Potato experiment…

The potato experiment seems to have started well and I should be able to plant these out soon. I just cut off pieces from potatoes which just included mostly skin and the shoots and they seem to be growing well.

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Potato knowledge…!

Ok, in my quest for huge levels of amazing organic fruit and vegetables from the allotment, i’ve been doing some potato growing research. Various sources, including books, verbal and internet.

– Plant seed potatoes in rows 75cm apart for main crops and for 2nd earlies. 60 cms apart for 1st earlies.

– Place each potato 10-15 cms down into trench and up to 30cms apart within each row.

– Use a fertiliser directly around potatoes with lots of organic matter, including potash.

– Lightly cover potatoes then as each new shoot comes through. At a height of 15cms, cover with just 5 cms showing through. The bases of the plants must be covered to avoid scalding by sun which makes green areas on potatoes which taste bitter and contain a poisonous alkaloid.

– The new growth potatoes always develop above the height of the original seed potato.

– Cuts can be made and each seed potato can be divided up with each piece having a single bud. See images below for my latest plant experiment! : )

– If you want to store potatoes, leave them in ground for at least 2 weeks after plant has died back for the potatoes to develop thicker skins.

– Use straw or newspaper between layers of stored potatoes – keeping for 6-8 months.

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Around the house…

A day spent at home with two sick boys, coughing and spluttering! A cold but bright and clear afternoon, following a very wet and grey morning.

Nice to get some fresh air in the garden and blow away the illness!

I chopped some wood and found some nice patterns in the centres. Light refracting through a glass and a close-up of a sprouting potato with the new Canon S100. I have to say this beats my Canon 400D hands down, partly because you can only get as close as 30cms, given the 18-200 lens. Very pleased with the detail on that.

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Fruit, veg and soup…!

More toms from the garden…

The days are drawing in and a chill is in the air. Most of the tomato plants are pretty much dead now, so most of the fruit has been picked (ready or not), before they get ruined.

There are still quite a few left alive out there but a lot of the stems and branches have died. Quite a lot of green ones but they’ll either ripen indoors or just be cooked. Lots of small peppers as well!

Also, we had our Riverford veg box delivered on Tuesday and today I was just staring at it, mostly waiting for my ‘inner cooking genius’ to emerge – this didn’t happen, so I consulted the net for ideas! We have potatoes, onions, cabbage, leeks etc, and the only thing coming up was soup, so…

Potato, onion and leek soup. The recipe is from some slimming site but to be honest, the butter and milk don’t exactly make me think of low calorie diets! Plus, it’s a Delia recipe so pretty much guaranteed success.

This turned out really well and went great with some bread and butter + in my case, some chilli flakes on top! I only used 2 large leeks though and this seems to be a good balance. Well worth a go and most of the time was just waiting for it to simmer and cook. Claire gave me some amazing feedback as well!

4 large leeks
1 medium onion, chopped small
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 oz (50 g) butter (substitute Flora Ex Light for 5 syns)
1½ pints (850 ml) vegetable stock (substitute Chicken Bovril or Vecon)
10 fl oz (275 ml) milk (semi skimmed as part of HEX A)
salt and freshly milled black pepper

To serve:
1½ tablespoons snipped fresh chives or chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons cream or crème fraiche (subsitute Total 2% Greek yogurt for negligible syns [1/2 syn for pot])(I tried Total 0% but it curdled a bit)

Begin by trimming the leeks, discarding the tough outer layer. Now split them in half lengthways and slice them quite finely, then wash them thoroughly in two or three changes of water. Drain well. In a large, thick-based saucepan, gently melt the butter, then add the leeks, onions and potatoes, stirring them all round with a wooden spoon so they get a nice coating of butter. Season with salt and pepper, then cover and let the vegetables sweat over a very low heat for about 15 minutes.

After that, add the stock and milk, bring to simmering point, cover and let the soup simmer very gently for a further 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft – if you have the heat too high the milk in it may cause it to boil over. Now you can put the whole lot into a blender – leave it to cool a little first – and blend to a purée. If you have to blend the soup in batches, make sure you have a bowl to hand to put the first batch into.

Now return the soup to the saucepan and reheat gently, tasting to check the seasoning. Add a swirl of cream or crème fraîche before serving and sprinkle with freshly snipped chives or parsley.
This recipe is taken from The Delia Collection: Soup and Delia’s Vegetarian Collection.

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