Harvest Monday - bits n bobs & a walk up on the coast

There's not been too much happening veggie-wise this week but I have sown some cress in a tub on the window sill. The paper towel kept drying out so I've kept a lid on it, which has worked ok I think. I should've had a quick read on the web first to get some tips before giving it a go, I'm not sure if I sowed it thickly enough. Hopefully the leaves will bulk up soon anyway. Egg and cress sarnies anyone?

My only harvest from the plot this week has been corn salad, I love the dark green leaves. I've found that the plants which are growing closely together are the nicer ones to pick as they haven't been splashed by soil, so are quite clean (though they do seem more likely to have little slugs hiding away amongst the leaves). We made our own hummus again and had sprouted beans too - I've now got three different jars on the go at various stages of sprouting so we can have a more regular supply.

I brought a few more onions home from the allotment shed. They've lasted us pretty well this winter. On the plot I still have some leeks to harvest plus some chard and a bit of kale, a few beetroot and parsnips and actually some potatoes I didn't lift earlier. I wonder if they might have started shooting though, it's been so mild. I'll have a dig around sometime soon.

In the freezer I still have lots of fruit to keep us going quite a while longer. Here's a big tub we defrosted the other day. It doesn't look very exciting but tastes very nice! I think it's mainly apples, blackberries and raspberries, plus a bit of my old jam as a sweetener.

Usually we have it with muesli for breakfast but with this huge tub I've also just been snacking on it with yogurt.

And yes, I did then have another bowl straight afterwards, with some homemade spiced apple cake to top it off! We had our friends and their kids round yesterday to watch Labyrinth on DVD (none of them had seen it before.....can you believe it, a classic 80s film) and made lots of goodies to snack on....and well, there was still some cake left today, mmm.

I have to confess, that I did make two spiced apple cakes - we have new neighbours and were going to take one round for them as a welcome....but then our friends arrived and it seemed like we just needed a little bit more cake to enjoy with the film....so I will have to make another one soon for them instead ...oops!

 

A trip to the coast

On my non-working day this week the sun was shining and we decided we were due a trip up to the beautiful North Norfolk coast. The train journey takes about an hour from Norwich to sheringham, and there was gorgeous sun shining the whole way. Of course, when the train pulled in at sheringham the clouds steadily appeared and lingered the rest of the day, darn. But we had a lovely walk anyway (and managed a bit of bird watching and geocaching whilst we were at it)

You're pretty much guaranteed to see lots of cute turnstones at sheringham, I love those little birds.

They're quite tame too

Heading west from sheringham on the Norfolk Coast Path is one of my favourite views in the county, even on a cloudy day

Looking back to sheringham. The gorse was all in flower too.

We were doing an inland loop, picking up Sheringham Park, owned by the National Trust, which neither us had visited before. Along the way were a couple of pillboxes from the Second World War (lots of them all along the coast here). This one had a surprise inside...

Spot the painting of a soldier peeping out

This structure is called the gazebo, (though it's not what I think of as one.) it's on top of a hill, so you climb the hill then climb the gazebo, a good test for the legs and lungs! As the day had turned dull I didn't take any photos from the top but there's a fantastic view from above the gnarly oak tree canopy.

After a wander around Sheringham Park (historic parkland cross-crossed with paths) we headed back via Upper Sheringham, a small pretty village which used to be bigger than Sheringham, until the railways linked though to Sheringham itself which then grew into a popular Victorian seaside town.

In Upper Sheringham they've still got a historic reservoir at the centre of the village, which was flowing nicely

It's just in front of the impressive church, and there's still a red phone box too

We'll have to do that walk again sometime, it seemed like it would be a nice one to do at different times of the year.

 

Ok, that's me for the week, linking in with Harvest Monday, hosted this month by Michelle at From Seed to Table.

 

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