This picture could of course, constitute an introduction to another "deep and meaningful" post! 


I predict a collective sigh of “oh no – here he goes, again …”!


You might be pleased to hear that it isn’t one of those. It’s actually, another “what have I been up to” posts. This time it’s about growing (and foraging for) stuff to eat!

 

There’s nothing of any great significance in this post. It’s just an illustration of something else that is very different to being an international lawyer – and which gives me quite a lot of pleasure.

 

Growing things to eat, is something that until this year, I have never done before.

 

Probably in common with a fair few people during lockdown, I decided to give it a go and have been very pleasantly surprised.

 

I have grown some new potatoes, peas and French beans. Unfortunately, you don’t get a picture as I’ve eaten them all! Currently on the go are tomatoes and stem ginger. The ginger was not started deliberately. I keep root ginger in a pot. Having completely forgotten about it for many weeks, I looked inside the pot, to see that the ginger root had sprouted. I therefore decided to plant it. Who knows what is going on below the surface (because that is where the real action takes place) but there is a lot of upwards growth. Apparently, it takes 6 months to reach maturity. If it carries on at the current rate, I think I will need a new kitchen before then!

 

I can’t profess to be endowed with “green fingers” and to have cultivated enormous crops, but everything has produced some results (if you call a single spoonful of peas a result?!)

 

I guess the main thing for me is how much I have actually enjoyed the process. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty and it is pleasant to sit out on a warm summer evening, surrounded by greenery, which I am optimistic will produce things to be eaten. There is then the satisfaction of this hope being fulfilled. 

 

I know that people usually say that home grown stuff tastes better than shop bought. Personally, I am not sure that I can taste the difference, but it certainly doesn’t taste any worse – and that will do for me!

 

Having grown new potatoes, peas beans, mint and rosemary; a particular meal entered my mind.  All I needed was some lamb. In the true spirit of home cultivation, it did strike me that a trip to Aldi would be cheating. Given that they seem to sell everything else, I was disappointed to discover that Amazon don’t appear to sell sheep! That said, I wasn’t planning to turn my shed into a slaughterhouse and waiting for it to die peacefully, in its sleep and at a very great age would have resulted in the accompanying veg being rather past its best!

 

My other newly discovered interest is foraging. There are plenty of blackberries and elderberries growing just around the corner from me and I have been able to fill many a jar. A new and welcome discovery are elderberries – probably because they are not commercially available. The fruits of my labours in that respect, have been a couple of pies and some quite delicious cordial.




 


 


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