Piquancy in salad leaves

To add add a splash of welcome colour and a hint of piquancy to your salad leaf mix try growing giant red mustard leaves.

Pick the leaves when small and the plant will continue to produce,

it is also capable of standing through a mild winter before going to

seed in late spring. Save the seed for more salad leaves.

The Art of Vegetables

The artistic masterpieces which look good enough to eat     Daily Mail Reporter

Chinese artist Ju Duoqi poses with one of her works during her vegetable-made painting exhibition in Beijing

Vincent Van Gogh's self portrait has been recreated with spring onions while Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa has also been created out of vegetables

Attack of the Sprouts!

Brussels Sprouts are not every ones favourite vegetable but when you sit down for your festive meal you can be sure that the sprouts are coming.

Play attack of the Sprouts.

Winter vegetables with North African Salsa

          

Garden Detective

A garden blog by Jessica Damiano that gets to the root of things

...I'm back, and I have some news to report: Carol Barker of the United Kingdom has won a copy of "The Herb Gardener: A Guide for All Seasons," by Susan McClure, for submitting some intriguing uses for all that mint taking over my backyard....

   

Winter vegetables with North African Salsa

 Ingredients 

• 4 ounces or 100 grams of  Carrots
• 4 ounces or 100 grams of  Parsnip
• 4 ounces or 100 grams of  Potato
• 4 ounces or 100 grams of  turnip / swede
• 4 ounces or 100 grams of  green beans
• 4 ounces or 100 grams of  Broccoli florets
•  2/3 sprigs of Fresh Mint
• Large cup of Natural Yogurt 
• Cumin seeds 1 tsp
• Coriander seeds 1 tsp

 Method

 Steam the broccoli florets and green beans until tender (al dente)

 Roast the root vegetables sprinkled with cumin and coriander seeds, sea-salt and ground black pepper.

 Salsa

 Natural yogurt, sweeten with honey and add your chopped mint leaves, season with salt and pepper.

 Spoon the salsa over the hot vegetables, dust with paprika and a pinch of cinnamon.

 Serve at once.

Desert - Mint ice cream.

 

• 568ml carton double cream
  
• 300ml whole milk
  
• 6 large egg yolks
  
• 375g caster sugar
  
• 300g  Dark chocolate chips
  
• 2 green cardamom pods
  
•  3 or 4 Sprigs of fresh mint leaves
  
• 
  

  Method

 Sugar syrup

   Separate the mint leaves from the stems.

   Heat 2 oz. / 200grams of castor sugar and 16 fluid ozs./500mls. cold water in a heavy pan

   Bruise the mint stalks by crushing them then add to pan.

   Boil mixture for 10 minutes then remove stalks.

   Allow syrup to cool

   Blanch mint leaves in boiling water

   Refresh leaves in cold water and then allow them to cool

   Once the sugar syrup has cooled add mint leaves and blend until smooth green consistency is reached.

 

     Ice Cream

    Beat the egg yokes with the remaining sugar until the mixture becomes thick and creamy.

    In a heavy based pan heat the cream and milk until just before they reach boiling point. Pour the hot cream     mixture on to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.

    Return the mixture to the pan and heat gently,

    Crush cardamom pods lightly then add to mixture.

    Once mixture has thickened remove the cardamom pods and pour mixture in a bowl

    Allow to cool

    Stir in the cool sugar syrup mint leaf blend and cool for several hours

    Stir in the chocolate chips

     Place in ice cream maker and process until completion

     Serve with mint leaf garnish

National stroke awareness day - spread the message.

                                      

What is FAST?

 

FAST requires an assessment of three specific symptoms of stroke.

 

Facial weakness - can the person smile? Has their mouth or eye drooped?

Arm weakness - can the person raise both arms?

Speech problems - can the person speak clearly and understand what you say?

Test all three symptoms

 

If the person has failed any one of these tests, you must call 999. Stroke is a medical emergency and by calling 999 you can help someone reach hospital quickly and receive the early treatment they need. Prompt action can prevent further damage to the brain and help someone make a full recovery. Delay can result in death or major long-term disabilities, such as paralysis, severe memory loss and communication problems.

