Well, today has been incredibly warm and quite calm, in contrast to most of the recent weather that's been windy, windy, windy (with a hint of rain). There was a bit of respite yesterday too and before an afternoon at the allotment, I cycled to Whitlingham Country Park again. This time I took the iPad and got some pics. Incredible that this is just outside Norwich, and only 10 mins cycle from my house!
And another contrast, some not quite so photogenic potatoes! I discovered more as I was planting out my sweetcorn this week. I mean, how could I have missed these too?
They went into several meals - a tasty soup (it looks a bit boring but was was nice, honest)
The next day I picked some chard and....some asparagus! I added it to soup leftovers to make a spring veggie soup (plus some bought mange tout)
More of the potatoes went with pie and leek.
I picked some overwintered rocket from the back garden
For my packed lunch which I took to the allotment yesterday
So also yesterday, looking around the plot, there was so much marjoram popping up everywhere (which I usually just let go to flower because the bees love it, and it's very pretty). Jan had managed to get down the plot for the first time in ages (she's hardly left the house over the last few months as she's been ill with a thyroid problem that finally seems to be getting sorted) and whilst enjoying listening to the birdies singing for a bit of nature therapy she looked up what can be done with it (the wonders of the smartphone!) It goes with many things including eggs and potatoes, so.....
The marjoram
Went with some shooting brassicas...
And I fried these up with more of the cooked potatoes and some onion and mushroom
..cracked in a couple of eggs and served with a side of the largest and best condition purple sprouting broccoli leaves I could find (These were actually very tasty too and I might have a look and see if there are any more before I pull the plants out for the next crop). The marjoram gets added right at the end of the cooking, so you don't lose all the good oils etc (according to the web, which is always true)
And finally, tonight I made my new regular meal, cauliflower curry, with more overwintered chard
Mmm
Oh, I forgot, I also had a couple of sticks of rhubarb from last week, so added some marmalade and toasted some flaked almonds. Double mmmm.
Phew, that was a long post! Linking in with Harvest Monday on Daphne's Dandelions
Posted with Blogsy
Mmm, lots of deliciousness, you've been eating well. I found loads of potatoes I missed last year as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks CJ, I must've been in a rush when I dug up the potatoes first time round!
DeleteNothing boring about a good homemade vegetable soup
ReplyDeleteThanks sue, I do like a nice soup. If we eat out I always go for the soup too :)
DeletePotatoes are always so easy to miss. When I grew them I'd always find sprouts coming up where they grew. And you are killing me with all those food photos. I haven't had breakfast yet and I'm starving.
ReplyDeleteHa ha, thanks Daphne
DeleteWell, you are certainly getting your "Five a Day"! I have become disillusioned with Marjoram. Most of it seems to have no flavour at all.
ReplyDeleteHehe, thanks Mark. But I wonder if all the chocolate cancels out the veggies? The majoram on my plot came in by itself originally, presumably from someone else's plot nearby. When I nibbled on a bit at the allotment I didn't like the flavour (it was too strong) but when I added it into the dish it was much nicer, It's got quite a fresh minty-ish flavour, we had some more tonight with poached eggs on toast :)
DeleteHow lucky you are to live near such a beautiful setting! You made some wonderful meals from some fantastic ingredients. I noticed that you cooked the leek on it's own as a side dish - I've only ever used it as part of a dish in the same way as you would use onions. How do you prepare it?
ReplyDeleteThank you Margaret. Because of the way Norwich has developed, where we live is really good as it's right near the medieval city centre but also really close to the countryside. In fact, there's two towers of the medieval city wall just over the road! The country park is popular so it's nice to go early before too many people are around.
DeleteWith the leek, I just slice it and then soften in a shallow pan of water. You could use butter too or instead of the water (I usually add a little bit of butter when it's on the plate). If there's lots of green stem, I cut that a bit thinner than the light part and start cooking that first as it's a bit tougher (but lots of flavour). The majoram would probably go nicely with it actually! I might try that another time.
The country park looks lovely, so nice to have it nearby. I have never tasted marjoram so no idea what it's like. Amazing the number of veggies and herbs etc in the world and how many I've never tried (and probably just as many that I've never even heard of). Rhubarb with marmalade sounds yummy ... I think I'm still a week or two away from harvesting mine.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susie, I'm pretty bad at using fresh herbs so it's nice to actually make something with marjoram. Having said that, since then I keep forgetting to use it! We have lots of jars of marmalade stored up (presents from people) so it's a good way to use it up, a nice flavour combination. I bet you can't wait for your first rhubarb pickings!
Delete