It was great to be out walking again. Conditions not ideal - chilly and showery, but we didn't really notice as we had plenty to talk about! We went on one of our favourite walks on footpaths near the Charlton Viaduct. One of the first things we noticed was this tree (top left) with its beautiful blossom. No, Jenny isn't trying to eat it - just looking!
Something that you can eat is wild garlic, and there is plenty around this time of year, in woodland areas. The lush, fresh, green leaves (see left), are the easiest thing to forage, as you cannot mistake it for something poisonous! There is the overall garlicky smell and if you still have doubts crush the edge of a leaf in your fingers to get a big hit of garlic! We noticed the flowers - pretty, white, and star-like are starting to come out. They are also edible, but the leaves are at their best for flavour, before too many blooms appear. There is a short window to pick wild garlic - by June it has disappeared...
Wash the wild garlic leaves before eating and they can be used raw in salads, sandwiches or as an omelette filling, (it goes really well with eggs). It can also be added to soups, stews and stir fries at the end of cooking. There are plenty of recipes on the internet - try Riverford. I still get a veg box from them every week - and this season they will sometimes include some wild garlic in the box, with recipes. A wild garlic risotto or pesto sounds good - I picked some today so may well try to make them later in the week. I am also going to give some of the leaves to a friend to see whether his tortoises appreciate their pungent taste!
Our walk this morning was another casualty of Storm Imogen - I am sure we never had names for a bit of extreme weather in this country, until recently, and who names them?!?
One great thing to do when it is cold, wet and windy outside is cooking in a warm kitchen! For the last two weeks, I have been having recipe boxes from Riverford Organics - this has been instead of my usual veg box. Each box provided all the ingredients for three meals for two people, vegetarian in my case, and full instructions...
Last week I had a guest box by chefs David and Stephen Flynn, two Irish brothers known as The Happy Pear. They have a large business, including own-label food production and distribution, an on-line shop, a bestselling cookbook and education videos. They believe in encouraging everybody to eat more veg and wholesome whole food! They also have a huge social media following and are part of the Jamie Oliver Food Tube family.
I find that it is easy to get in a rut with cooking meals and using the same ingredients. In the summer I eat most of my food raw but in the winter some comfort food is required! These boxes are a good way to find out other ways of cooking and introduce different ingredients and flavour combinations. I found it great fun and it was good not to have to think what to cook next! The portions were generous - I often had leftovers to have with a salad for lunch next day...
Jenny was still feeling fragile this morning so we just did a short walk around our estate. They are still building and we discovered for the first time how to get on to the area they have set aside for wildlife, with its large pond, pathways, grassland, hedgerows and areas newly planted with trees - mostly oak and beech. A great place for children to play and dogs to walk. The sun rising and breaking through the mist looked spectacular and at the same time in another part of the sky the moon was still visible.
Our estate, Tadley Acres is built on Duchy Farmland so Prince Charles keeps a keen interest in its development and ensures that the housing is varied, mixed and has historical references in the choice of architecture. There are trees, green spaces and even a structure for bats (see below bottom right)!
Jenny was talking about healthy eating in the last post. I do have a very good vegetarian diet, eating as much raw as I can - easier in Summer than Winter! To help with this I have an organic veg box from Riverford delivered to the house every week. It makes me eat things I wouldn't normally buy or sometimes have never seen before! Luckily they provide plenty of recipes and suggestions on cooking methods. It helps me get out my rut of eating the same things day after day!
Something that you can eat is wild garlic, and there is plenty around this time of year, in woodland areas. The lush, fresh, green leaves (see left), are the easiest thing to forage, as you cannot mistake it for something poisonous! There is the overall garlicky smell and if you still have doubts crush the edge of a leaf in your fingers to get a big hit of garlic! We noticed the flowers - pretty, white, and star-like are starting to come out. They are also edible, but the leaves are at their best for flavour, before too many blooms appear. There is a short window to pick wild garlic - by June it has disappeared...
