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Naga Chilli Relish – Best made outside!
After the garden apprentice discovering his favourite curry of all time, is made with Naga chillies. Guess what I’m now growing? Yes, Naga’s. Growing Naga Chillies I bought the seeds mid-season last year and had a bit of trouble with germination. I ordered two varieties, ‘Yellow Blaze’ which as the name suggests are yellow and a classic red ’Norfolk Naga’. I didn’t get any Norfolk Nagas to germinate at all and only managed one yellow blaze. It was slow to grow as chillies are but it got to reasonable size and I managed to keep it going through the winter. In the new year I ordered more seeds of the…
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Produce coming out of my ears!
It really is hard work trying to keep up with all the harvesting at this time of year, I feel like I have produce coming out of my ears! So as not to waste any I am cooking at least as much as gardening – which doesn’t always make me happy if the sun is shining outside. The freezers (yes two) are filling up fast! Luckily we had an old one of my mum a couple of years ago and honestly I don’t know how we ever managed without it! It’s true though that you don’t miss what you haven’t had, but once you’ve had it you would really miss…
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Fragrant Summer Bean Curry
We are big curry fans in our house, so at this time of year there is a lot of bean curry being made. The heat of the curry is where we differ, but this is easily remedied by adding homemade, hot haberero chilli sauce to the individual serving. Lots of curry is made all year around – always from scratch – in large portions to freeze. This makes for super easy week-night meals. It’s also a great way to use the produce from the garden, as most things can go into a curry. July is the beginning of the main harvest time in the veg garden, but now as we…
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Salmon Pasta with Broad Beans, Soy & Honey
Salmon pasta with soy and honey, is one of those meals we never tire of. It’s a weekly staple that tastes delicious; is really good for you; and only takes half an hour, so what’s not to like? There is however one little down side, it uses three pans. So not the end of the world if you have a dishwasher, either the mechanical type or the human type! I grew up with a rule that whoever cooks, gets out of the washing up! I appreciate though that that doesn’t really help if you live alone. Back to the food! Today I’m using broad beans, because the harvest is in…
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The Kitchen Garden Produce is Ramping up!
Since early in the year we’ve been eating a few things out of the kitchen garden, but this is when production seriously ramps up. We had some cavolo nero kale back in winter and we’ve managed to keep the purple sprouting broccoli limping along. It’s desperately trying to go to seed now, but I just keep chopping it down. We’ve had salad leaves for quite a while and rhubarb for breakfast for a good few weeks. The asparagus season is now at an end, we have to stop harvesting it this weekend. You should only cut it for six weeks, before letting it go to seed. Broad Beans Those beautiful,…
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Gardening for your mental health
In this week of mental health awareness, I’d like to shout from the rooftops, that gardening is good for your general health but especially for your mental health. I’m a person that doesn’t find it easy to relax, not my body or my mind, but in the garden I am truly zen. It’s actually quite difficult to describe quite how it makes me feel, but mainly calm, happy and that nothing else really matters. I’m not sure if it’s being outside in the fresh air; or the process of tending living things; or the company of wildlife that a garden brings; or the constant planning and looking forward to what’s…
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Rhubarb Fool – A speedy pudd when unexpected guests turn up
You know what it’s like when you are suddenly having unexpected guests and you have to throw something together for them to eat. Well you won’t get a speedier pudding than this! I think most gardeners that grow at least a little of their own food have a clump of rhubarb, as it’s one of the easiest foods to grow. Give it a sunny or slightly shady spot, chuck some well rotted manure on every year, and it will grow happily producing enough rhubarb to stew and freeze to last all winter. If said guests turn up in the winter, just grab a portion out of the freezer and pop…
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Stewed Rhubarb & Yogurt – Breakfast of Gods!
A week ago on Gardeners World, Monty Don said, “I think rhubarb just lightly stewed with yogurt, is a breakfast of Gods”. Well Monty, I couldn’t agree more! As a little girl, when my dad harvested the first rhubarb of the year, and my mum turned it into a crumble. I really couldn’t understand the appeal. But now… I am a total convert to rhubarb, and despite all the recipes I make with it, including savoury ones. I think Monty is correct, there’s nothing nicer than stewed rhubarb and yogurt, it’s delicious! My favourite yogurt to have with it is by Yeo Valley, their organic Lemon Curd yogurt. It compliments…
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How to Grow Potatoes in a Container
Trust me, growing potatoes, particularly in a container, is easier than you think! You should have a plate of delicious potatoes with butter melting all over them, just 2-3 months after planting. There really is nothing like the taste of homegrown potatoes, especially the first potatoes of the season. These are called ‘first earlies’, which simply means the first of the year. Sometimes gardening jargen can be off-putting, making you think that gardening is much more difficult than it really is. Contrary to what you may think, you don’t actually need special equipment to grow your own. You mainly need some compost or soil, some seeds or plants, and if…
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New years resolution? Get rid of the weeds!
What new years resolutions have you made? And do you think you’re going to stick to them? My only thought for a resolution, is to try and get back on top of the weeds this year! No Weeds in the Flower Borders I’ve honestly never really had a problem with weeds, until the last couple of years. This is mainly because I use a mulch of bark on my flower borders. It’s something I’ve been doing for as far back as I can remember and it really works! I only do it every other year and this is the year, as it’s rotted down to the point where you can…
