Yummy!

Just got back from a little holiday where I saw these Milkcaps in a Spanish market selling for 35 euros a kilo - yikes! That is more expensive than cepes here in France. This lot almost escaped me as they were well hidden in the long grass which is currently in desperate need of cutting.



Must have been a lot of rain while we were gone as the mushrooms are out in force and the beetroot has finally fattened up a bit. The veggie plot is looking a bit sad but my remaining squashes are looking good and almost ready to pick.  Hope I'm not saying 'sick of squash' before spring.  The calendula are still in flower so another batch of balm on the cards and a gigantic pot of veggie soup should be on the go by the weekend - and I mean gigantic!

Calendula balm - so easy to make

Gave this a try yesterday and I'm really pleased with the results. First I had to find bees' wax probably available everywhere in the UK but here in France I found it at our local bio shop.  The bag hold's 400 grams and I only used 30 grams to make two jars so it goes a long way. The calendula was easy to find as it grows like a weed in the garden a must have plant in the veggie plot in my option. Last year mine were still in flower at Christmas and like sunflowers they just shout cheerful.

First I picked the petals from about 25 heads of calendula then I added 300 ml of bog standard olive oil making sure all the petals were coated. Next, this went into a bain marie and was kept on a very low simmer for three hours.

I then strained the oil using a muslin cloth and returned it to the bain marie along with 30grs of wax - I used wax pellets so it did not take long for the wax to melt. As soon as the wax and the oil combined I poured them into a couple of glass jars - as you can see not very evenly! The balm was put to the test this morning as I used it on my lips when I went out for a run - well I've just had to start running again after all that lovely crumble.



 

 

 

Hey pesto it worked!

The frozen pesto worked!  OK it's not quite as green as it was before freezing but it tastes just fine.  This means we can make it in batches during times of plenty and freeze for the winter. This is the coriander variety so I'm hoping the basil does equally as well.

Just swapped a load of quince for a load of onions what a nice way to operate - no middle man!

Busy bees....

That's what it feel like at the moment. The grass needs cutting about every other day and things that were hanging back are in full flow. Picked a mass of basil and coriander and made pesto. Have frozen a bit as an experiment so I'll let you know how that works (or not). Some of the basil was from yet another cutting of the plant that went in a while back. If we keep this good weather I reckon there's another cutting to be had.  I think that will make five in total including the initial lopping before it was planted - not bad from a 99 centime Lidl plant.

Picked a few plums this evening that ended up in a crumble along with the rhubarb. The crumble topping is mainly seeds and oats and works a treat with custard.



Picking things daily at the moment and lots going into soups including the wild mushrooms although we've held some back for Saturday's pizza. Tray freezing the rhubarb for multiple winter crumbles - I'd better start back running or I'll end up like the side of a house!



The cucumbers are a funny shapebut they taste fine - I've maybe another two to pick before they're done.  I got so sick of that two tone lettuce (we've been eating it for months) I've pulled it out and composted it.  The little gem is ready so we can munch on that for a while.



The squashes are on the path hardening off before I store them indoors for over the winter.  I've picked about twelve of the golden nugget with more to come.  The butternut are getting to be a good size but have yet to turn from green so they'll need a while yet.  I'll be quite happy with a couple of dozen squashes for the winter months. Tomorrow, I need to get my act together and thin the swedes, carrots and turnips.

Perfect timing...

 

We were scheduled to have mushroom risotto for dinner tomorrow so these were a pleasant surprise after last night's rain. The cep looks the business, the shaggy parasols are plentiful and scrummy but that little orange milkcap tastes divine.  I've got about six types I can identify with confidence to eat from the garden. Last week, we had a giant puffball omelette and on Saturday night we had a cep and field mushroom pizza. Hopefully, by the end of the week the milkcaps will have started to appear in number - they are earmarked for a pasta dish. If we're really lucky some 'chicken of the woods' might appear on the old peach tree stump. I wish all gardening was this easy - mother nature doing her own thing.

Stringy beans but the best squash

Picked this lot yesterday to have with roast chicken dinner.  Well, those beans were truly yucky - I must have picked them too old.  Carrots were just thinnings to allow others to bulk up a bit.  That bicoloured lettuce is amazing we've been picking it for weeks on end and still masses left (didn't have that with the chicken!). Best of all is the 'Golden Nugget' squash it tastes as good as it has performed - 100% germination and best of all it grows like a courgette - the squashes form around the base of the plant not on trailing vines.  A compact productive plant - looks like I'll get around 6 squashes per plant.

 

Begone!

All those blighted tomatoes are now history. The trailer is loaded and ready for a trip to the tip! A couple of tomatoes plants escaped the blight hence my 'bumper' crop below. We were going to get a polytunnel for next year but having read everything I can on blight I'm thinking of taking a different tack. This will involve making use of a very warm west facing wall with a large overhang from the soffet so no rain can hit the plants, making wind breaks for either end, planting in pots, using the drip watering system already in place, and making (not sure how yet) a front piece that can come down over the tomatoes at peak blight times. The down side is I'll be restricted to about 16 plants. Worth a try I think.

After a belter of a storm my seedlings are pushing through. Carrots (to fine to see here), swede and turnip through but no sign of those elusive parsnips. I've transplanted my 'April' cabbage seedlings. For once I've been ruthless and only transplanted planted the biggest and strongest so hopefully the outcome will be 12 decent plants.

I must thank 'North By North' for suggesting Gold Nugget squash.  These are doing really well.  Just got to hope they taste as good as they look. They grow a bit like a courgette and don't trail everywhere.  This will definitely be on my seed list for next year!

Just been out and got this little lot while taking piccies. The chili peppers are Doux des Landes - a mild green chili nice grilled. Had to pick this basil as it's about to flower and the rhubarb went crazy after the thorough dowsing it got from the scary storm.

The herb patch has gone mad. The mint is covered with bees as is the marjoram and the lavender. My tiny sage cuttings from last year have now formed a hedge at the back and the borage is taking over. Think this will need a severe going over come late autumn.

Finally, the calabrese is starting to form little green heads.  I'm snipping these off as soon as they are usable and popping them into a freezer bag. If I wait until I've got enough for a meal before picking  half will have gone to seed so this is a little experiment to see if I can maximize the crop. I've found once the first head is chopped they soon sprout more heads and then you can pick fresh for eating. Happy gardening everyone.