We had a fabulous day yesterday. G and I went to the allotment and our daughter and the two grandchildren joined us. I wanted to dig up a whole row of potatoes so that I could more easily reach the back of the row of runner beans. Our grandson K had his 14th birthday last Thursday and is much stronger than me (which isn't difficult!) So he willingly got stuck in digging them up with a fork, whilst his sister G bagged them up and collected the leaves for the compost. He didn't spear a single one, unlike me, I usually spoil at least 2 or3. G once managed to spear 3 beauties on the fork in one go so he's been banned from digging them up ever since! This meant that I could harvest the runner beans at the back before they went over. We pulled up the pea plants, removing any edible bits before putting them on the compost too.
The giant onions are growing so big that one or two are actually touching which isn't what we want so I harvested 3 to make space. Onions can be eaten at any point in their growth so I kept one and gave our daughter the other two. This is the smallest of the three...
Our lovely allotment neighbour gave us 4 beetroot to try. As soon as I got home I boiled and skinned my 2. They were delicious and have been added to salads and a sandwich......
I took hot and cold drinks for us, as well as soap and water for hand washing, so we paused for lunch and bought chip shop chips to share 😜 followed by freshly picked raspberries . It was the most exciting day out that I've had for months!
DD took home some carrots, runner beans, peas and potatoes as well as a couple of corn cobs. She cooked them, ate a plateful of veg with gravy and kept a corn cob back for later after taking her son to football training. When she got home her hubby had eaten it (even though he swears he 'doesn't like' corn 🙄) so she never got to try it. It was deliciously sweet and tender served with a small knob of butter.....
I'll pick some more for her next time we go. She did take home 3 carrier bags full of potatoes which she will share with her Sister-in-Law and her neighbours.
Food Shortages:
Sainsburys has just delivered the food shopping and each week lately there are out of stock items and substitutions; 4 out of stock and 4 subs this week alone. It means we are 3 meals short on the food planner for the next 7 days. On the rare occasions I nip into Morrisons for a forgotten item I notice empty shelves everywhere. I do commend the supermarkets for pulling out all the stops to keep the deliveries flowing. It must be tough at the moment.
How are food supplies where you are?
I'm especially grateful for the veg at the allotment.
Coming soon:
Leeks
Calabrese
Parsnips
Sprouts
Blackberries
Bramley apples
Russet? dessert apples
Still harvesting:
Potatoes
Runner beans
French beans
Carrots
Onions
Luckily, there was a small piece of steak in the shopping so G can have that tonight with roast potatoes, roast parsnip, carrots, and runner beans. I think I'll just have a big plate of veg like DD did but with home grown mint sauce 😀
Stay safe everyone wherever in the world you happen to be x
Hi So lovely to see your home grown veg, I am missing ours, and a wonderful day at the lottie with the grand children fabulous..It seems so strange not to have tomatoes and salad stuff outside my back door, but we've big plans for next year.. but first we're getting some flower beds dug.. we'll probably just have a small veg patch. Moving has been hard work I forgot I was old, but we're getting straight slowly and its worth it to be here.. how is your moving going, don't give up, you'll get through this.
ReplyDeleteSo many people are talking about shortages and now I am getting a bit worried. I know farmers here are having bad crops so I think flour and pasta will be in short supply. I think I am going to do a tiny stock up on those items.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that your grandson did so well in the digging of potatoes.
God bless.
Hi Angie, you can't beat fresh from the ground.
ReplyDeleteI work at S********* and we are having trouble as well, a lot of the drivers have been pinged because of covid. Hope the house hunt is going ok. xx
Our veggies here are not doing well, 90+degree heat took its toll. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your haul, it's reassuring. Here on the Eastern Seaboard, we are having various shortages, and the farmers' markets are pretty thin. I'm thinking positively about Autumn, though.
ReplyDeleteYour vegetables look amazing. It's so satisfying and healthy to grow your own food. My persimmons, Meyer lemons, and limes look promising. I did harvest some blackberries this year which was exciting. I am hoping the zucchini plants produce before it gets too cold.
ReplyDeletehome grown veggies are fab, you've certainly got a good selection.
ReplyDeleteOur local shops are also experiencing food shortages as well.
What lovely big onions you have there Angie. They are woppers aren't they. I was happy with my onions this year as well.
ReplyDeleteLooks like there is still plenty to keep you smiling and cropping down at the allotment :)
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