Beet It!

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close up view of freshly dug up beetroot

I don’t think we’ll ever win any prizes for our fruit & vegetable growing. This was our second attempt at growing beetroot. This year the roots were slightly more bulbous than the previous, but still not what you’d call monsters!

freshly dug up beetroot

But we didn’t despair – we decided to make best use of what (little) we had. We used some of the leaves in salad – they look & taste much like spinach, but with beautiful, burgundy stems.

freshly dug up beetroot in an antique Billingsgate Market oyster trug

The remaining leaves & stems made a lovely, earthy winter soup – garnished with a little flourish of cream.

home grown beetroot pickled in balsamic vinegar with whole mixed peppercorns

The (baby) beetroots themselves were pickled in balsamic vinegar with whole peppercorns – and they were absolutely delicious served with a selection of cheeses and a salad!

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Will Forage for Soup: Gourmet Soups from Wild Greens

Will Forage for Soup: Gourmet Soups from Wild Greens is a foraging experience and how-to cookbook rolled into one. This digital book includes:
* The most common greens for foraging, their flavor, and resources on where to find them.
* How to clean greens for soup.
* Preserving your bounty in the freezer with very little space required.
* Combining greens in soup for best flavor.
* Blanching versus boiling your greens– nutritional considerations.
* How to make a nutritious and flavorful soup base with vegetarian options.
* Tips for bringing out the flavor in your soup’s seasonings.
* A resource on spices so that you can create your own signature soup.
* Six recipes using common foraged greens.

Click here to view more details

Growing our own

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flat leaf parsley and coriander growing on a windowsill

This year we decided to grow more of our own – and we’ve got no excuse, as Todmorden‘s the home of Incredible Edible.

strawberries growing in a vintage terracotta strawberry pot

We have a variety of crops to look forward to in the coming weeks.

home-grown beetroot in vintage enamel breadbin home-grown peashoots grown in vintage metal bucket

Most of them are growing in containers as much of our garden is paved with stone cobbles. It also makes protecting them from the ubiquitous slugs & snails much easier.

tomato plants growing in a vintage mini greenhouse

We use lots of the old galvanised metal ‘dolly tubs’, buckets and bins.

courgette flowers in a vintage metal dolly tub

The plants seem to like it!

potato plants overflowing from a vintage metal dolly tub just outside the kitchen door pink stems of rhubarb growing out of a vintage metal dolly tub

Potatoes, beetroot, carrots, tomatoes, rhubarb, strawberries, broccoli, courgettes, squash, peashoots, salad leaves, a variety of herbs – and yes, those are figs.

tiny fruits growing on a fig tree

There’s still a little room for some flowers.

lilac coloured osteospermum growing in a vintage metal bucket

pink lupins growing in a vintage dolly tub pink lupins growing in a vintage dolly tub

Perennials like the hostas, astilbes and lupins return each year like old friends. Although this year’s harsh winter saw a few losses.

purple lobelia growing in a vintage metal bucket

red geraniums just about ready to flower

To these we add a few annuals – osteospermums, lobelia and the like.

hosta leaves

pink fox glove about to flower growing next to a giant ribbed terracotta urn young purple shoots of astilbe plants

We’ve enjoyed working in the garden this year, growing our own. We don’t think self-sufficiency is here just yet – but hopefully we’ll reap some rewards!