Friday 31 July 2009

Tea-time

mmmmm, there is nothing nicer than home made pizza. The tomato sauce was made with tomatoes from my folks greenhouse - apparently they've had bag fulls already, mine are still tiny and green ! I don't know how they can be so far ahead in the season. My lottie provided the red onion & garlic. It was yummy

IMG_3561.jpg

IMG_3570.jpg

Thursday 23 July 2009

Let them eat cake !

Loads of raspberries ready and now the blueberries are ripening too ... here's my latest discovery: Rapsberry, Blueberry & Lime Drizzle Cake !!


R0017148.jpg

R0017155.jpg

R0017162.jpg

courtesy of BBC Good Food: Raspberry, Blueberry & Lime Drizzle Cake


Enjoy !

Sunday 12 July 2009

Too tired

Solo visit to the lottie for me today. We've been dancing for the last two nights and not been home before 1am, so I was a bit zonked and didn't spend long up there.

The Germidor Garlic has finally succumed to rust and didn't look as though it was going to grow much more, so I've harvested it all. The bulbs are lovely - a little smaller than the size of my palm. They are now drying in the brick greenhouse. The Cristo Garlic has a little rust, but still has green growth so I've left them in situ.

The raspberries are still plentiful. I made some Raspberry & Chocolate Brownie cakes ... I'd forgotten how fantastic they are, especially with lightly whipped double cream ! mmmmmmmmmm yum.

I harvested two pea pods, yes thats right - two whole pea pods ... and they may well be my last for the season :(

The squashes are kicking into action, but they are still very small.

Four very small courgettes had appeared and with a view to making pizza, I also took home a red onion and some broad beans. Unfortunately I forgot to get the pizza mix after purposely going to Waitrose. Doh !

The arron pilots that I harvested last week were made into potato salad - it tasted divine, so I've dug up another plant. I must remember to plant some of those again next year, they taste lovely and are keeping their shape when cooked.

The strawberries are giving very slim pickings, but the first of the blueberries were ready - all four of them ! I'm on a promise for an authentic American pancake recipe - just need a few more blueberries :)

I had froggies jumping out at every turn and managed to get a couple of photos:

IMG_3279.jpg

IMG_3281.jpg

IMG_3284.jpg

IMG_3286.jpg

Thursday 9 July 2009

O Mischievious one !

Loki the kitten (ahem) had a trip to the vet tonight for his booster vaccination. On the way home we stopped off at the lottie to water the greenhouse. It was Loki's first trip to the lottie - he was extremely curious and immediately went into explore mode. I don't think I've ever seen his little eyes so large and round :) We put a harness and lead on him so that we didn't lose him:

2009-07-09   Loki goes to allotment  013

2009-07-09   Loki goes to allotment  012.jpg

2009-07-09   Loki goes to allotment  004.jpg

2009-07-09   Loki goes to allotment  017

2009-07-09   Loki goes to allotment  067.jpg

2009-07-09   Loki goes to allotment  061.jpg

2009-07-09   Loki goes to allotment  040.jpg

2009-07-09   Loki goes to allotment  035.jpg

2009-07-09   Loki goes to allotment  047.jpg

Sunday 5 July 2009

Some photos:

Early Potatoes - Arron Pilots, they look great :)

IMG_3249.jpg

Red onions - some of them are huge :)
IMG_3235.jpg

Leeks are looking good - I was a bit worried when they first went in, they were so small. Only lost a couple.
IMG_3232.jpg

Tomatoes in the greenhouse:
IMG_3243.jpg

IMG_3244.jpg

IMG_3245.jpg

Courgettes - I have planted 5 !!! what was I thinking. Managed to palm 2 off on Nick. Got one left ... hmmm what to do with it....

IMG_3224.jpg


IMG_3227.jpg


Nick is trying to persuade me to thin my beetroot - maybe next week:
IMG_3228.jpg

Red cabbages:
IMG_3222.jpg

Beans are doing quite well:
IMG_3221.jpg

Blueberries are dripping off the plants - so far had two ripe ones.
IMG_3230.jpg

I've had tonnes of raspberries - I've got three bowls now, think I'll be making jam later:
IMG_3250.jpg

The strawberries are not as plentiful as last year.
IMG_3254.jpg


Thursday 2 July 2009

mmmm ............ Strawberry Icecream Shakes


  • 225g strawberries, hulled
  • 300ml cold milk
  • 3 large scoops vanilla ice cream
  1. Tip the hulled strawberries into a food processor with the milk and ice cream. Blend until smooth and creamy.
  2. Pour into tall glasses, top with sliced strawberries.
Enjoy !!

oh my word it is soooooooooooo hot

OK, so the heatwave has arrived in Sheffield. I can't believe how hot it is - its been like a sauna at work today, only made slightly more bearable by the '99 that I had for lunch :-p

Had my very first blueberry today and picked another bag full of raspberries. Got tonnes in the fridge, and strawberries too - what to do with them ?? Raspberry icecream sounds tempting ...

I'm hoping to spend all weekend at the lottie and try and get on top of the weeds - the raspberries are disappearing into the hedge. I've still got some beans to plant out !!!

No more distractions - its back to business