Flying Greenhouse

Most weekends D and myself go over to the allotment to work, harvest or even just check on progress, which was the purpose of today's visit. When we got there, our hearts sank. In fact we were both gutted. The greenhouse that we had lovingly relocated in April (see below) from plot 11 had been thrown from its location.
upside down to the strawberry bed opposite. It was kinda peculiar really, almost like someone had lifted it and toppled it over deliberately, but it was the recent high winds.

We have had no luck with this greenhouse, it is flimsy for the weather conditions in Scotland. This greenhouse was originally in our garden at home, but on New Years eve in 2007 the high winds had got it, it was mangled and we lost a load of panes and clips. I went ahead and ordered a load more to repair it. D decided to dismantle it and take it over to plot 11 where he rebuilt it. Then in 2008, the wind got it again, so D decided to glue the flimsy panes with mastic sealant. And because it cost us so much to buy additional panes and clips, as well as labour to repair, we decided to relocate it from plot 11 which we had decided to give up to plot 45. This year, again...the wind has got our greenhouse, but instead of losing the panes, it seems like the high wind had caught it and toppled it over, damaging and buckling the frame.

I do not have a photo of what it looks like today, as my intention was just to check things over at the plot, not harvest or work. But it is pretty bad. Thankfully with the help of my nephew we moved it back into position, but we will not be repairing it until next year. In fact, we may even decide just to dispose of it all together, we have not had any luck with this greenhouse and it has been quite costly, financially and emotionally...we are really gutted.

Mallow Snowmen and a Haggis Samosa

As the skies were promising to keep the rain off parts of Scotland, yesterday I decided to take my guest (nephew) into Edinburgh.
He has been to Edinburgh and played tourist before, so yesterday was more about shopping and spending 'quality time' with his Aunty, rather than checking out Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile.

Princes street is really chaotic at the moment with road works, so other than stopping in Jenner's where we mused at these 'snowman; and 'Christmas tree' pasta shapes, we decided to check out the back streets and alleys.

We stopped at a popular fast-food bakery and picked up a couple of mallow snowmen to nibble on. Above are a few eateries in Edinburgh that I would recommend to vegetarians for flavour and value for money (from top left to bottom right: The Mosque Kitchen; Henderson's; Susie's Wholefood Diner; and Kalpna). In the early afternoon, we actually had a bite to eat at Henderson's Bistro. I had a Moroccan Stew served with couscous and my nephew had enchilada. For dessert we shared a cherry pie. The food was good, the only thing I did not enjoy was my espresso, it was very bitty.

We walked down South Bridge and Nicolson Street, which is just off the tourist track. On this street, you will also see a lot of student life, the diversity of the locals and a bit of 'real Edinburgh'. In this area, is one shop I like to visit now and again: Jordon Valley where I have bought fresh home-made halva. Unfortunately, when I got there we were greeted with a sign in the window 'we will be closed this Friday ...for Eid al-Adha'. Like many Americans celebrating Thanksgiving, Muslims around the world were celebrating Eid al-Adha. Eid Mabarak. While roaming the streets and shops, one of our first snacks was a 'vegetarian haggis samosa' from The Baked Potato. It was spicy and tasty. I like looking in charity and thrift shops and stopped at most of them, hoping to find a bargain or two. I don't send many Christmas cards, but decided to pick up half a dozen to send to family and friends abroad. I also stopped at one of my favourite independent bookshop called WordPower and picked up an unexpected early Christmas present to myself: Love Soup by Anna Thomas.

After our meal at Henderson's we walked back to the train station, taking a detour at the Continental Christmas Market that had set up in the park. These continental Christmas markets come into the cities almost every year selling crafts, hot dogs, stollen and hot mugs, in our case a plastic cup of gluwein. It wasn't particularly nice. Anyway, all in all we had a good day out, but I tell you my little feet were really sore from all the walking, that I was so glad when we got home.

Novelty Gifts from Wales

My oldest nephew arrived last night to spend a long weekend with his favourite Aunty (it's true) and Uncle.
He came bearing some gifts. How sweet and kind of him. Amongst them: a chopping board, chocolate and a non-alcoholic Welsh Punch. Today we travelled into Edinburgh. I will share aspects of my trip tomorrow as my little toots (feet) are quite sore from all the walking and I want to rest.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Cauliflower imitating 'rice' served with tofu Thai curry

Yes, cauliflower 'rice'. It is actually quite a simple idea where the cauliflower is grated so that it resembles grains of rice, then cooked briefly in boiling water.

I would love to take credit for this but it is actually adapted from a recipe by Rose Elliot, the Queen of vegetarian cuisine in the U.K. Cauliflower has a low carbohydrate content and because of this it is often used as a substitute for potatoes in a Low carbohydrate diet. Apparently there are only 20 calories in a 3.5 ounce serving and no fat, so cauliflower can be enjoyed in abundance (but to be honest how many of us would eat it in large quantities?!).

Cauliflower has many health benefits. It is a good source of vitamin C, an important antioxidant vitamin, one that helps strengthen the immune system, promote wound healing, and prevent skin-aging. It’s also a good source of the B vitamins and folate. It also has small quantities of potassium and magnesium, minerals which help maintain normal blood pressure. Cauliflower belongs to the cruciferous family, so it has the same anti-cancer fighting properties of broccoli, kale, and cabbage.

Although the cauliflower was not grown by me, the spring onions and sprouting broccoli were home grown. I am sorry to say that this is the last of my calabrese for the year. However, its not all bad I am due to get some white nine star perennial broccoli and hopefully a second burst of PSB, as it was extremely early this year.

