large beans) with Chard

Chard is incredibly easy to grow and will look after itself for up to 4 years.
Just soak the butter beans over night. Boil rapidly in fresh water and then simmer for about an hour. Add the chard right at the end and serve drizzled with olive oil, rock salt, thinly sliced garlic and some vinegar. Best eaten with bread and butter and some olives

Appox. 30p per portion? Tastes amazing.

Credit Crunch = No excuse for not eating delicious food

Carry On Allotment

I have been prompted by Miss Hannah (not to be Miss for much longer) and Mr Chris to carry on my allotment blog. And with entries of the disappointing cucumbers and radishes, 'Carry On' it nearly is.

I've been busy with other work and I have also been reading this amazing book which I highly recommend; 'Taste' by Kate Colquhoun all about the history of Britain through food.

The Disappointing Cucumber Seed

I've been really happy with all my Duchy Orignal seeds so far (and the packaging is beautiful on them too) but was shocked to find that my Picolino Cucumber seeds (priced at £3.49) only had one seed in it!

I was promised a 'Prolific crop of mini cucumbers throughout the summer. Thin skinned with crisp, juicy flesh. Slice finely and add to salads and sandwiches.' Hmmm...perhaps Jack and Beanstalk style cucumber plant is yet to come?

Still waiting for my one precious and expensive seed to sprout. Know you're all (yes, ALL of you out there around the world who read this) keen to find out how this goes so I'll make sure to update you.

My Radishes

These grew a treat!



















Duchy Originals - Organic French Breakfast Radish seeds

I recommend them, they were really tasty and perfect looking and grew in a few weeks.

FACT:

In the tenth century it was thought that a radish eaten at night protected and cured men from incessant female chatter!

More mushrooms

The first photo is of mushrooms found at New Forest, early Autumn. The second photo is of mushrooms from Worms Head, Wales - early November. I didn't eat any of them.

Blueberry Gin & Raspberry Vodka

Ingredients:

Raspberry Vodka
Vodka, raspberries and a generous amount of sugar. Leave in a bottle for 2 weeks to 3 months (or more if you're brave enough!)

Blueberry Gin
Gin, blueberries and a generous amount of sugar. Leave in a bottle for 2 weeks to 3 months...

When desired strength has been reached, strain vodka/gin and serve with crushed ice and mint (optional)

Pumpkin

one of 4 plants have survived but it is growing well so far...

The Herb Garden

early picture...

Rainbow and bonfire, and how it was...

fine produce...

Pear Chutney

3 lb. pears
1 lb. onions
1 lb. green tomatoes
1/2 lb. raisins, seeded
1/2 lb. celery
1 1/2 lb. Demerara sugar
1/4 level tsp. cayenne
1/2 level tsp. ground ginger
1/2 oz. salt
5 peppercorns
2 pints vinegar

Peel, core and slice the pears, peel and chop the onions, wipe and cut up the tomatoes and cut up the raisins. Put all these ingredients into a pan and cook gently until tender. Add the vinegar and simmer for 4 hours, until the chutney is sufficiently thick. Pot and cover.

* From the 'Good Housekeeping Colour Cookery Book', 1967

Some tips

• When growing marrows you must pick the first one off – if you wait for it to grow first, the others won’t follow
• The less water you give onions the stronger they’ll taste
• Weeds are easier to pull out after it has been raining
• Mint should be contained or it will be greedy and take over more space than needed
• Vegetables should be planted in different spots annually - it is good for the soil
  

Howard the kitten

Strawberries

I have found new homes for the new plants, in my herb garden.

I need to put hay underneath the plants, if the strawberries touch the soil then they go mouldy - the nice girl on Columbia Road Market told me.

I'm also hoping the nice strawberry plant overlooking Brick Lane is doing well

Chillies - Round Two

I have planted 4 more of each of the 6 types I have.

The packet says I should wait approx 80 days til they grow...I am waiting patiently.

I have put them in a propegator to keep them away from the birds.

Produce.

A handful of beans!

News from Sarah, Dublin

News reached me this morning of something called a 'weed blanket'

sarah: its like this membrane material and its black and you lie it on the soil and no weeds can grow....you can cut into it so that ur plants can be pulled through....its pretty cool, nothing grows through it at all its amazing!

Thank you kind Sarah!

Chilli plants in pots

Thursday:

A sad day - the 6 varieties which had emerged from the soil, in pots, were eaten by birds! I had tried to cover them with chicken wire but something got in and feasted on them all. I will have to plant them again and cover them up better, or keep them indoors until stronger.

Weekend Work

Attendees on Saturday - Liz, Annabel & Chris
Attendance on Sunday - Chris & Liz

Saturday:

Weeds-everywhere! Annabel did an amazing job clearing out weeds from around the leeks- it looked like she's been on it with a weed hoover. Chris and I just went around picking from everywhere...'tis a very tough task indeed and I will make sure they're never left too long again to take over.

Weather was lovely - dry and sunny. Went for a well earned pint after managing to find a home for the strawberry plant in my herb garden and planting the cabbages from Annika.

Sunday:

Went to water everything as there was no rain yesterday and it looked like another dry day today. Chris watered, I weeded around the artichokes to give them more room for growth! I couldn't tell if there were any sprouting broccoli survivors amongst the weeds but I left a few paler coloured leaves in the ground.