 

What if the symptoms go away?

A Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA), which is sometimes called a mini stroke, is similar to a full stroke but the symptoms may only last a few minutes and will have completely gone within 24 hours. Don't ignore it. It could lead to a major stroke. See your GP as soon as possible and ask to be referred to a specialist stroke service. This should happen within seven days.

Healthy eating

 

Here are some tips on how to eat healthily and reduce your risk of stroke

 

• Snack on fruit and vegetables: Don’t fill up on junk food. Instead, eat as much fresh fruit, vegetables and dried fruit as you like.

 

• Aim for at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. A portion is about 80 grams (3 ounces) – for example, an apple, an orange or a glass of orange juice, a large carrot, two broccoli florets, a handful of grapes or three tablespoons of peas.

 

• Choose low-fat proteins. Don’t eat too much red meat – choose fish, poultry (with the skin removed), game or vegetarian alternatives instead. Most red meat is high in saturated fat, which contributes to the arteries furring up.

 

• Reduce your salt intake. Salt raises blood pressure. Don’t add salt to your food and avoid processed foods which contain a lot of salt.

 

• Eat more fibre. Foods high in fibre help control blood fat levels. Try wholegrain cereals, porridge, brown rice, whole-wheat bread and pasta, and grains such as couscous.

 

• Limit the amount of fat you eat. You need some fat in your diet, but too much can clog up your arteries and add to weight problems. Try to limit the amount you use and stick to vegetable, seed and nut oils rather than margarine and butter.

 

The main food groups

 

Choose a variety of food from the main food groups:

 

• fruit and vegetables
• bread, cereals, pasta and potatoes
• meat, fish and protein alternatives
• dairy food such as milk, cheese and yoghurt

fats and oils (but don’t eat too much of these).

Raising our game

Since our Villa was burgled in 2004 we have had several large sheets of 19mm marine ply-wood in the stable. The wood was used to cover our windows and doors to secure the property against further intrusion; until the new windows and doors were fitted. This wood was very, very expensive.

The poor soil and copious amounts of stones and rocks therein; has been a major factor in pushing us towards utilising raised beds for our seedlings, cuttings and vegetables. Back home in the UK I would probably used 1" thick scaffolding boards for the beds. Here where wood is a luxury item we have been hard pressed to find something as resilient or as cheap. For this reason we are using the plywood which has been sawn down into various planks. With the boxes constructed size of 2.5m x 1.5m we are trying to minimise any splaying out of the timber sides by securing them to timber posts. And also by using the golden coloured rock lifted from last years paths to surround them to a depth of about 3". The midnight blue stain applied to the timber looks fine against the stone too.



The grasses have taken some killing off but in the first year we are using weed resistant fabric inside the boxes and overlaying that with cardboard packaging.

If it works it works if it doesn't well that will be another project

Hardly a vegetable is it?

I may plant artichoke though we are unlikely to utilise it as a vegetable, whilst I am less than impressed with their taste Carol thinks they are a complete waste of space on the plate. I think they would fine in the flower garden adding a variety of foliage that would suit the climate and be a foil to the softer and lusher leaved plants.If you have followed this Mediterranean garden blog for a while you may recall we turned down the chance to live on an artichoke farm.

Lest we be tempted to fiddle and fart around with artichokes in an attempt to turn them into food, we may better to try cardoons their larger scale and ornamental cousins.

Nectar food of the gods

My favourite time of the year has arrived again. There is nothing better in gardening than that moment of hearing the first pod pop open to reveal those fresh garden peas. My earliest memories of vegetable growing are as a boy of seven visiting grandad's allotment with my father. Where I was allowed to pick pea pods while he did a little digging. The peas, as they are in all vegetable gardens, were eaten on site few ever made the journey home. Evidence of our feast was thrown into the chicken coup for the birds to squabble over.
Despite nutritionist's advice that frozen peas are better than shop bought peas, I prefer to pop a pod and if I have none of my own I will splash the cash.