apart from
radishes
broad beans
beetroot
and mussels.
My how things have changed...I grew tons of these this year as I was given plants or the seeds were free and the magic of growing them outweighed any reservations I had about the end product. My conversion really started last year but is in full flow with this seasons harvest.
I can't get enough of these radishes in all their Peter Rabbit pinkness. Picked early they're still lovely and crisp and totally gorgeous with guess what...broad beans. Okay, the beans arent from our plot but I couldnt wait for ours to be ready (I never thought I'd be saying that!) When the beans are still young they're tasty in their skins. Mixed with a splash of Olive Oil and lemon juice and then sprinkled with rock salt they're perfect.
But woman can not live on radishes alone - so we also harvested some of our beets tonight, to be honest we've got so many we are going to be harvesting them every night. Last year our beet crop was less than impressive but this year we are more than making up for it. These Boltardys give a perfect little sphere. The only down side to them is that despite successional sowing they're all ready at once!
I'm addicted to beetroot salads at the moment and I cant get enough of this one. The beets are simply boiled until the skins slip off then chopped small. A couple of large dollops of low fat yoghurt are mixed with a good squeeze of lemon juice, a teaspoon of whole grain mustard and a crunch of black pepper. Its that easy. The hard part is getting it to the fridge before it gets scoffed. Oh, and did I mention its fabulously, luridly, shockingly pink!
So whilst i started growing veg to get my children inspired to eat them its had the desired effect on me too.
But I still think mussels are the work of the devil!
Yes how things change when we grow up.
ReplyDeleteThe Colour of the beet salad looks shockingly magnificent.
I keep looking at my beets, but am afraid to pull them out - in case there is nothing on the other end. Must be brave!
It's amazing how things taste different when you grow them yourself. My hubby was such a picky eater, it's our twentieth wedding anniversary tomorrow and until we got our allotment last year, he never ate any vegetables. Now he'll eat just about any veg I put in front of him, and it's had the desired effect on my son too, albeit to a lesser extent. As for my daughter, she sounds just like you when you were a kid.
ReplyDeleteHi MangoCheeks - be brave (or bravish and just try a couple). Ours are sitting up on the soil now though so theyre definitely ready!Im dropping in on your site for some more culinary inspiration!:)
ReplyDeleteHi Jo, love the comment - I know just what you mean, my husband had to be weaned onto veg and now hes munching his way throughthe garden - he even adds nasturtiums to his salads - this from a man who used to think salad was just a plate decoration!Well done to your daughter - a healhty appetites a great thing!
That beetroot salad looks fantastic.
ReplyDeleteWish I had some of those beetroot - I have loads of beetroot cake recipes I want to try!!
Love your blog :-}
Thanks Brownieville girl - I hadnt thought about making it into cake - now theres an idea mmm... I'll be dropping by your site to look for inspiration!
ReplyDeleteHi there - love the blog. We tried growing our own beetroot this year - the best recipe we came up with was to cook it and add slices to salsa (chopped chillies, red onion, coriander, tomatoes) which gave it a fantastic hot red colour and an earthy note.
ReplyDeleteHi LFA, thanks for dropping in, I love the sound of beetroot salsa - i bet it looks and tastes gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteNot much I wouldn't eat either - fish and broad beans! Now I love broad beans. I'm waiting with great excitement to pick our first of the season. We grow crimson flowered ones which also look really pretty. Beetroot I've always liked, but my husband who isn't fussy about anything else, won't eat them. This makes life a bit difficult, so I confine them to my sandwiches for work - all that pink soaking into the bread - it's not a pretty sight!
ReplyDeleteHi Choclette - My sympathies - i cant get BH to eat his beets either - Ive just bought Harry Eastwoods cook book and Im going to try baking chocoate cake made from beetroot and see if that gets past the sensors!
ReplyDelete