The cauliflower 'rice' actually reminds me other another dish: cauliflower couscous, an idea popularised by El Bulli Restaurant.
Anyway, this is another dish that is so easy to quick to put together after a long working day, especially if you use a ready made Thai green curry paste (make sure its suitable for vegetarians and vegans).

I am submitting this recipe into this weeks WHB#211. This weeks host is Lynne from Cafe Lynnylu. The weekly food blog event showcases information and recipes about herbs, vegetables, fruits and other plant ingredients. WHB was initiated 4 years ago by Kalyn's Kitchen, it is now organized by Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything At Least Once.

If you are interested in participating and I would encourage you to do so, please note that WHB accepts two types of entries. Recipe posts must showcase either a herb or plant ingredient as one of the primary ingredients in the recipe; or posts must be informative that spotlight one herb or plant ingredient, particularly including information about how they are used in cooking. Posts can be a combination of both these criteria too.

Cauliflower ‘rice’ served with tofu Thai curry
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the Tofu Thai curry

2 tablespoons olive oil
Packet of plain tofu, cut into cubes
4 spring onions, sliced
100g broccoli. I had a mix of PSB and sprouting broccoli.
2 tablespoons of Thai green curry paste or to taste
1 x 400ml can coconut milk
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander
For the cauliflower ‘rice’

1 large cauliflower

Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Put in the tofu cubes and fry. Keep turning until the tofu is golden on all sides. Add the broccoli and cook for a few minutes with the lid on as it will spit. Then add the spring onions, coconut milk and curry paste, and season with salt to taste. Leave to cook gently for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile make the cauliflower ‘rice’. Grate the cauliflower or chop it in a food processor, so it looks like rice. Cook in boiling water for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain well and season to taste with salt. Finally stir the coriander into the curry and serve with the cauliflower rice. Adapted from Rose Elliot's The Vegetarian Low-Carb Diet Cookbook

Oriental treats

One of the students where D works (now and again), had graduated and left some treats in the kitchen as Goodbye and goodwill gesture. Because these savoury sweets were unusual to him, D decided to bring a handful back home for me to try.

I didn't want to eat any of them as I thought they were very cute in their individual wrappers.
But at the same time I was curious to see what they looked like underneath and how they tasted. So there we were, slowly unwrapping them and then inspecting them closely – they were actually pieces of Japanese rice crackers stuck together duh. Then we took a bite, our brains somewhat thinking that the soy sauce or tamari coating was somehow going to taste of popcorn caramel, well for anyone who had had rice crackers will know that the taste is completely different. For me they are a bit of an acquired taste, but like this they are very cute.

Soup for squally weather

So why make this soup, well tis' the soup season and do I really need an excuse, just look outside of my window. It's raining and blustery. And to be truthful, I will soon be running out of homegrown produce and raiding both my small freezer and store cupboard.

For now though making this soup gives me the excuse to use both store-cupboard and home-grown ingredients (chard and onion), little though they may be.
Three types of lentils: puy, brown and green lentils in soak with garlic and bay leaf. The lentils look quite pretty like polished pebbles.

This is my first ever contribution to My Legume Love Affair, a popular bean-centric event created by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook and hosted this month by Sra of When My Soup Came Alive.
For those of us who are new and wishing to participate in the event, this is what Susan has to say: 'For those new to the event, your choice of recipes is very broad. As much as legumes are most commonly known as fresh or dried beans, peas, lentils and pulses, they are also the sometimes edible pods that contain these seeds. Add to the list alfalfa, fenugreek, peanuts, carob, tamarind and other members of the Fabaceae or Leguminosae family, as well as derivatives such as tofu, and you'll have a hard time focusing on just one. All courses and cuisines are welcome, as long as legumes are the dominant ingredient. (Please note: In France, vegetables of all sorts are known as légumes, and are not included in this event.)'. So if your interested in participating check out her blog for further information.
Spiced Lentil Soup with chard
Serve 4 – 6
Ingredients
1 ½ cups lentils (I used green, brown and puy lentils)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
8 stems of coriander, tied together
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion, finely minced
1 generous teaspoon ground cumin
4 chard leaves, finely chopped
Handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Rinse the lentils. Put them in a large pan with 7 cups, thats about 2 1/2 pints of water, along with the garlic, bay leaves and bundle. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered until tender for about 40 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and herb bundle, add salt to taste. While the lentils are cooking, heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion and cumin and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to soften then brown. Then add to the simmering lentils. 10 minutes before you want to serve the lentil, add the chard and cook for about 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped coriander. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste and serve. Adapted from Deborah Madisons’s Vegetable Soups

Fading colours at the plot

It was a swift visit to the allotment plot today because of the weather (rain, rain, rain and strong winds) and to be honest I think this may be the beginning of my short visits, and when I mean short visits it will be only to harvest, not to toil the land.

A quick up-date of the plot before I go. The patch up job for the leaking hut seems to be holding up. I think it will be good until next year, when we really get a chance to mend it properly. Unfortunately the fenugreek I had planted for dual purpose: as green manure as well as for eating, well I will not be for harvesting any of it for a meal as the bed was waterlogged and the tender leaves bashed. The chard that I had moved from one plot bed to another, is looking really sorry for itself. I know for next year, not to do this. The sprouts are still very small, to be honest I don't think they will be bulking much either, but I hope. I didn't harvest anything today, as we still have some vegetables, including cabbages and carrots from last weekend and a load of potatoes in storage.

Here are some pictures taken last weekend of plants with some colour, but they are fading very quickly.
Cardoon flower head. Purple clematis, dandelion and two others whose names I cannot remember are still giving us some colour.