Homegrown

My garden is abundant with things to eat at the moment.

Every evening I go down to the garden to collect something for dinner.

I feel just like Annabel Langbein the organic cook (minus the fake ponsonby accent and designer gumboots).

The gherkins have grown incredibly well. I am up to my 4th batch of preserving and I have given some to the neighbours and to a work colleague so that they can pickle their own. The telegraph cucumber is trying to compete!

I am growing beans for the first time and they have climbed right to the top of my bamboo teepee.

The salad ingredients are prolific and my beetroot are growing magnificently.

I have 6 different types of potatoes growing. They all taste so good boiled with a little bit of butter and salt.

The tomatoes have grown better outside this year than in the conservatory yet the chili plants are lapping up the heat.

Gardening and growing from seed is so rewarding.
 
I have plenty to eat and plenty to give away and that's how it should be.

Homegrown

Holy Gherkin Batman!

At the end of last year I grew pickling cucumbers from seed so I could make gherkins. I have 4 plants and they have grown rather large but have taken awhile to fruit. Finally today I had enough to pickle!

It is a rather simple process. Basically you soak the gherkins in salt and water for a day, rinse, pour boiling water over, drain,  put in a jar and then cover with a vinegar/spice concotion that you boil for 5 mins. Thank-you very much Edmonds Cookbook. 

I didn't have any pickling spice so I made that from scratch too. Now I wait. In 3 weeks time they will be ready to eat and will taste extra good in my ham sandwiches. 

Holy Gherkin Batman!