Aubergines...

                    

Tonight I planted some aubergine seeds.  

This is something new I am trying for 2011.  

I will see if my little cloche works.

Cloches, Cloches and more Cloches

Over the last couple of weeks I have grown some broad beans and peas on the kitchen windowsill. Last week I replanted the beans into an experiment of mine.  I put some newspaper into a toilet roll then planted a bean into each one.  Today I planted these out along with the peas I have grown as well.  I have used plastic bottles as cloches to try and give them some protection.  I will check them out next week.

               

I also dug over the plot next to where I had planted the beans then spread some manure over the top before covering with two tunnel cloches.  This will keep the ground warm and dry ready for the next set of planting.  This is what I had done previously before planting my beans and peas.  It means digging is made much easier.

Jenny Church's 100th

Last weekend my grandmother ‘JENNY CHURCH’ celebrated her 100^th birthday. 

Leading up to the event we were all very nervous not knowing if she would actually be attending the celebration or not.  When she had been told that there was a small lunch planned, with only the regular close relatives attending who would normally visit her on her birthday anyway, she panicked and told everyone to cancel.  This lunch arrangement was only a half truth as the full extent of the event had been kept a secret.  The actual event was going to be at a local hotel called the Miami.  Little did she know that a whole suite had been booked with a glamorous lunch and as many relatives as could be seated had been invited and were flying and travelling in from all over Europe.

The Little Christmas Tree Comes Home

It had been raining most of the week so I was expecting it to be quite sticky but oh how sticky it was.

Christmas Tree:  My first job was to replant the Christmas tree so I dug out the hole from whence it came and tipped the tree in with its compost.  I then attempted as best I could to heal in some more mud around the tree.  Unfortunately all that happened was that every time I pressed down with my welly the mud just stuck to the welly.  I have replanted it as best I can but will have to keep an eye on it in case it blows over in the wind.  Once the soil has dried out I will try and firm it in a bit better.

Kale: Well the kale is no more.  The pigeons have now eaten the lot and when I checked to see what netting I had anyway it was the wrong kind.  Oh well I will know for next year.

While I was up there I tried to dig a bit more of the plot but again it was just way too sticky to do anything.  I did find some carrots from last year and a couple of parsnips so I dug those up for Sunday lunch.  I also had a check in my greenhouse and picked some more rocket along with some lambs lettuce and baby pak choi.  I sowed some more lettuce in one of the pots.

Pizza Di Sinistra Sopra

It was the end of the week and we were running out of easy cook food in the house so, as I couldn’t be bothered to go to the shop, I decided to make pizza. Had no traditional pizza ingredients, so raided the fridge for left over’s.

I found the following left overs: Stilton, Serrano ham, bottled chilli peppers stuffed with cheese and chorizo.

Little Boxes...

     
After looking around at various shelving units I decided on this one from IKEA as it was the cheapest and at the moment we can’t afford anything better.  I would have liked to have got this in a light wood but unfortunately they do not make the unit in the wood only black or white.  I have also added some wooden boxes to give more storage and texture.  Can’t afford any more at the moment as they are quite expensive.

Also from IKEA.

Have to figure something out with all the cabling though as it detracts from the minimal look I am trying to achieve.

Let me know if you have any ideas.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Torte

175g digestive biscuits (crushed into crumbs)
85g butter (melted)
can of Carnation caramel
pinch of sea salt
300g plain chocolate (broken up into bits)
600ml double cream
25g icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract


I found this recipe by James Martin, in this years Christmas Good Food magazine and chocolate always goes down well in this household.

New season starts here...

Just before Christmas, I received a package of live plants in the post.  They were my gooseberry bushes.  This was really bad timing as the whole of the country was in the tight grip of winter with deep snow and freezing temperatures. 

Between Christmas and new year winter seemed to loosen its grip and this brought on a spell of hope for the coming year.  The days were already getting longer, the birds where beginning to flirt and the new yellow flowers of the broom were beginning to emerge.

I made a list of things to do, donned my new Christmas wellingtons and set off for the allotment.