Monday 16 September 2013

Harvest


So this is a significant proportion of our harvest this year.  Fluffrick wanted to have a go at growing some potatoes and as we don't have a lot of garden we grew these is a large plastic tub.  Now it's not a huge quantity of potatoes, maybe three meals, but the do taste fantastic, better than any I've bought.

The Blueberry crop has been pitiful, One blueberry bush died in the cold winter weather, so we bought a replacement, but it hasn't cropped at all.  But there were just enough blueberries to have Blueberry Pancakes for Sunday breakfast, which was nice.

The Tomatoes are doing well, better than I've ever had before, but they don't seem to want to ripen.  They also taste good, although the skin is a little thicker than bought tomatoes and I wonder it that is because they are slower growing.

I have a little chilli plant again this year, which is cropping quite well, certainly well enough for my Mum who is not a huge fan of very spicy food, and these chillies are hot.

Fortunately were do not have to survive on this harvest, but each year we are growing a little more.  I might see if Fluffrick want to give Brussel Sprouts a go for our mid winter meals. 

Friday 13 September 2013

What we're eating this week

I hate writing a blog post without any pictures, but as I haven't cooked any of these things yet I can't take a picture of them.

Wait a minute I've had an idea...

Home grown Blueberries
My somewhat small Blueberry crop, that I have plans for this weekend.

So here is our menu for the coming week:

FRIDAY:
Courgette Polpette with Tomato Sauce and Spaghetti

SATURDAY:
Veggie Burgers with Chips, Coleslaw and Tomato Salad

SUNDAY:
Salmon with Green Beans, Carrot and Potatoes

MONDAY:
Cauliflower Pilau with Sweet Potato Curry - thank you Jamie Oliver, or maybe I should reserve the thanks until after I've made it.

TUESDAY:
Moussaka - made with Turkey mince

WEDNESDAY:
Kale and Mushroom Lasagne

THURSDAY:
Creole Prawn - I have been making with for about 20 years and I can not remember where I got the recipe, but this will be the first time I have made it with raw prawns.

I'm also going to make some Cauliflower Soup to have for my lunch and some Beetroot and Chocolate Brownies.  The meagre crop of Blueberries will end up in Blueberry Pancakes on Sunday Morning. 


Thursday 12 September 2013

Thursday is Veg Box Day

I've now been getting a organic veg box delivered for about 5 years from Wild Star Food and I think they do a really great job. It may not be a most economical way I could be buying my veg these days, but I'm happy because I'm supporting a local company and what I have delivered changes every week.



Here's what I got this week, Green Beans, Green Pepper, Aubergine, Celery, Romanesque Cauliflower, Curly Kale and Beetroot.  

Last week I got, Carrots, Romanesque Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, Yellow Courgettes, Pointed Cabbage, Beetroot and a mass of Potatoes (so much so that we decided not to harvest Fluffrick's Potatoes last weekend).

So there were a couple of things the same, but most things were different and variety is one of the most important things to me.  Before I got the veg box, I would buy broccoli and carrots pretty much every week, boring, boring, boring. Don't get me wrong i really do like broccoli and carrots, but every week was horrendously unadventurous, I like to think I'm a bit more adventurous now.

So now I've got my veg, I've got to sort out what I'm going to cook from it...I'll be back later with what I'm going to inflict on my family this coming week.

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Super Soup September - Kohlrabi Soup


So normal service is resumed - in other word intermittent and spotty.  There are times when I just don't have anything to say (my Mum would not agree this that statement), so I just won't say anything.  But for the moment I'm back and would like to share a new recipe.

Kohlrabi Soup

This is adapted from Janella Purcell's Wholefood Kitchen.

Ingredients - Serves 4

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Onion
1 Kohlrabi
500ml Vegetable Stock
1 Bay Leaf
500ml Milk (the original recipe used soy or almond milk)
Salt and Pepper to taste


Heat the oil in a large pan, dice the onion and to the oil and gently cook for a couple of minutes, but do not brown.


Peel and dice the kohlrabi, then add to the onion.


Add the stock and the bay leaf and simmer for 25-30 minutes until the Kohlrabi is tender. Remove the bay leaf, season and add the milk.  Simmer gently for a couple of minutes, then blend until smooth(ish).


I sprinkled my with a little smoked paprika, to add colour more than flavour and served it with Lidl's best Ryvita knock-offs.

Kohlrabi is a strange vegetable, but we get it on a semi regular basis in our weekly veg box, so it was nice to find a recipe for it.  Kohlrabi can be a wee bit fibrous, so push the blended soup through a sieve, may be required.  It have a very mild flavour and so did the resulting soup, I think this recipe would also work it cauliflower or broccoli were substituted for the kohlrabi (which may not be readily available.  

Tuesday 30 April 2013

Me Made May '13

So I've been absent from this blog for far too long, but I've finally got the kick up the backside that I needed - Me Made May'13.

'I, Katrina of Rollingeyeballs, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade item each day for the duration of May 2013.  I also pledge that my lovely husband Fluffrick will wear as many handmade items as possible during May'

As I've now been making things for Fluffrick for over ten years now, he should have enough things to make a good showing.  

Being part of this challenge always reveals holes in my handmade wardrobe.  I really need some hard wearing casual trousers, something I can just throw on to talk Hagrid, but as yet I have been unable to find any suitable fabric.  Hopefully sometime during the month I will find what I am looking for and new trousers will be mine.