Harvest Cookup

 You can see the above photo on yesterday's post.

 I really didn't intend to 'process' all the veggies - I ache from yesterday's hard physical work up the allotment!

 But I decided to get them done whilst still absolutely fresh with the help of Mr Lottie

When we sorted out the potatoes there were lots of tiny ones - and we couldn't just throw them away, so Mr L washed them and I put them into the mix as well.

Absolutely delicious roasted vegetable mixes are such joy in the dark winter months.
 So I shall be busy tomorrow weighing and bagging these

 Remember the big trays with lids that the school dinner ladies used

Well I cooked three trays full - they were  heaped up high and gradually cooked down

 This bowl is as large as a  big washing up bowl!
I just don't have any more energy left to bag them up tonight.

 

Apart from the contents of the wheelbarrow 

 

Here are some of the ingredients that went into the mix.

I used all the above plus.........

Tiny potatoes that most folks would throw away

Fresh Oregano from the garden

                            Onions                   (33p)

                            Celery                    (49p)

2 large jars of roasted red peppers    (£3.58)

4 tins economy chopped tomatoes    (£1.24)

                          Total                        £5.64

A provisonal guess would be that I have 10lb - 15lb of roasted veggies here - enough for 20 - 30 meals  - not bad for an outlay of £5.64 is it!

I have used 8oz today which I added to 1lb lamb mince, with mint sauce and mushrooms and made a delicious huge Shepherds Pie topped with creamy mash made with more of the little potatoes and have half the mince mix in  the freezer for another meal.

Edited

I got up early and bagged the mix up and popped it in the freezer

20lb 12oz

Yummy

2012 Allotment Diary - Me: 81 hrs He: 68 hrs

 Lots of squash still needed picking on this plant

 The potato plot is looking a bit parched

The soil was rock hard - but we decided to attack the weeds and have another go at digging up spuds

 I dug up the weeds

 And made a big pile for a bonfire

 Mr Lottie dug up the spuds - we have one more row to dig up hence the yellow marker

 We have a nice row of parsnips to look forward too.

 How parched the lawn looks now that I have mowed it!

Another pile of courgettes, squash and marrow to roast.

How  I missed that huge marrow last time I do not know!

 

Potatoes left out for a few hours in the sun for their skins to harden.

We were rather disappointed with the yield from tow and a half rows.

But we realised how lucky we were, as everyone else had Blight or their crops were ruined by slugs!

So the mere fact that we had a crop of maincrop spuds at all is a miracle.

We are still eating our early Rocket potatoes - which are larger than these and gorgeous!

 Whilst I was working my socks off, grading and putting into sacks my pototoes

 

My chickens were 'chilling out' under the hedges - nice life huh?

I made a bag too!!!

Last month I went to a flower arranging workshop and had such fun making this

 This took me absolutely ages to make - about three hours, but it will be quicker next time now that I know how to do it.

 And you need to be so patient to tear and weave aspidistra leaves and pin them into the shape you want. You can use any leaves actually - I chose these hoping that it might be quicker, rather than using small individual leaves!
 I liked the dried poppy heads - if you use them remember to shake the seeds out first - or you'll get covered with them as I did!

 Foliage (with the exception of the aspidistra of course) from the garden, and the lavender too.

On the reverse of the bag I used eleagnus leaves - in reverse - they look like leather.  

The handles are plaited crocosmia leaves.

You'll need two block of floral foam either held together with kebab sticks or glued when dry with a hot gun.  Oh, and if you shape the block before covering you get a realistic shaped bag.

Once the flowers wilted after a couple of weeks, I put the bag out side under cover - and it's going lovely shades of brown as it's drying out

2012 Allotment Diary - Me: 78 hrs He: 65.hrs

I have been spending lots of time up the allotment but frankly have been so worn out when I have finished working that I haven't had the energy to type up posts!

At it's worst after the weeks of rain, the paths and potato bed grew weeds which shot up in such a short time.  But it didn't take me long to sort it out bit by  bit.

These photos were taken when it was work in progress

I haven't had time to take photos since - there has been so much work to do.

The comfrey which I cut right to the ground a couple of months ago has shot up!

It took several 'goes' to get the paths this short

The climbing beans have been amazing, with non stop cropping.

It has taken me many, many hours of picking, stringing, cutting, blanching, bagging and freezing.

Just three plants here - and since this photo they have got even bigger

I have picked so many squashes, courgettes, pumpkins - of all shapes and sizes

These are the last of the green ones - I had already picked a trug full of yellow ones.

