Wednesday 25 June 2014

From garden to kitchen

Welcome. A garden catch up today. Here we have three beds of potatoes coming along nicely. Not sure if they are earlies or lates, or what sort they are. They all go in together in no particular order, and come out as and when I want to eat them. Looking healthy, looking good.   
One bed of broad beans. Not quite ready to eat, waiting for the pods to fatten up. Some of the plants have not grown as high as last year, so maybe they are a different kind. I put the pieces of wood across to stop the cats from using it as a toilet.

Runner beans at different heights, some planted early some late. I have wrapped the outside in net curtains, again to stop the cats getting onto it. It will be another month before they are ready.

Six courgette plants showing signs of flowering. Another couple of weeks and there should be something to eat. Bits of wood, and plastic and anything else, to keep the cats off. Looks untidy but needs must.

This is the chuck it and see bed, chuck the seeds on and see what comes up. Something is growing. Think I used three different kinds of seeds. Radishes and turnips possibly.
 And last but not least, the bed occupied by frogs. I have planted a few dwarf beans in here, let's hope they start showing soon. I grow just the basics, not faffing around with anything that is too complicated, haven't got time.

Has anyone got one of these gizmo's? It's a wotchamacallit thingy. You know, a wotsit that you put in your saucepan to steam vegetables. Now this one looks like a shiny new one, but it isn't. If you had seen it 24 hours ago, it looked 'orrible. Even though I wash it each time it is used, the limescale in the water builds up on it. Time for action. I soaked it for 24 hours in the saucepan that I use it with, in a solution of diluted vinegar. A scrub with a wash up brush gets rid of all the gunge and it looks shiny new again. 
I love my steamer gizmo, would be lost without it. There are two sizes, I have the larger one which fits in a large pan. You can buy them for around £5, can't remember exactly, I have had this one for a couple of years.


The pan has also come up like new. Hurrah for vinegar :o))

All ready to go again. This is in constant use in my kitchen. An inch or two of water in the bottom. All the vegetables go in together, starting with the hardest root vegetables first, softer quick to cook ones next, and leafy ones on top. It only takes a few minutes to cook vegetables in this. Stick the fork in to test if they are done, switch the heat off when they are nearly ready, leave for a couple of minutes more, the steam will finish them off.

It was still warm as the sun started to go down last night, a good opportunity to take a walk in the park after dinner. The hall looks splendid.
And Rocky came too.

Looks like another nice day. A bit more playing with fabric, then playing outside. Enjoy your day. Toodle pip.

20 comments:

  1. Your vegetables all look like the are really coming on well. We have a sea of potatoes up at the lottie, its a good job we like them. Courgettes are one of my favourites and we always grow loads. So much nicer having home grown I find.

    X x

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  2. Lovely garden! Hope you'll be eating from it soon.
    Have you ever used vinegar to get rid of moss on a roof? i need to do something soon.

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  3. I always love to see Rocky...he is a cutie.

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  4. Beautiful garden! I also have a steamer basket-a kitchen essential in my book. Do you save the steamer water? I decant it into Mason jars and freeze it, so that it's at the ready when I am making soup. Full of vitamins!
    HTH

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  5. I've given up on gardening in Texas....just not the growing season we had back in Illinois. My tomato plant even looks pretty sick. So I'm jealous of your beautiful bounty!

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    1. Linda, you might have better luck with that dry Texas dirt by trucking in topsoil and adding to it with compost and horse or pig pucky in the fall. My farmer grandfather who lived in the Panhandle of OK, also sprayed liquid ammonia on the dirt around his crops to help fertilize them. I've used soapy ammonia (1 tablespoon to a gallon of water) in a spray attachment when I watered my garden about once a month. Really helps.

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  6. Lovely collection of veggies to come, My auntie cooks and eats the pods of broad beans...swears they taste better than the beans themselves. Broad beans are another veg I do buy frozen - they're as good as peas!

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  7. I switch off the cooker a few minutes before food has finished cooking both on the hob and in the oven.

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  8. I like to steam veggies as well. I've got one of those electric steamers with a timer which is just as well as I always get bored waiting for things to cook, I wander off and then I get the smell of burning some minutes later. I've wrecked so many saucepans doing this!

    I am sooooo pleased to see Rocky again.

    Linda xxx

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    1. To fix a burned stainless steel pan, throw some baking soda into a little water into your pan and boil it for a few minutes, then turn off stove and let the water cool. Then take a little elbow grease and a table knife and scrap the burnt part off the bottom of the pan. When I've gotten most of the burned part off, I use either a steel wool pan or a product called Cameo to scrub the rest of the gunk off and shine it up as good as new! Works every time! :)

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  9. We've nothing growing this year, no time to get out there... Great to see Rocky he is a great little chap :0)

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  10. Rocky! You gorgeous dude! Where have you been?
    MQ Your veggies look as though they are doing well too - I think the weather has been pretty good. My mum had one of those steamers and it used to go a bit iffy. We have one that came with our pan set, stainless steel and it has been sparkling for about 15 years now. I just put it through the dishwasher. Anyway, Vinegar - brilliant stuff, it brought the limescale off my shower unit. Debbie.

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  11. I always steam our vegetables too.
    We loved seeing Rocky again - lovely photo.
    Wendy (Wales)

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  12. The picture of the steamer brought back memories--my mom had one, and thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. She was always on me to get one...and I never did. I've missed previous pictures of Rocky--Anon is right, he is a gorgeous dude! What is he? His face looks a lot like my Westie.

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  13. Lovely to see your veggies and the gorgeous Rocky :-)

    Toni

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  14. Gosh your house looks posh! Natalie

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  15. Your garden looks so healthy and maintained very well.Your climate over there is so good for them. We often have extremes of hot and cold in the spring that can wreak havoc on tender plants, and I always get so excited in the spring that I put things out too early without hardening them off properly.Our growing season is short here so we start plants indoors in March and move them out after May 18th. I like to combine herbs, flowers and vegetables, but sadly no fruit trees at this home.It was so nice to go pick our own strawberries, raspberries,cherries, apples and plums at our old place. What we didn't devour we preserved by canning and freezing.Rocky is a heartbreaker!Look at that face.We used that steamer baskety thing for years they are great and nothing else seems to work as well as vinegar for tough deposits and scales etc.Okay, I have to say the photo of the hall with the light on that stone took my breath away.A truly, simple beautiful structure.Regards, Destemona.

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  16. Thank you for your question, June. If you email me I will answer.

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  17. Lovely to see little Rocky looking so well and happy x

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