Crops are growing scarily quickly. I have harvested radish already. I'm now radished out, they burnt my mouth and I can't roast them or fry them in butter. I have eaten a huge batches of lettuce (soup/salad/sandwiches). I pick off the outer leaves of my Kale every day. The kale gets distributed frequently to my one vegan friend and another normal friend. I am currently harvesting a few courgettes too before they grow into marrows (who knew?) and these are still tiny and sweet as I don't have the patience for them to grow to normal but not marrow size. I just fry those in butter and scoff. Not sure whether I'll ever get enough of a glut to make a chutney or a soup at this rate.
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| from L-R globe artichoke-golden courgette-beetroot fennel-little gem lettuce-plum tomatoes |
I know enough to know that courgette flowers are a delicacy. I've never eaten them. Never even seen them for sale but any half decent Italian restaurant (in Italy) will have these on the menu. I go first thing in the morning when the flowers are fully open. I learn that I should not pick the females as the courgette attached to them will not continue to grow so I go searching for males. The males are in the minority, obviously, these seeds are bred to breed. Voila! I pick the heads, look up a BBC recipe online and stuff them with ricotta and lemon, in a batter then deep fry. No-one else in my household wants to try these so I stuff them and then myself. I don't eat batter these days. Don't really do much of the anything flour, bread or wheat thing these days. This is a real treat.
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| Flower to Mouth via cheese & fat 💗 |
My sweet peas are in full bloom. These have to be picked every day to ensure a continuous bloom. No hardship there. The scent is divine and the recipients of a picked bunch are always thrilled. I keep some for myself but I love distributing them even more. I have a wildflower bed too, the insects are loving this. The sunflowers have taken over but underneath are pretty little wildflowers. They could well be weeds. I am not dealing with that. They can live amongst the wildflower for the time being. My plot neighbour and I are always wondering whether we have pulled out a little growing delicacy or a weed. We err on the side of weed . If we don't recognise it and can't eat it straight away off it goes.
 I've got a lovely bunch of sweet peas |
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My sister comes to visit the allotment today. It's a red letter day. She's a real gardener and she has grown things before. She immediately pulls up huge weeds in my sweet pea bed that I had nurtured as some kind of bean as I have sown peas, beans and flowers in this bed, and informs me that in fact growing beautifully around my trellis in in fact bindweed. Joy. Tonight's job.
