Garlic

It has been a great year for Garlic, however that may be only because I really tried to cover all bases by planting different types at a lot of different times.  I am also trying to get better at plaiting them up once they have been harvested in order to let them dry in the kitchen and give that rustic French farmhouse look!

My Garlic was planted in about 4 different stages.  The first one was way back in Sept09 and from there I also planted in Oct, Nov and Feb10.  This is quite a good picture of the progress they were making as of May.

Garlic May10

There is a few rows of shallots in the front of the photo, then comes the garlic I planted in November, and then the Garlic that I planted at the end of Sept last year.  The September garlic (I need to double check the variety) did the best by far but that may have been down to the fact that they were so well established before our snowy winter.

Hopefully 40 is the new 30

The Setting!


There was no doubt in my mind where I wanted to have my 40th Birthday Party.  I could only think of one place where we could celebrate, away from the summers crowds, with our closest friends and still enjoy our favourite pastimes of cooking, eating and playing with fire!  Since this is the allotment blog, I suppose I don't need to keep you guessing as to where the event was held!  We are lucky to have such an idyllic venue and hopefully we can make use of it again very soon!

The Allotment...

...with people.

The Menu!


1 Bone In Shoulder of Pork for Smoking
1 Butterflied Leg of Lamb for Direct Cooking over the flame.
A couple filets of Salmon, Mackerel, and Plaice
Lots of sliced Courgettes, Potatoes, Peppers, Garlic, Onions for grilling
Pita Bread
Raita (Cucumber and Yogurt Dip)
Clive's Homemade Bread
Leafy Salad

I tried to stick to Mediterranean flavours as much as possible, mainly because that is what I have grown this year and also they are so simple and very tasty!  So lots of garlic and olive oil, mixed with plenty of fresh herbs, such as rosemary, oregano, mint and basil.  Throw in the a few chillies for good measure and that was the base of all of the dishes that were made.  I will try and post the recipes in a later post.

Lots of Olive Oil, Oregano, Garlic, Mint and Chillies!

Having the BBQ at the allotment at this time of the year is like having a BBQ next to a free fruit and veg market.  We had all the courgettes, garlic, onions, chillies and potatoes that we could eat. In fact, midway through the preparation, we decided it would be nice to have a green salad, so we grabbed handfuls of lettuce (thanks Chris), some red spring onions, basil and coriander and mixed up a very tasty, leafy dish to go with all of the grilled options.

Lee putting out the wares 

The guests of honour

The Friends!

The weather managed to hold out and we ended up with an excellent day for a BBQ!  There was plenty of sun and of course while the boys slaved over the hot BBQ's the girls manage to do what the girls do best, sit around in sunglasses waiting to be fed!

The Girls looking very glam!

The boys discussing how nuclear fusion is possible

Speaking of fusion...

Richard does some last minute Raita

I cook....Clive prays

I am worried some of those eyes might be shut Clare!

Birthday Boy and a hot little number he picked up at the BBQ!

Lee winds down after hot day as co-grill jockey!

Thank you to all of our great friends for making it an absolutely fantastic day.  We appreciated all of your help with transport, equipment, furniture, photography, food and drink.  However most of all we enjoy your excellent company!

We Jammin

I thought I would see absolutely tons of strawberries this year.  Actually I did see tons, but unfortunately they all came in about a 10 day period.  Perhaps if I watered them a bit more I would have seen more fruits but the whole patch seemed to stop producing simultaneously, as if there was some fruit plant workers strike! Actually, the plants might be getting a bit tired as this is their 4th or 5th year but I still managed to squeeze a batch of strawberry jam out of them.  I found a very simple but tasty recipe on the BBC web site. The recipe is by Sophie Grigson and I highly recommend it for small batches of jam that will be consumed within the next 6 months or so.

Next stop Blackberries, Loganberries and Raspberries.

Here is the link for the Jam and a few pictures my evening Jammin session!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/get_cooking/recipes/071.shtml

Mid July Update - Harvest in Full Swing

I feel like I am gardening in the Med this year!  My rosemary, thyme, lavender and basil have all enjoyed bathing in the sun everyday for at least the last 3 weeks or so.  The chiles, tomatoes and even the aubergine are all displaying their fruits proudly.  Even I begrudgingly don't mind the endless trips back and forth between tap and plant with the watering can, as I would exchange that exercise any day for a boring treadmill.  However I do allow my helpers use of the communal hose on occasion.

Since the beginning of July, there hasn't been too many meals that haven't had at least one portion of veg from the allotment.  Onions, garlic, broccoli, beetroot, Swiss chard, and courgettes have all been enjoyed on a regular basis.  This coupled with the earlier harvest of Asparagus, a few carrots, peas and an abundance of lettuce it has been a good year already and hopefully the best is yet to come!