Posts Tagged ‘herbs’ < back
Ways to use your harvest
28th Jun:
6 pink or yellow grapefruit
300ml vodka
Small bunch basil
200g caster sugar
Using a vegetable peeler remove the zest from 3 of the grapefruit and put the zest in a jar. Pour over the vodka and leave to infuse for at least 24 hours.
Cut all the grapefruit in half and juice – if making ahead of time, freeze the juice until it’s needed.
Pick the leaves from the basil and add the stalks to a small saucepan with the sugar and 200ml of water. Gently heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then cool, strain and chill until needed.
Put half the basil leaves in a jug, pour over the vodka, 300ml of basil stock syrup and the pink grapefruit juice and stir.
Fill 6 glasses with ice, the remaining basil and a little pink grapefruit zest (use the stuff from the vodka), and fill with cocktail mix.
Bean salad – you will be asked for this recipe if you serve it to friends, it’s how we got it!
There is so much in this recipe that you might or could have grown in your garden, if you’re missing anything this year make a note for your planting plan for next year.
200g trimmed French beans
1 small red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon tarragon leaves, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped chervil
¼ cup garden cress
Vinaigrette
1 small garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
To make the vinaigrette, put the mustard, garlic and vinegar in a mixing bowl or food processor and slowly add the olive oil until you get a thick dressing, season to taste.
Blanch the beans in boiling salted water for 4 minutes. Refresh and drain.
Mix the beans with the vinaigrette and the rest of the ingredients, apart from the garden cress.
Pile the beans on a serving plate and garnish with cress.
When serving warm, mix the vinaigrette with the warm beans and the rest of the ingredients just before serving.
This pretty punch is a German summer favourite and just the thing if you’re entertaining a crowd on a hot summer evening. Serves about 16.
1kg strawberries, hulled and halved
80g caster sugar
1 lemon, unwaxed if possible
1 bottle crisp white wine, chilled
1 bottle sparkling wine, chilled
Lemon balm or lemon verbena, to garnish
Put the strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle on the sugar. If you don’t have an unwaxed lemon, wash the lemon well in warm water. Peel off thin strips of the zest with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Finely chop one peeled lemon zest strip and add the lemon juice and chopped zest to the strawberry bowl. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.
Pour off the strawberry juice into a bowl and put to one side. Tip the strawberries into a large jug, pour over enough of the wine to cover and refrigerate again for another two hours.
Shortly before serving, add the strawberry juice, the remaining wine and the sparkling wine. Serve either in a punch bowl decorated with the remaining strips of lemon, or pour into glasses and serve with lemon zest strips and sprigs of lemon balm or verbena.
If you don’t want to use your herbs and vegetables now do remember that you can dry and/or freeze them at home.
Growing your own salad and herbs
17th May:
Now is a perfect time to think about growing your own herbs and salads.
There are so many different ways to plant your herbs and vegetables from pots, window boxes, canvas growing bags to substantial vegetable beds, one new and stylish way is a living wall styled planter, this can be installed inside and outside. For more information please do contact us.
Tender vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers and chilli will be fine now to plant outside; we have hopefully seen the last of the frost. If you still have your plants under cover remove the covers during the day but cover new, tender plants up at night in case they get crushed by the rain (if we have any).
Now is the time to sow Beetroot, Cabbage, Carrots, Lettuce and Peas or any other vegetables you want to see on your table during the summer.
To ensure you have salad all summer long we suggest you sow salad vegetables and radish every four weeks; this should give you a healthy continuous crop all summer long.
To make sure you get the most out of your herbs remove flowers, this intensifies the flavour of the leaves.
You can also grow plants that will help you enjoy summer drinking as well as eating.
Try growing a Borage plant, the flowers are edible and taste of cucumber which can be added to your salad or alternatively freeze the flowers in ice cubes and use them in your Pimms or Gin as a substitute for cucumber. They are tough plants and grow well and though a little old fashioned they are underrated.
If you enjoy a fresh mint tea after a meal out, why not grown you own mint for dinking at home, also try lemon balm as an alternative, both make delicious fresh teas.
If you would like any further ideas or help on creating your edible garden please contact us.
