Redcurrants

I was never the biggest fan of redcurrants in the past. Perhaps the available varieties were more bitter then the blackcurrants I loved. When we took over our allotment, we inherited 2 blackcurrant bushes and one redcurrant. I have to say, that the redcurrants have always been better fruiters and far sweeter to the palette.

After two years of leaving them to get on with it, we’re going to make sure we prune properly this autumn, as the bushes are starting to look straggly. It’s also quite difficult reaching to the other side, for the leggy wooden growth in the middle. I will have to research if there are pruning groups and what the suggested rules are.

Even after 2 afternoons stripping currants, there were still enough to do something useful with. So Damian set to and decided to make some redcurrant jelly.

Method:

Add sugar to the washed redcurrants in a pan.
Cover with water.
Boil vigorously for a while.
Once the mixture is reduced, strain through a muslin to remove the
pips etc.
Decant the jelly to sterilised jars and leave to set.

The result; two jars of the (naturally) sweetest redcurrant jelly that complements many lunches, salads and even cooked dinners.

Buying locally

We are huge advocates of buying locally, and, that’s not as easy living in the UK as say Australia, never mind in the north.

We are busy planting our seedlings up at the allotment, but are far from harvesting much beyond salad leaves. I stopped in at Booths in Ilkley on my way home last week, and was delighted to see not only Yorkshire grown asparagus, but also sweet peppers. I also picked up some Yorkshire Fettle (Dales-made Feta like cheese) and British spinach and created a fabulous dish for the children in about 15 minutes. I was so pleased, I thought I’d share.

I deseeded the peppers and washed them without drying them. I placed them under the grill and turned every couple of minutes. I then stuffed them with spinach leaves and cheese. They went back under a low grill until the cheese melted, and the juices wilted the spinach beautifully.

I served with steamed asparagus and toasted pine nuts on top of pasta.

I was disappointed to discover that the pine nuts I buy from our Health Food shop are imported from China, but I felt we could allow that extravagance given the few food miles the majority of our dish had traveled.

Having been served a lattice of asparagus drizzled with clarified butter once in a London restaurant and simply loving it, I clarified some of our vegan spread (we use Pure sunflower) and added some freshly-picked chopped oregano and sage from the herb garden and drizzled on top.

The boys loved it, as did we! And this is seasonal food at its finest…can’t wait for the allotment to start burgeoning!

Recycling eggshells

I’ve known about sprinkling broken eggshells around young plants for a while, but until last year I wasn’t sure how to reuse my eggshells in such a way.

Last summer we spent a disastrous fortnight camping in Wales, the weather was awful. We did visit my Great Aunt in Swansea for the day however, who told me what she does with her eggshells. So simple and obvious really, but now I know it works I’m happy to make my own.

She keeps an old baking tin at the bottom of her oven and puts used shells in it. So when the oven is on, it bakes them.

I’ve found the smell of baking eggshells a little unpleasant, so I tend to keep the tray to bake in the other oven. When I remember, I put the tray in the hot oven after removing the cooked food so that the shells bake in the cooling oven. I usually do this twice, just to make sure they are brittle enough.

They then get crumbled and stored in a tub for use in the garden.

In terms of effectiveness against slugs and snails, well I wouldn’t rely on eggshells alone to prevent favourite young plants being eaten. But every barrier helps, and the eggshell pieces can always be dug into the soil after the season.

This photo implies we eat A LOT of eggs On the contrary, actually. We had omlette tonight for the first time since the start of lent. The broken shells are about 8 months worth of eggs.

Fresh Focaccia

It’s a shame I can’t share the fabulous smell of freshly baking bread & rosemary with you. It’s filling the house and eliciting the anticipation of the summer months.

Focaccia dough with rosemary sprigs

Damian put a batch of white dough on before work, and I’ve just prepared it by flouring the surface, shaping it and liberally pouring olive oil over it. I think it goes so well with rosemary, so have added a few sprigs from the plant I harvested over the weekend.

Rosemary does grow big and leggy, so rather than sticking with our 6 year old plant, I’ve cut off all usable sprigs, rinsed and put them in a freezer bag and into the freezer. Before using, I stand them in room temperature water.

We have a new rosemary plant in the edibles bed I planted yesterday.

The oil we are using at the moment is Equal Exchange Palestinian Extra Virgin Olive Oil which we found in a Fair Trade shop in a church in Oxford. I have have to look for some up here as it is lovely, quite peppery. And it’s nice to know that while we are enjoying it, we are benefiting a much needed community project in Palestine.

