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Little Green Space |
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Little Green Space |
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LITTLE GREEN SPACE Originally published in the Peak Advertiser on 10 August 2009
August
is a time of plenty in the vegetable garden. The harvest is now in full
swing and gardeners are reaping the rewards for all their hard work. Peas and
beans will be producing pod after pod of fresh, succulent goodness.
Onions, red and white, should be swelling nicely and ready to use in the
kitchen. And the salad should be coming thick and fast. Sometimes,
though, you can have too much of a good thing. Remember Alison, who saved
£31.50 on supermarket salads? (Peak
Advertiser, Potatoes I’m
sure I’ll soon be feeling the same way about some of our crops. We’ve
been eating potatoes from the garden since the first earlies were ready at
the beginning of June. Trouble
is, I planted 110 seed potatoes during March and April. I got a bit
overenthusiastic with my order from the seed company, you see. After
realising I only had space for 40 potato plants, I had a bit of a panic,
then did a lot of digging. I managed to squeeze all the seed potatoes in
eventually, though – and with a bit of imagination, all sorts of pots
and containers, including a half-empty bag of compost, were put to use. Every
single seed potato came good, and we now have potatoes coming out of our
ears. The first earlies have gone, and the second earlies (“Kestrel”)
are now being harvested. Then there will be the maincrops (“Sarpo
Mira” and “Golden Wonder”) which can be harvested in September and
should store for the winter in paper bags in the shed. Pasta
and rice are definitely off the menu for the time being. But the good
thing about potatoes is that they are so versatile. They can be boiled,
mashed, roasted and cut into chips. The “Kestrel” second earlies have
produced some real whoppers which are great for baking. And,
combined with the right ingredients, potatoes can make a meal in
themselves. Try frying some garlic and red onion in a little olive oil,
toss in some par-boiled potatoes, then add some cubed Halloumi (Cypriot
cheese) and a handful of fresh herbs (dill is good). Serve with some of
those salad leaves – fantastic! Courgettes I have a
similar problem with courgettes, although I’m actually really pleased,
as last year my courgettes (and squashes and pumpkins) were a disaster.
From the four courgette plants I grew last year, I harvested just one
courgette! Not so
this year. My four plants are producing loads of courgettes, and I’m
having to harvest them every couple of days. If you don’t harvest
regularly, you end up with just one or two whopping great marrows. The
plants then think they’ve done their job and stop producing altogether.
For this reason it’s a good idea to ask a neighbour to harvest your veg
for you if you’re off on holiday. But what
to do with all those courgettes? Whole books have been written on the
subject, but in my opinion you can’t beat a simple dish of courgettes
fried in olive oil with a few herbs. Or serve them steamed, with cheese
sauce or coated in flour and deep-fried. And if you do let them get a bit
too big, you can always stuff them – see below! Feed
the birds You may
think that during this time of plenty, garden birds need no help. Feeding
them during the winter is obviously a good idea but throughout the summer
they need even more food, not only to sustain themselves but to provide
for successive broods of hungry youngsters. Natural
resources are obviously much more plentiful at this time of year. Even so,
many parent birds run themselves ragged from dawn to dusk each day,
keeping their ever-hungry offspring satisfied. So remember to keep
your bird feeders topped up. Don't
worry about fledglings choking to death on unnatural food morsels that are
too large. They won't! The adults are too intelligent to kill their
own chicks but they will certainly appreciate a quick snack from your
'fast food' larders to keep their own strength up. And once the
youngsters are on the wing, they too will be visiting the feeders –
increasing their chances of surviving those first few crucial weeks of
self sufficiency. As
an extra special treat for robins and blackbirds, many now well into
raising their second broods, try feeding with live mealworms (available
from good pet shops). They'll love them, both for their chicks and for
themselves! And
don’t forget the water - just supposing we should get another long,
sunny spell. Here’s hoping! Stuffed
Courgettes Serves
4
2 large
courgettes, cut in half lengthwise 30g
butter 2 cloves
garlic, crushed 1 red or
white onion, finely chopped 100g
unsalted cashew nuts 75g
white bread 1
tablespoon chopped, fresh herbs or a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs. Salt and
freshly ground black pepper 1 egg,
beaten 50g
Cheddar cheese, grated Place
the courgettes in a large pan of boiling water and blanch for 4-5 minutes
until they are slightly soft. Drain, cool, then scoop out the flesh from
the middle of each courgette. Chop the scooped out flesh finely, and place
the courgette shells in a shallow, oven-proof dish. In a
saucepan, melt the butter and gently fry the garlic and onions for about 5
minutes, until soft. Add the finely chopped courgette flesh and cook for a
further two minutes. Remove from the heat. Whiz the
nuts and bread in a food processor until finely chopped. Add to the onion
and courgettes mixture, along with the chopped herbs, salt and pepper and
mix well. Add the eggs and mix thoroughly. Pile the
stuffing mixture into the courgette shells and sprinkle with the cheese.
Bake in the oven 200°C for 25 minutes until golden brown. Serve with
crusty bread and fresh salad leaves. Penny
at Little Green Space |
