Sunday 31 May 2015

Sunday

The weather here is deceptive.   Bright sunshine and a Westerly wind, but step outside the door only to find that that wind is bitterly cold and certainly not conducive to a spot of gardening.

We have a garden stall on our Friday market and he was doing a roaring trade on Friday - as I said to my neighbour in the waiting queue 'the triumph of hope over experience once again'.

I love pot geraniums (pelargoniums) and always buy lots to plant up various  and tubs and planters.   I could only carry nine of Friday and aim to get those planted before next Friday so that I can buy my next lot of bedding plants.   It was to be my afternoon's job after giving Tess a bath, but it is too cold so it can wait for a warmer day.   Then I shall take out the tete-a-tete daffodils from the wall manger under the front window (which faces due South.  Geraniums love the sunshine) and fill it with my nine plants.

Then before next Friday I shall survey other planting spots and decide what to buy next.   Any of my readers who blog with folk in the US will read that gardens are blooming, hay is being cut, veggies like cauliflowers are off to market - our veggies in the garden are just pushing through the ground.

Interesting that Barbara (Homestead Hill Farm) speaks of selling garlic curls on her Farmers' Market Stall.   These are the long green shoots from garlic bulbs, which must be cut off in order to prevent the garlic bulbs from beginning to make seed.   She says they look rather like scallions (spring onions) and of course have a really strong  taste.  She says they are very popular.   I wonder how long before they begin to arrive here.

Asparagus is in full flow here.   All the way back from Suffolk and through Lincolnshire we passed stalls on the roadside selling it.   I absolutely love it, although the farmer can take or leave it.   Asparagus, melted butter and brown bread and butter is a meal in itself.

Finally, a recipe for you.   Yesterday I went into town with friends W and E and we had coffee (and a delicious scone) and were rather late back.   I made a rushed macaroni cheese and it was the best I have ever made.

Handful of chopped chesnut mushrooms.
4 chopped spring onions.
6 slices of snipped  good streaky smoked bacon.
Handful of tiny broccoli sprigs snipped from a large head.
Jar of macaroni cheese sauce.
Generous quantity of finely grated parmesan.
 Pack of fresh spinach macaroni (always available at our local deli
and quite delicious, only needing 2 minutes cooking)

Fry bacon for a couple of minutes, add chopped mushrooms, spring onions, finally add the broccoli sprigs and keep stirring for a minute or two until everything begins to colour.
Meanwhile cook macaroni in boiling water for three minutes and drain. Amalgamate all and put into a greased dish and cover
with the jar of sauce.    Stir well and then cover the lot with as much grated parmesan as you can find.   Pop into the top of a hot oven to heat through and brown.   Absolutely delicious.  Enjoy.

11 comments:

Heather said...

That macaroni cheese sounds delicious. I am hoping to buy some pelargoniums tomorrow to put in the two tubs outside our front door. The violas are definitely past their best but have flowered nonstop since last October. I have dozens of seedlings to pot on and eventually plant out but luckily they will wait until I have the energy and the weather is on my side. Happy gardening.

Joanne Noragon said...

Mac and cheese always tops my list, and, as I've mentioned on every blog post I find it, there is no such thing as overdosing on asparagus.

Elizabeth said...

Sounds delicious! Your gardening sounds most ambitious - I wish you warmer weather for planting.
Your lambs in the header are a delight.
Yes, asparagas all over the place here too

Rachel Phillips said...

The asparagus season is short so we eat it all the time while it lasts (I refuse to buy imported asparagus which now makes it available all year round in Waitrose). Tell the farmer about how healthy it is as a food and perhaps he would change his mind about eating it more often.

angryparsnip said...

Love Love Love asparagus !
In fact I give The Square Ones the part of the stem that is tough.
They love it !
Your quick Mac and Cheese sounds very yummy.

cheers, parsnip

Cherie said...

That sounds tasty. It is such a shame I am not a lover or mushrooms. I utterly adore asparagus though nd could eat it for breakfast dinner and tea

Chris said...

The shoots from the garlic plants are called "scapes" here. I make them into a pesto. Mine are not quite ready to cut yet.

Malcolm Taylor said...

Just thought I'd let you know that garlic shoots are working their wy north as I've had crispy noodles with garlic shoots at a Chinese restaurant in Manchester

Malcolm

Dartford Warbler said...

I made asparagus soup this lunchtime, from locally grown asparagus, and it was good!

Thank you for leaving a kind comment on my blog post. It`s good to be back ( although I have often read yours and other "blogger friends" posts even when not posting my own).

Like you, I love to grow a selection of perlagoniums in pots and containers.

Cro Magnon said...

I managed to over-winter all my geraniums again. They are now about 5 years old. I love asparagus, but it has to be green; not white. Pasta dish sounds delicious.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks m taylor for telling us that those shoots are working their way north - shall look out for them. Thanks to all for calling in.