A perfect sunny Sunday

Today was the most perfect day.  Warm and sunny and not at all windy.  Thank heavens because the recent weeks of constant wind was starting to drive us all bonkers.   

We had friends for lunch and feasted on mussels and crusty bread made by a local baker. Then the afternoon was spent in the garden, that has been rather neglected of late, but so many flowers managed to survive the gusty weather relatively unscathed.  

I think the warm weather is here to stay and I can almost plant my tomatoes. And today we were given some magic pumpkin seeds. I can't wait to plant them.  I will need to be a bit witchy to make them grow I think, but they really are magic.  Wait and see.

Hope you had a lovely weekend too xx

The Sting

Spring and autumn are the best times to pick nettles, but we haven't picked many this spring, mostly due to bad weather.  But yesterday when the weather played nice we packed our safety gear and baskets and hit the road in search of this springtime treat.

Ignoring the threatening trespassers will be prosecuted sign, we drove along the muddy track to get to this hidden valley.  I knew there would be nettles here, but I didn't expect so many.  The lush young leaves growing under the pine trees were the best.   The nettles growing along the track in the sunshine had started to seed and they're not so nice to eat.    If they start to rattle they're no good, a local youngster recently told me, referring to the sound the seeds make as you brush past the plants.  

Armed with rubber gloves and scissors we picked a load then headed home.  Nettle pesto or nettle risotto?  I'm not sure yet.  But if you blanch and freeze the leaves, you'll have enough nettles to see you through until you make your mind up. Whatever you chose it will be delicious.

An after school activity of the very best kind, trespassing, picking weeds that sting and helping with dinner. I am such a good mum.  I think we'll back in March to pick the autumn flush.  

PS. We did actually have the owner's permission to pick his weeds, I would never advise ignoring those signs around these parts.

Keep up

I always forget how windy October can be.  In my mind it is autumn that's the windy season, but it's actually spring that takes the gusty glory.   Despite the longer, warmer days,  the relentless winds that accompany them often make being outside very unpleasant. I'm talking winds that tip over a wheelbarrow strength windy.  But be outdoors you must, struggling to righten up your wheelbarrow, or that naughty garden will run away from you.  It won't wait for you to keep up if you stay indoors.

And frankly, I need to keep up. Keep up with the weeding, keep up with the lawn that grows before your very eyes and keep up with the chickens who lay more eggs than we can eat.

Lest I get blown away, I stay inside and use those eggs to bake a rich and eggy sponge cake then fill it with delicious tangy lemon curd.  I probably won't keep up with the garden, but at least this will take care of the eggs.  Through the kitchen window, I see the wheelbarrow has blown over again.

I use this recipe for lemon curd and one like this for the sponge cake.

Bud burst in the garden

Cold, windy, wild and wet with the odd burst of sunshine, today was exactly the type of day I love.  Brisk I think you would call it.

For me it's such a pleasant day to be out in the garden, of which there are no lack of chores to be done at this time of year.  It's Spring so everything is growing. The weeds are growing, garlic is growing along with mustard greens, cabbages and fat asparagus spears push through the soil.  Plenty of nettles too.  There are flowers like borage, apple blossoms, signs of cherry blossoms and the beginning of summer fruits like grape buds, gooseberries, currants and vigorous raspberries that constantly send runners all over the garden.




The weeds are easy to pull after the drenching rains and the soil is soft and perfect for planting.   Seedlings of sprouting broccoli and bitter radicchio go in today.   The weed tea I made a few months ago is filled with a mushy sludge that truly stinks and I generously pour that around the tender young plants.

Metal tags of that label the apple trees tinkle in the breeze.  I miss my dog who would normally sit by and watch when as I worked in the garden, and wince when I see the young rose bush that we planted over his grave.

Another job ticked off the list was chitting the potatoes, which means exposing them to a little light for a few weeks on a window sill so as to get those buds nice and strong before planting.   A couple of old egg cartons do the job perfectly holding little seed potatoes of pink eyes and pink fir apples.  Nearby a pile of seed packets of summer crops like tomatoes, pumpkins, basil, zucchini and cucumber sit ready to be sown.

But they will have to wait for another day.  Another squall hits and I collect the eggs before I head inside inside with my cold red nose, fingers crossed the fire's still on, where a pot tea waits patiently keeping warm on the wood stove.