Garden Supper — 23rd July 2008

This was the third of the Garden Supper evenings and probably the most challenging to date. I don't know why but it was just one of those days when everything went wrong. Even the cucumbers were playing up — every one I picked was slightly bitter and needed to be salted before use, and every one I have picked since has been fine (just as well really as I now have 8 in the fridge that need using up and more ripening every day). Anyway, I did manage eventually to get some food on the table and to set out the olive oil tasting which I had planned. I was disappointed in that there was a fair bit of repetition of ingredients used at the previous supper but unfortunately that's just the way it goes sometimes. I hope the olive oil tasting made up for things. We followed the supper with a talk and discussion on the role of Omega 9 in the diet.

Olive oil tasting with courgette (G) and carrot bread

Garden salad (G) with
Charlotte salad potatoes (G), cucumber (G) and yellow french beans (G) in vinaigrette
a choice of red quinoa with basil (G) pesto or white quinoa with coriander (G) pesto

Gooseberry* and redcurrant* crumble with cashew nut cream
(* sourced locally from friends' gardens — no air miles or car miles involved!)

Chocolate florentines

Quinoa can be a love it or hate it kind of food so it was a bit of a gamble serving it at a supper when there are no alternatives offered. It went down well in most cases but some folk had an issue with texture. I find that red quinoa is less mushy that the white and has a nuttier flavour — although quinoa is not renown for its flavoursome-ness. It needs to be mixed with some very tasty herbs to reach its full potential but its health benefits are worth the effort. Try not to think of it as a replacement for rice as you will probably be disappointed; it is closer to cous cous or millet in texture. Of all the grains, quinoa is the best source of vegetable protein. It is gluten-free, easy to digest and contains more calcium than milk. It's high in iron too and contains lysine, a potent anti-viral agent.


Garden Supper — 2nd July 2008

The second of the garden suppers took place earlier this week and I'd like to take this chance to apologise to any tennis fans who came along and as a result missed the Murray v Nadal Wimbledon quarter final match. The menu for the evening appears below. I thought it would be a bit of a doddle to make everything in advance and offer a cold buffet, and can safely say after two days of harvesting, cleaning and preparing all the dishes, that it really wasn't! There was no time at all for afternoon skiving off to watch the tennis so my grand plan did kind of back fire. However, it was worth it I hope and now I really could do with some rain to refresh and rejuvenate my plot so that I do actually have some more veg for the next event on the 23rd July. That one is full but there are still spaces available for the evening of 13th August. For further details or to book your space please contact me.

Ginger & lemon balm (G) iced green tea
Almond milk with apple juice

Barley tabbouleh with fresh herbs (G) and a selection of salads:
new potatoes (G) with pesto (basil G)
honeyed carrots (G) with home sprouted mung beans
yellow bean (G), mangetout (G) & courgette (G) in lemon vinaigrette
caramelised onions (G)
mixed green salad leaves (G)

Lavender (G) sorbet

Cocoa & courgette muffins
Chocolate lemon thins

For recipes for the tabbouleh, iced tea, lavender sorbet and muffins click here.

Garden Supper —11th June 2008

Returning from holiday in early June I found the entrance to my front door practically barred by the vine which grows up the front of the house (must have been something to do with all the rain you had here while we were basking in the unseasonably hot Zakynthos sunshine). The grapes are never particularly good even during a hot year as they contain a few too many rather large pips but it does yield some tasty leaves early on in the season. Still being in ‘Greek’ mode I set about pruning the vine, harvesting the leaves and blanching and freezing them for later use. I did feel quite virtuous as even in Greece where stuffed vine leaves (known as dolmades) are a traditional dish, the restaurants seem to buy them in rather than producing their own. Little wonder really because as jobs go, stuffing vine leaves is a bit of a pfaff. I obviously couldn’t plan the menu for the evening too far in advance because that would have defeated the object of using only seasonal food but I didn’t think that stashing away a few leaves was cheating too much.
In early to mid June a garden menu is often based around fresh spring greens and herbs. In my own patch I had plenty of chard, some spinach and pea tips and a good variety of salad greens and herbs including parsley, thyme, rosemary, lemon balm, marjoram, sage, sweet cicely and mint. Mint in particular is good to use at this time of year because you can cut it back quite hard and be rewarded with lovely new fresh leaves in just a few weeks time.
Broad beans are a staple in June and I had them in mind for a risotto dish — luckily they didn’t let me down. I had planted the beans in November and been harvesting them since the middle of May and right until a few days before the 11th they remained free of black fly. A black fly infestation doesn’t usually affect the beans themselves but it stops the tips from being usable and these are excellent wilted into a risotto just before dishing up. We had to make do with fresh pea tips instead but that was fine.

Menu
All ingredients sourced from the garden are marked (G).

Iced mint (G) & white tea

Local strawberries with black pepper

Vine leaves (G) stuffed with quinoa and mixed herbs (G)
Pastry parcels with chard (G), parmesan and thyme (G)
Home-sprouted chickpeas with spring onions (G), parsley (G) & chilli

Broad bean (G) and pesto (herbs G) risotto
Horta (G) — a Greek dish of mixed spring vegetables with herbs, lemon & olive oil
Garden salad (G)

Mint (G) sorbet
Rhubarb (G) crumble ice cream

Chocolate mint thins

For risotto and mint sorbet recipes Click Here
I haven’t included a recipe for stuffed vine leaves because I can’t imagine for a moment that anyone else would be daft enough to do them. The recipe for Rhubarb Crumble ice cream isn’t included either on account of the fact that I may get sued by Delia Smith. It comes from her Summer Recipe Collection.

The theme for the evening was Sun Exposure and how to naturally protect skin from sunburn and its aging effects. Information on using diet as a protective factor was discussed and natural mineral sunblocks were reviewed as an alternative to chemical based sunscreens. For further information on this topic Click Here
And for useful summer products Click Here