My new favourite dish

Damian decided we needed a proper barbecue so we could best enjoy our newly reorganised space outside. After looking into the differences between gas and charcoal, we decided a charcoal model would probably work out best for us. We won’t have that many opportunities throughout the year as nice weather and weekends don’t often coincide in Yorkshire. We went for a Weber kettle drum, a classic design.

We noticed some rather nice accessories for the Weber barbecues, and we decided to get the pizza stone. It’s made from Danish blue granite, and it will be fine in our gas oven too.

Two nights ago, we fired up the barbecue, made some pizza dough and Damian crafted a pizza for us. It took a long time to cook, but that may have been down to the charcoal not burning evenly (I think we need to experiment with different types) but I have to say, it was worth the wait as it tasted phenomenal. It took me straight back to the open air restaurant in a Frascati piazza Dad took me and my sister to, where the pizzas were served straight from their outdoor wood fire ovens. It’s not just the smoky flavour to the dough, it somehow seems to accentuate the individual flavours in the topping too.

I can’t wait until the next time we have a warm evening to try it again.

Pizza barbecued on the pizza stone

It’s cheating a little bit posting this here as we haven’t grown any of these ingredients! We use organic stoneground bread flour to make our bread and dough, an organic tomato sauce, such as Seeds of Change (if we have no time to make our own), organic baby spinach, and Italian cherry tomatoes. We also dotted pieces of goat’s cheese on this one. We would normally use lashings of basil too, but they had sold out in town and we haven’t sown ours yet. We served with rocket.

Valentine’s Dinner 2009

These days we love to stay in and have dinner after the children have gone to bed. This year, we had a fabulous vegan dinner, cooked by Damian.

Asparagus Pithivier with Watercress Sauce

~Starter~

Asparagus Pithivier served with Watercress Sauce

~Main~

Artichoke, Green Bean & Pine Nut Risotto

~Dessert~

Chocolate Espresso and Roasted Pecan Torte

Dessert wine to complement the Chocolate Pudding

PITHIVIERS
225g/8oz ready rolled puff pastry sheet
15ml/1tbsp soya milk (to glaze)
25g/1oz sesame seeds

WATERCRESS SAUCE
25g/1oz soya margarine
3 spring onions
300ml/1/2pt vegetable stock
2 bunches of watercress
salt and freshly ground pepper

FILLING
1 clove of garlic, unpeeled
100g/4oz bunch asparagus, chopped into 5cm/2in pieces
4 baby sweetcorn, chopped into 5cm/2in pieces 25g/1oz soya margarine 25g/1oz unbleached flour 180ml/6floz soya milk
45ml/11/2 floz vegetarian white wine
50g/2oz pine nuts, roasted then ground
2.5ml/1tsp mustard
handful fresh, flat leaf parsley, chopped (reserve a few leaves for the garnish)

ARTICHOKE, GREEN BEAN & PINE NUT RISOTTO
600ml/ 1pt vegetable stock
50g/2oz fine green beans
15 ml/ 1tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 cloves garlic, crushed
175g/6oz arborio rice
100-200ml bottle dry vegetarian  white wine 2.5ml/ 1/2 tsp dried oregano 40g/ 1,1/2 oz pine nut kernels, toasted 200g/7oz canned artichoke hearts, drained and quartered handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped handful fresh basil, torn (optional 50g/2oz vegetarian Parmesan cheese), salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chocolate Espresso and Roasted Pecan Torte
200g/7oz creamed coconut
1.3l/21/4 pints boiling water
30ml/2tbsp of the boiling water
800g/1lb 12oz Self Raising flour
100g/4oz cocoa powder 10ml/2tsp baking powder 100g/4oz roasted pecans 300g/12oz light muscovado sugar 420ml/14floz vegetable oil 20ml/2tbsp brandy FUDGE ICING 100g/4oz vegan margarine 10ml/2tsp brandy 100g/4oz cocoa powder 90ml/6tbsp water 550g/18oz icing sugar few drops vanilla essence

The full recipes are available at http://www.vegsoc.org/cordonvert/recipes

Living on the Veg

This is our new blog to chart both our growing trials and tribulations at the allotment and in the garden, as well as the fantastic vegetarian creations that Damian produces in the kitchen.

We hope to be able to share recipes and growing tips.

Sarah and Damian