organic vegetable gardening courses, growing tips and homegrown recipes.
... the leftovers. Apart from the first meal, there's enough meat to make lots of individual pies. Then there's stock from the bones to make lurid green watercress soup or spicy winter leek and potato soup. Here's Rodriguez, the Rhode Island red rooster, and his wives. Mabel (the one black hen), as ever aloof, still sleeps up in a tree rather … [Read more...]
Pies make a small amount of meat go a long way in a delicious and portable reincarnation. Short crust pastry is quick and easy to make yourself, but you could substitute boughten puff pastry if you prefer. You can use any left-over meat from a roast such as chicken, lamb or beef. These pies freeze well and reheat, once de-frosted, in about 15 … [Read more...]
I don't bother layering the filo pastry with melted butter - just paint some olive oil on the top with a pastry brush before baking. If you find your pastry has got too crumbly to make parcels (which can happen when you've defrosted it), you can make these in muffin tins - use the scraps to line the tin and top with a few more pieces of pastry. … [Read more...]
Some rhubarb recipes use a pitifully small quantity of rhubarb. This gingerbread does justice to the fruity stem. A cake that would do well as a dessert served in squares with vanilla icecream, cream or custard. I divide the cake in two and freeze half as it's too moist to keep well. The remaining half stays in squares in the fridge. … [Read more...]
I've tried three alternative cocoa varieties after being disappointed by the offerings from both Cadbury and Nestle in the supermarket. Left to right: Trade Aid Fair Trade (available from Trade Aid shops) Blooker Valrhona (available online from Sabato) - by far the best colour, taste and texture. I discovered afterwards that 'dutched' cocoa … [Read more...]
I'm still picking crops from the garden despite not seeing the sun for what seems like weeks. Last week it was cavalo nero (black kale), florence fennel, parsley, red russian kale and leeks. I'm also picking celery by the stick - fresh every day for a salad rather than a whole head of celery turning brown in the salad drawer. I prune my fruit … [Read more...]
