So last week I lifted the first of my leeks from the plot. I sow these quite late (in pots) and then plant out after I've harvested all my early potatoes (which takes me a while). Although the leeks don't get particularly big it means they miss the leek moth caterpillars (which have munched their way through my onions and leeks in the past.) I also don't really have space to plant them out any earlier so works out quite well.
I like to use the better quality dark green bits as well as the main shank - might as well make the most of it and I think it has a good flavour. It's a bit tougher than the lighter coloured parts so either needs cutting up a bit smaller or cooking slightly longer. We made a soupy thing in the slow cooker with some chard I picked from the plot, plus leftover roasted squash...it was rather yummy
On Wednesday (my non-working day) it was actually sunny so I spent a couple of good hours on the plot....lovely. Though as soon as the sun dropped it got a bit too cold to be weeding. It was due to rain lots more over the next few days so I harvested a few goodies while I could.....some beetroot, chard, a surprisingly big parsnip, more corn salad and a couple of small red onions from the shed.
Not bad. These and the parsnip were originally sown in late spring inbetween my rows of autumn broad beans. Because of the shade from the beans, the undercrops grow slowly until the bean plants have been harvested and cut away (I leave the bean roots in the soil to break down and release nutrients) but then get away nicely.
Nice to have some greenery from the corn salad - it sows itself around everywhere so I don't need to remember to do it myself :)
We had a tasty roast yesterday, with the beetroot (though I actually decided to wrap the beetroot in a bundle of tin foil with a splash of oil)
All home grown apart from the hummus (but I did make the hummus from dried chickpeas cooked in the slow cooker - a first for me and if I've done my maths right it works out about half the price of canned beans). We liberally sprinkled home-made cider vinegar over the potatoes and parsnips too, yummy.
Yesterday was also a lovely sunny day but instead of heading to the plot we decided to go geocaching again. We're lucky to be right near the city centre but also in walking distance of the countryside, so headed down the long hill to Trowse (a village on the edge of Norwich) and through the woods round to whitlingham country park.
We've walked past these places loads of times but would never imagine the things hidden away nearby!
Ladybird cache (called a bishybarnabee in Norfolk)
In the base of a brick
A suspicious-looking branch inbetween some roots
Aha, the cache!
I spotted some 'king Alfred's cakes' fungi on the underside of a fallen tree. Not edible unfortunately!
But pretty cool - named after king Alfred's burnt cakes. And I wouldn't have noticed them if we hadn't been looking for a cache nearby. I wonder what else we'll find next time! I'm going to read-up again on wild harvests to see what to look out for in spring.
So it was a great, free day out and made us enjoy a familiar route in a different way (although I felt a tad guilty about not being at the allotment....well, it's only January eh!)
That's it from me for the week, linking in with Harvest Monday, kindly hosted in January by Michelle at From Seed to Table
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Ooh, beets! I have never been very successful with any but will keep trying as they are so good! And your "soupy things" always sound so healthy and tasty, I should dig my slow cooker out now and then.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever eaten mushrooms you found in the wild? I'm too nervous about it. A friend cooked up a puffball mushroom that he foraged and I loved it; but when I found one in my own backyard, I was afraid to eat it.
Thanks Susie. Our slow cooker was on top of the cupboard gathering dust for several years until recently. I'm really pleased we've started using it!
DeleteI've had puffball a long time ago but didn't cook it very well and it wasn't very nice. I would try it again though, probably in an omelette or similar. I haven't picked any other wild mushrooms though - too scary. Though jelly ear is a pretty unique mushroom and not confused with anything else so I'd give that a go - it grows on elder. I've also been on a fungi foray (guided walk) a long while back, where an expert had made a lovely soup for us all. I don't think I'll ever have that kind of knowledge though.
Lovely harvests and good eats! Your soupy thing is just the thing at this time of year, I make things like that quite often, it's always so satisfying. I'm envious of those leeks, mine were so horrible this year that I've decided to not even try growing them again.
ReplyDeleteThanks Michelle, the soupy thing had a really good flavour, especially as at the end of cooking we added a (defrosted) bag of rocket pesto from the freezer. I only have two bags left though now so will use them sparingly.
DeleteI was quite happy with the leeks - small but lots of flavour. Still a few more to harvest. Ah it's a shame you didn't have any luck. I gave up on garlic for a few years after a very bad crop (mould) but had another go last year with okay results so might be worth giving your leeks another try in a few years.
I like the "soupy things" you make. Anything with beans in it is good for me! I once found a geocache by mistake when I was hunting for fungi. I didn't really understand what it was until someone told me about this hobby.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark, yep beans are a good addition :) We're going to see what other dried pulses we can get in bulk and have a go at them too, hopefully kidney beans at least (I know it's important to rapid-boil them though as otherwise they're poisonous).
DeleteNon-geocachers are apparently called muggles, (like non-wizards in Harry Potter)!
I'm like Mark and not at all familiar with geocaching.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen that black fungus but it is very appropriately named.
Hi sue, geocaching is like a treasure hunt - the caches are hidden all over the place (and all over the world). There's a smartphone app or you can use a posh GPS device, which gives you a point on a map near where the cache is so you go to that location. Then the name of the cache usually gives you a bit of a clue as to what to look for plus there's usually a hint to the exact location. The brick one we found had a clue to do with the three little pigs and it not being straw, so I was looking out for brick or sticks. It sounds a bit wierd but is fun once you get into it, honest.
DeleteSo once you read the clue are you supposed to put it back where you found it?
DeleteHi sue, sorry I didn't explain it very well. The clue to the location is online or on the app, the piece of paper in the cache is to write your name on (though a lot we've found recently have been too damp to write on) plus you also log on the web / app that you've found the cache. You put the cache and piece of paper back for other people to find then use the app to choose the next one to look for. Some of the bigger caches have other things in them that you can swap (e,g a little toy) or some f them have 'travel bugs' in which have been set a mission to get somewhere else - often another country - so people move them between caches to help them on their way. Lots of the caches' details online have extra interesting info about their location e.g heritage or nature info, so there's a bit of an educational element too. Anyway, I'd better get to work, sadly!
DeleteHappy New Year to you Lou.
ReplyDeleteNot bad at all - love the leeks and the beet!
Not much has survived in our backyard, except some chard and pleased to report some white sprouting broccoli which I hope to showcase next week.
Happy New Year to you too Shaheen :)
DeleteChard's good - it should hopefully give you some spring greens. And white spriouting broccoli is pretty special, lovely. My one PSB plant on the allotment is a long way off producing any heads.
Well, that's quite the nice harvest for this time of year! I've not had much luck with corn salad - maybe if I eventually get some going, it will self-seed for me as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Margaret, the corn salad originated from some that I sowed but which starting bolting because it was very hot and dry. So instead of picking any I let it go to seed (it has masses of seed) and now it just comes back each time and I let few plants go to seed each year to keep the cycle going. So a sort of mistake turned into something good :)
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