Baby carrots and fennel

This is the first year I've grown fennel and I'm thrilled with how it's coming on. Can't wait to taste it.

All homegrown summer salad

 

 

This salad had shredded lettuce, mange tout peas, broccoli and baby carrots in with an oriental dressing made with soya sauce.

Buttered Cabbage Parcels

Thank you Jo for this lovely recipe.  The cabage was cut into quarters and then smothered in butter, thyme and salt and pepper and wrapped in baking parchment and then foil and put in the oven for about an hour.  The flavour was exceptional.  I love ways of cooking veg to make use of the fact that I have the oven on, and can just bung in the veg and go off and do something else whilst it all cooks. 

Carrot and Herb Muffins

225g Wholemeal Self Raising Flour
pinch of salt (optional)
1 tsp Baking Powder
50g Butter softened
115g Cheddar Cheese (any other cheese would be fine) and bit extra for the tops
1 Carrot grated (I used 2 to up the carrot-y-ness)
1 Onion grated
small bunch of chopped chives (any herb would do)
1 egg beaten (think i used Medium)
115ml Milk

Sift Flour, salt, baking powder in a bowl (gave them a chuzz in the processor) rub in butter ( whacked butter in and pulsed processor) add grated cheese, carrot, onion and chives.
stir in beaten egg and milk pop mixture in cup cake cases or muffin cases or just butter your bun trays. i got 18 out of this amount.  sprinkle on a  bit more cheese and bake for 15 mins (or until golden) at 200C or 400F gas mark 6.  cool on  a wire rack (they are nice still warm though)  good with butter in and make good pick nic food.
From 'The New Vegetarian' by Heather Thomas - a Vegetarian Society book.
Quite a quick recipe.
enjoy

Fresh artichokes

Artichokes are so easy to grow - these were grown from seed, and if you do that they will flower in the second year. They need a sheltered but sunny spot and not too much attention apart from weeding/mulching. As they are perennial they will come back year after year with little or no maintenance - the perfect vegetable.
To cook, just boil for 20 minutes, then pour vinaigrette over them. Pull off the outer leaves and bite off the fleshy bit with your teeth. When you get down to the middle discard the "choke" (the hairy bit) as this will do you no good, and then eat the heart dipped in vinaigrette.

Runner beans

Me and the boys planted out beans today over a trench that hubby dug. The trench was filled with brassicas that had gone to seed, newspaper and cardboard. When the trench is filled in it's much better at retaining water, which beans love. We try and water as little as possible and use only rainwater from water butts, which means that any water retaining measures are also labour saving.

A great way to grow beansprouts

The patent beansprouters you can buy don't seem to grow long straight sprouts but this method, shown to me by my friend Robin, is the best. It's really cheap too, consisting of plant pots, plant pot stands and a bit of gauze ( or kitchen roll) in the bottom of each pot. You need to soak the beans first- these are mung beans bought from Swarkestone Nurseries. You then put them on damp tissue or gauze in the pots, and wash each day. Just keep it indoors next to the sink, The chink of light coming from the lids makes the sprouts grow straight. The photo shows how to do it, with the addition of an extra lid on top.

Asparagus

Loads of lovely asparagus has shot up in the last two days in the heat wave. It is amazing how it grows centimetres in a day. We ate it in a stir fry this evening.

First home-grown salad of the year