It is so nice to have it under control again!

Here is yet another batch of mixed veggies ready to go in the ovens to be roasted.

To date I have roasted over 50 pounds of mixed vegetables, peppers, tomatoes, beans, onions, garlic, all sorts.

Quite a lot of these scrummy  crumbles which never last long!

Think I/we will have to spend more time up the lottie this weekend - digging up yet more potatoes as we are due rain next week.

2012 Allotment Diary - Me: 63 hrs He: 54.5.hrs

My, things have changed up the allotment since I last posted photos.  I have been visiting in between rain storms and the odd day of sunshine.

6th July we very excitedly harvested our first potatoes of the year - Rocket - these were from one plant.

I remember how excited we were - you can't beat your first meal with the first new potatoes of the year. Since then we have harvested a whole sack full and they are still as buttery and creamy as these first ones.

In less than an hour from digging them up, I had made lunch with them  Salmon shanties, our own salads, and to this we added tomatoes, cucumber, beetroot,coleslaw and mayonnaise.

 For a couple of weeks we had tremendous downpours every day and storms, and even a hailstone storm with ice balls the size of marbles that covered our lawns!

 So we couldn't get up the allotment, so I kept myself busy

baking yet more bread puddings for the freezer, and 'processing' the harvests of pounds and pounds of gooseberries, blackcurrants, broad beans etc.

Too much stuff to post I'm afraid.    

So, at the weekend after two weeks of blistering sunshine, I went up in the evening to water the courgettes and squash and do some hoeing.

Some of the late sown parsnips have germinated nicely.

 Despite all the rain we'd had - after a few days the soil was parched

 These and the photo below, are the ones I planted surrounded

 by the green 'jackets' which you can see in a few posts below this one

The soil up the allotment goes from rich manured soil to dust

 just in a few days, but I planted the last of my squashes as we were due rain

 I had removed the shredded leaves of the plants damaged by the hailstorm and new ones have grown.

 I know it's a lot of courgettes and squash plants but last year

I had my whole lot stolen when we went away for just a few days, so this year I am planting loads at different times to 'hedge my bet', and have just harvested my first batch as can see in the post below, and made a lovely batch of 5lbs of ratatouille.

I also harvested my onion crop - just in time as they were nice and ripe - and luckily I did as the storm broke the next day.

Hello - I'm back!

I have been a bit lax at updating this blog - I've had so much to contend with - apart from torrential rain, flooding, roof leaks and appointments.

I have been up the allotment inbetween all the above but had either not the time nor the energy to blog - so will be doing some catch up posts this week hopefully now things are calming down.

Yesterday I harvested the first batch of courgettes and squash and onions so did a big batch cook.

 My absolute favourite way of eating veggies - roasted into a ratatouille.

I make pounds and pounds and pounds of it over the summer - enough to last all winter until the new season's crops are ready to harvest again.  I just have one bag of last year's left!

So in the mix goes diced onions, courgettes, marrows, squash, pumpkins when they are ready, tomatoes when I have a surplus, if not then tins of chopped tomatoes, roasted big red peppers - these I buy in jar as they are so delicious and you get loads.  In this mix I have new potatoes as well and some sliced carrots too.

We had a pound of it with our lunch yesterday and here is 5lb which I packed and popping in the freezer this morning.

Yummy scrummy

Willow's makeover

Willow - my tiny weenie white Barbu d'Uccle  bantam, had been looking decidely muddy underneath.  She has long feathers on her feet and underneath her body - so I decided she needed a bath!

I expected her to put up a bit of a fight - hence my towel!

 But she didn't' - she absolutely loved it.   I chatted to her all the time,

And massaged all the mud off her - the water was filthy by the time I finished.

 I took her indoors, and she had another nice rinse in the kitchen sink.  As you can see she looked a  bit bedraggled right after - but a lot whiter! I took her into my garden studio, wrapped in a lovely warm towel, and talked quietly to her while I rubbed her dry.  She chirruped back to me all the time - and didn't even make a fuss when I trimmed her feathered feet and soft 'under carriage' feathers.

Just a word of warning if  you do this at home - be very very careful when trimming feathers - either wings of others.  If you cut into the feather shaft, not only will it hurt the chicken but will also bleed!  And could of course get infected.

So the above is Willow after her trim.

She sat on my lap on another warm towel and ate a handful of mixed corn from my hand and kept chirping away to me, and had a little doze.

Then she heard the rest of the flock so I put her down on the floor and out she went to join them in the evening sunshine!