Kidneys Turbigo

Today's recipe is one I used to cook regularly for Jazz Nights at The Old School, Stoke Climsland.  It's very useful if you have some sausages left over from the previous day:

KIDNEYS TURBIGO


3 kidneys 
3 sausages (cook in oven - or under grill - then cut in half)
2 oz onions, chopped finely
oil
2 oz mushrooms, chopped
1/2 tbsp tomato puree
1 - 2 slugs of dry sherry
1/2 stock cube + 1/4 pint water
1 tsp parsley
1/2 bay leaf
1 tsp flour


Cook sausages in oven, pour off excess fat.
Brown kidneys, add to sausages.
Cook onions, add mushrooms. Then add flour, stock, tomato puree, sherry, bay leaf. Simmer about 20 minutes.
Nice served with rice or mashed potatoes and lots of greens.
Serves 2 - 3

Wood Ash

In the Saturday Telegraph Gardening Section today there was a question about wood ash.  
Wood ash is a useful source of potash and also lime.  It is recommended that wood ash be put around fruit for the potash   Also it's good put around many plants and shrubs, whilst being careful to avoid acid-loving plants, such as pieris and azaleas.

a glorious pieris

However, it was suggested that if a great deal of wood ash is produced it might be better to put aside and add to the compost heap.  This would be especially useful in the summer when the ash can help wet compost, such as grass clippings, rot down better.


On GQT this week, Bob Flowerdew was quoted as suggesting that wood ash is good for gooseberries, which bears this out.

From the site: http://bobflowerdew.co.uk/

(I don't know how much he charges these days for his talks but many years ago (well about 15) he was asking £3,000 for an hour!  He must be good!)

Turkey Loaf

I bought some turkey breasts today and couldn't think what to do with them, apart from the usual marinade in oil, soy sauce and herbs, then cook under the grill.  So had a look on the internet and found several recipes for Turkey Loaf and finally invented one which used the ingredients from our kitchen. So here's the recipe, all amounts are very approximate:


Jenny's Turkey Loaf


11 oz turkey meat
8 oz onions
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 stick celery
1/2 green pepper
1 egg
1 chicken stock cube
mixed herbs

• Mix all these ingredients in the food processor, then put into a loaf-type tin.
• Swirl a little olive oil on top and sprinkle some herbs.
• Cook for about an hour at about 180C.
• Serves 4 - 5.

* Perhaps another time I'll try adding some wine, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, courgettes or other items, perhaps even chorizo sausage or bacon.

Pumpkins

Yesterday, instead of carving a ghoulish face out a pumpkin and standing a candle inside it we decided that for dinner we could try roasted pumpkin.


To some olive oil in the pan I added some parsnips, a courgette, some chopped garlic, a sprig of rosemary and some salt and pepper and a small sliced pumpkin.


This was roasted for about 45 minutes and we really enjoyed it. I forgot to take a photo to put on here, so we will have roasted pumpkin pieces again soon.

Blueberries and Blackcurrants

Growing Blueberries

Apart from being rather tasty (must stop using the word 'yummy' about everything), blueberries are are high in antioxidants and Vitamin C and (like blackcurrants) can be frozen to enjoy throughout the year.  

I've been reading about blueberries recently where it says that they're very rewarding to grow, so long as certain details are borne in mind. 

This came from the interesting site Garden Fresco (http://www.gardenfresco.co.uk/growing-fruit/blueberries):

Apparently they like to grow in acid soil.  As the soil here is on the alkali side, adding pine needles and conifer clippings to the soil around them helps make the soil more acidic. Also put some ericaceous compost around the base of the bush at the end of April and end of June.


In order to help with pollination, and thus produce more fruit, it's recommended that we plant more than one blueberry bush.

Also add potash in spring (potash helps balance nitrates), so we will use ash from any bonfires and from our wood burning stove.


If it's any interest, this diagram came from the potassium development association website: 

Blackcurrants

So far as growing blackcurrants is concerned, here are a few notes from the Saturday Telegraph newspaper 5/4/2014:

Like blueberries, growing blackcurrants is great value as they're so expensive in the shops.  The flavour is incomparable to the shop-bought fruit, so long as we let them mature beyond when they're fully dark.  

The most reliable plants tend to have 'ben' in their name - best for flavour and for hardiness (Ben Conan, Ivory are early, probably July with Big Ben and  Ben Tirran following on later).  

Harvesting is easier if all the fruit ripens at the same time then they can be pruned and the berries picked at the same time.

They like a sunny spot with fertile soil, a metre and a half to spread out, and a good soaking in dry spells.

Their branches become less productive over time so every year remove a third of the oldest wood to allow new branches to grow through.  This can be done in the winter but it's easier to do this when the berries are ready to be harvested, put the stems into a jug of water and use the berries and leaves when needed.

Once picked, they'll keep for a few days in a fridge.  To make into a puree, which can be then frozen and used at your leisure, simply put them into a pan (no need to top and tail them) with a tiny amount of water and cook over a gentle heat, stirring occasionally.   Then sieve and freeze, unsweetened.  It's a fine base for sorbets, cocktails, ice cream.  And don't forget that the leaves make a wonderful herbal tea.

Pumpkin time of year

I didn't have much luck this year growing pumpkins, well to tell the truth I've never managed to grow them successfully, perhaps next year? ...

1. 

Anyhow, we bought two pumpkins today and I wondered how to store them.  The seller suggested keeping them somewhere cool and away from direct sunlight to prolong colour and quality. Put something underneath in case it weeps, allow air to circulate, and store them in a single layer, covering them with a blanket or similar it's likely to be very cold.

If they start to go soft:

• cut out the soggy bits and use the rest.
• toast and eat the seeds, so long as they aren't mouldy
• any flesh which is not mouldy can be fed to animals
• as a last resort put on the compost heap which it will add useful moisture - or bury it in your garden.

Now to find some recipes ... 




From this site: http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/138154/Pumpkin-and-orange-soup

Pumpkin and Orange Soup


375g pumpkin, peeled and roughly chopped (or could use butternut squash)
150g carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
300g onions, peeled and chopped
1.3l vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
100g red lentils
s&p
Finely grated rind and juice of one large orange

Put all ingredients, except orange, into a pot, bring to the boil and simmer about 25 mins, until vegetables are cooked.
Cool slightly, add orange rind and juice and blend, seasoning to taste.
(variation: could add 1 tsp curry powder)


4 November: finally got round to making this today although unfortunately didn't have any carrots so substituted a stick of celery.    It tasted pretty good but looked rather bland as it didn't have the marvellous orange colour which would have been obtained from the missing carrots.


See also  http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/pictures/24610/20-ways-with----pumpkin/2

Too wet to dig!

Too wet to dig - but although end of October I found two courgettes lurking amongst the soggy foliage this morning.

It's not quite this muddy but I thought it was such a lovely picture!