Gluttony (hopefully)

My ambition is to have a glut.

Maybe not quite the kind where you make a million jars of marrow jam and secretly leave tomatoes on your neighbours' doorsteps at midnight. Just a little glut would be fine. So far my vegetable gardening has tended to produce three tomatoes at a time, to be ceremonially and reverently consumed. Then you wait a week until the next three come along. That is pretty much an anti-glut, I would say.

So, this year. The Year of the Glut. Well, I have tried courgettes (zucchini) for the first time, which are notorious for being prolific. Four plants, looking pretty healthy so far.

Still in growbags. Maybe one year I will get a permanent garden.

I wasn't even going to attempt tomatoes again, because last year I got 10 ripe ones and about 100 unripe ones, and I have almost finished the green tomato chutney. But then the garden centre had some interesting varieties, including a yellow one, and Toby informed me that tomatoes were the only thing I was growing that he would eat, so... we'll see how they go.

Tomatoes with mint behind

To be honest, I could probably count the mint and sage as gluttonous already, and I've been hacking down the coriander before it completely goes to seed. Herbs are always a good bet.

Tomatoes with sage, and that spindly thing is dill

I'm also trying rocket (arugula); the first row came up really quickly, and I've just put in a second. The spring onions took longer to germinate, and I was about to decide they were all duds, when I spotted some tiny green specks, too small to even photograph.

Rocket sprouts

And my three pots of strawberries are doing very well. If all these turn red like they're supposed to, we could be in for a good crop. Toby is keeping a close eye on them and letting me know when they have the tiniest hint of pink on.

Look at all those strawberries!

And in the non-edible part of the garden: The lavender I planted last year had doubled in size when we returned from America, and is almost out in bloom. I just replanted the hanging basket, and we've got some nice colourful perennials to enjoy too. Just don't ask me about those giant weeds. I will dig them up soon, honest.

Good thing lavender likes poor soil, right?

I keep forgetting the name, but it's very pretty

I think the clematis is meant to climb up the trellis really

Comments

Ten books that shaped my life

Ten books that shaped my life in some way. Now that wasn't a problem. I scanned the bookshelves and picked out nine favourites without the slightest difficulty (the tenth took a little longer). The problem was that, on the Facebook challenge, I wasn't supposed to explain why . Nope. Having picked out my ten, I couldn't let them go without saying why they were special to me. These books are more than a collection of words by an author. They are particular editions of those words - taped-up, egg-stained, dust-jacketless and battered - which have come into my life, been carried around to different homes, and become part of who I am. How to Be a Domestic Goddess Well, every woman needs an instruction manual, doesn't she? Nigella's recipes mean lazy Saturday mornings eating pancakes, comforting crumbles on a rainy night, Christmas cakes, savoury onion pies and mounds of bread dough. If you avoid the occasional extravagance (20 mini Bundt tins...

Unto us a son is given...

Did I mention something about life getting back to normal in October? Oh yes, I was just finishing work and looking forward to at least two weeks off to organise the house, stock up the freezer and buy baby stuff. Then little Toby threw a spanner in the works by turning up five weeks early! Which would put his birthday in... let's see... October. So much for normal! For those who would like the gory details, here goes. If you are a mother who had a long and protracted labour, I advise you to skip the next bit - or if you don't, please don't start sending me hate mail. You have been warned. You see, we'd been to all the childbirth classes (yes, just about managed to finish them) and learned all about the different stages of labour, and how many hours each lasted. We learned some relaxation techniques and various things Graham could do to help coach me through long periods of contractions. And then we turned out not to need any of them, because the entire thing...

Cake creations

Many of the cakes I make at work come from a book of designs, mainly produced by Decopac . We are supposed to only make cakes from these designs. Often, however, customers come in with a picture or idea and ask if we can make it for them. Always up for a challenge, I usually agree. I then try and get a snap of the finished article with my mobile phone. And I thought you all might like to see what I do all day... A co-worker asked if I could draw frogs. Funnily enough, owing to an incident in my teenage years (involving a friend with a boyfriend called Frog and the signing of end-of-school shirts), I could. This cute cupcake cake was the result. This is what his family wanted. I'm not sure what David thought of the idea. However, my newly-acquired airbrushing skills were put to good use. See, I haven't forgotten all my chemistry! Not quite there, but it's quite difficult to make an irregular hexagon into a kitten. You will notice that this is another cupcake cake...

Martha's Marvellous Munchies

Search This Blog