Thursday 1 July 2010

Harvests

Salad leaf bed in garden for regular picking -
lettuces, dandelion, sorrel, tree spinach, mixed leaves

It's so nice to harvest home grown food, fresh for meals, tasting much nicer than shop bought. We're picking lots of leaves for salads at the moment - mixed lettuce leaves, spicy saladini, red veined dandelion, red veined sorrel, herbs and it's all so lovely.

Broad Bean harvesting

The Broad Beans have all finished now all picked and eaten or preserved for another day. We had a lovely bumper crop of these this year and the blackfly only started to appear right at the end when we were picking the last beans off. We planted these in October last year and they overwintered brilliantly, then in Spring we pinched out the shoots (and ate them in salads I must add and they were lovely) while the bean pods continued to grow. Maybe this helped keep away the blackfly, although it looks for a 2nd year that our runner beans are suffering to them, so they will have to recover and be a late cropper again this year. Broad beans are so loved in this house we plan to plant lots more for next year, maybe double or even more.

So lots of broad beans have made it to the plate, sauteed with sage butter (one of my faves), in tortillas (Spanish omelette), and more. I also made a lovely raw humus with some a few times, with sprouted seeds we have been doing. It was absolutely yummy, not sure the picture does it justice but here it is.

raw humus

Also picking some lovely strawberries, although not many as we transplanted these a little late, and some are still in pots too - but a few lovely ones and add to that the numerous wild ones that have just naturalised and spread along the bank in the back garden ... it's like a carpet. We are sharing these little beauties with some of the local wildlife though too who I often see popping by to have a pick.

Strawberries in pots

wild strawberries - small but incredible flavour


Lots of other wonderful things growing, the fruit trees are abundant and should hopefully give us a lovely bumper crop. It will be interesting to see how many apples we get from the tree that was in our back garden when we moved here - the squirrels usually take the lot, this year there are more apples than I have ever seen on it so I'm hoping they may leave some. Hope to share some pictures of the other things growing soon.

3 comments:

  1. Mmm, that all looks very lovely and tasty. The raw humus in particular.... love humus! I love this time of year when everything is growing and fresh!

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  2. Isn't picking your own crop magical! we have a wulnut tree that the squirrels love so i will have to keep an eye on my apples too - thanks for the tip.

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  3. Hi Dawn,

    It always surprises me how much better homegrown fruits and vegetables taste compared to the store-bought kind. And since the veggies are so flavorful already, the dishes you make can be simple enough that kids can help out in the kitchen. What better way is there to get them to appreciate you garden’s harvest while teaching them important skills, such as teamwork, following instructions, and even math? And kids who eat meals together with their families do better in school and are less likely to be obese. That’s why I work for The Kids Cook Monday, a new program started by the Healthy Monday campaigns that encourages families to prepare and eat meals together. To find out more about the benefits of cooking and eating together, check out our website at http://www.healthymonday.org/the-kids-cook-monday/

    We’re looking for families to take on the challenge of cooking together each week and sharing their experiences on their blogs. If you’re interested in getting involved, please email me at TheKidsCookMonday@gmail.com. Thanks!

    Mayo

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