July News
Watching a garden grow is a bit like watching a kettle boil, but go away for a few days and the growth is amazing. It’s a pleasure to walk up to the garden and discover what has happened. Buckets of beans and mange- tout, cucumbers, courgettes, and the blackberries and gooseberries begging to be picked. And the sweetpeas and calendula are flowering. A few days away is obviously a good thing!
The weather is still good and the vegetables are loving it. This means a lot of time is spent watering, not a bad occupation outside in the sunshine, but the tunnels are a bit steamy. The main slog of digging, manuring and planting is done now and we are really beginning to enjoy the rewards.
We’re taking a break from cooking classes until September. Any requests or bright ideas for the forthcoming agenda would be most welcome so if there’s a class that you would particularly like to do please let us know.
Anyway, here’s a recipe I wrote before I went away but didn’t have time to send!
The summer is really here and the sunshine is helping everything along.
We started to pick the courgettes a week ago. Beautiful, shiny green and bursting with intense flavour. Funny how the first ones always taste so good… of course we are watching them carefully and picking them at the optimum moment. As the season progresses so does the production and come August we’ll probably be barrowing the escapees, that grew too big, to the compost.
Right now, however, the courgettes are very welcome treats and if you are able find lovely small courgettes, 4”-5’/12cms long cook them as soon as possible to enjoy maximum flavour.
Here’s a recipe for:
Courgette and Mint Frittata .
It’s very simple to make. All you need is a medium sized non-stick frying pan or omelette pan and a grill to finish the cooking.
4 eggs
2-3 small courgettes
1-2 cloves garlic
125g feta cheese
A handful of chopped mint
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Wash the courgettes and cut them into quarters lengthwise, then chop into even sized cubes. Peel and chop the garlic. Beat the eggs together in a bowl and season with about a quarter teaspoon of salt.
Heat the frying pan, add about 2tbs olive oil and the courgettes. Cook on a high heat for 3=4 minutes, tossing the courgettes so that they cook evenly. Add the chopped garlic and cook for a further minute. Season with salt and black pepper.
Tip the courgettes into the beaten eggs, add the chopped mint and crumble in the feta. Put a little more oil into the pan and pour the mix back in. Cook on a low heat until the eggs are nearly set then put the pan under the grill to finish the cooking.
Serve cut into wedges with salad on the side