Molly's Lotment - Salad Days

Red and Blackcurrant Bake

Today the weather has been a mixture of biting winds, driving rain and then the odd glitches of sunshine in between. A day for log fires and home baking. I had a couple of bags of red and blackcurrants in the freezer left over from last year. This pudding was a bit of an experiment -

7oz frozen red currants& black currents mixed

4 oz flour (I used wholemeal because it was what I had in the cupboard)

4 oz sugar ( I used brown " " " ..........)

2oz butter

1 beaten egg

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Add sugar and fruit.

Bind together with the beaten egg.

Place in a oven proof non metal (greased) dish

Bake for 50 minutes in a medium hot oven

Serve with cream or custard.

 Was quite pleased with the result and Other Half liked it - so something I will bake again.

Zlata Radish & Little Gem Lettuce

I spent a couple of hours in the afternoon, weeding in the poly tunnel. We tried a new radish (for us) this year. One called Zlata which is gold coloured instead of the red ones we normally grow. They have excelled themselves and are absolutely delicious. The Hispi cabbage are still growing well and I've planted a second crop in another small patch.

I  made a dish of coleslaw. Here are the ingredients I used - washed, peeled and shredded in the processor Mixed with a teaspoon of lemon juice and a table spoon of salad cream.

Served with salad, salmon, white Cheshire cheese, chunks of fresh wholemeal bread and lashings of butter.
That was our dinner.


Molly

Liz's Log - Modified Onion Spacer

Molly's Modified Onion Spacer

Molly's Lotment - Planting Onions

They said it was going to be 'All Change!' and they were so right. The end of  March was bathed in glorious sunshine. Wednesday April 4th - plummeting temperature, driving snow and high winds.

Turbo Onions

No time to lose, Tuesday we planted two rows of onion sets the length of the lotment down at the mill. The Man that Can cobbled up an onion planter/spacer which in all fairness worked like a dream.

Onion planter/spacer

Off cut of soft wood. Marked at 8" intervals. Remains of broken pikel stale lathed into pegs 2+" depth. Attach to length of wood. Loop each end of baler twine or any such strong string to wood and .....

away to go. I would have preferred a stout handle up the centre of the onion planter, but time was not on our side and what's more it did the job before the snow came. We also managed to plant four rows of main crop potatoes, a row of early onward peas and a row of Bunyard's Exhibition broad beans before the rain tumbled.
The weather is still wet and chilly. I spent the afternoon weeding in the poly tunnel ......

Rocket Potatoes

The early potatoes we planted the beginning of March are living up to their name. They were chitted in February.

Little Gem

Little Gem lettuce are starting to 'heart up.'

Webbs lettuce, beetroot and parsnips will soon need thinning.

And just outside the door of the poly tunnel - a clump of fresh mint defying the couch grass.


Happy Easter
Molly