Fresh vegetables from my plot and Dexter beef!

Tonight's tea was pretty impressive (even if I say so myself), and David was delighted with it. I cooked some of the Dexter braising steak and everything I served with it was from the plot, that's potatoes, carrots, peas, courgettes, Yorkshire puddings and mint! You're probably thinking that I'm going a bit bonkers as Yorkshire puddings are not grown on an allotment .... but I've included them because they were home made with eggs laid by my chickens!

Dexter beef ... before

The above was quickly followed by a rather nice rhubarb crumble .... and guess where the rhubarb came from? That's right, the allotment, and I wonder if anyone reading this has ever taken a stick of fresh rhubarb and dipped it in a bag of sugar, I know I have! I used this rhubarb crumble recipe from the BBC Good Food website, and served it with some nice vanilla custard, although I didn't use the chopped walnuts (which were optional), you can also find the recipe on my favourite recipe page.

Cindy xx

Home made meatloaf (with home made chips)

Check this out, I got 10 out of 10 for this little beauty tonight, Simon Rimmer made it on Something for the Weekend last Sunday ... there's even a piece left for David to take to work tomorrow!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lamb_meatloaf_50381

Pimm's o' clock

Well that was a busy and interesting week, lots of fruit picked, lots of flowers planted, and a few jugs of Pimm's consumed (I do like a drop of Pimm's!). I was up early this morning and went straight over to the plot so I could pick a large basket of fresh, juicy strawberries. That's because I had agreed to help my sister Sally with the village school fete, and I had only been asked to run the Pimm's stall ... what a great job for the afternoon!

The strawberries were to go into the Pimms, so I chopped them up with some fresh oranges and lemons, some cucumber, and of course some fresh mint from my plot. It was a beautiful day today so I expected to sell a lot of Pimm's and I wasn't disappointed, I sold the lot! The fete was well attended and everybody seemed to enjoy it, especially the kids as there was plenty for them to do, and I also won a coconut (I love fresh coconut).

Pimm's o clock

This afternoon we found a baby sparrow in the garden which was not strong enough to fly, and was not making enough noise to attract it's mother, we left it for a while but this evening it was sheltering under my lavender bush so we brought it in. David did a quick bit of research on the internet for some tips then we were able to feed it with some crushed up meal worms mixed into a paste, and make a nest for it in an old shoe box. It has settled down for the night now, and seems OK, so we'll keep it warm and feed it again in the morning and fingers crossed it will soon be strong enough to fly.

I'm still sat outside in the garden with David as it's such a lovely evening, and we are listening to the boxing on the laptop, it's so nice to be outside as we spend too much time cooped up indoors during the winter when it's dark and wet. Let's hope we can have a prolonged spell of nice weather and then we can all have a few more nice evenings in the garden.

Cindy xx

Dexter day (but no allotment)

What did I do today? I had a very busy day, most of which was spent at Myer Bridge farm helping my friends, Gavin & Annette Wightman, as their Dexter cattle came back from slaughter today. It is really good to know where your beef has come from, the cows had a happy life in the field, they did not have any chemicals, and the meat was really marbled (which is a good sign), pure Dexter beef ... delicious.

Dexter cattle

We had to go to a village in Leicestershire (South Kilworth) to pick the meat up, which is a 40 mile round trip, and on the way back we had 200 kilos of meat in the car. It is a really quaint little village, very picturesque, and you would never have guessed that there is an abattoir there. It is a family run business, with a lovely old fashioned butchers shop at the front of the house, which is packed full of locally sourced meat.

When we arrived back at the farm we unloaded everything, and boxed it all up for sale, it was hard work but by 10pm tonight it had all been sold, so it was well worth it. We also managed to keep a couple of sneaky little steaks back, which we fried with some onions for lunch, very nice, and we were ready for it!

Dinner!

It was a very rewarding day, and I bought a box for myself as well, so I am sure that over the next few weeks I will be rustling up some delicious meals, which will of course be accompanied by lots of fresh produce from my allotment.

I'm typing this while I watch U2 live on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, then I'm going to get some beauty sleep as "I'm off to see The Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", at the London Palladium tomorrow ... now where did I put those red shoes?

Cindy xx

Raindrops, Wimbledon, Moroccan lamb and cherries!

Hello there, I have been so busy this week, I have spent a lot of time on the allotment, I have watched some tennis, cooked some beautiful meals, and picked some lovely juicy cherries from one of my cherry trees!

I made some Panna Cotta again on Monday, but instead of the gooseberry compote, I made a coulis using some fresh raspberries from the allotment - it was delicious.  Everything is very green at the moment, and while not everyone likes the rain, it has been great for the orchard plot, and there will be lots to pick over the coming weeks. There is a good crop of raspberries at the moment, in fact I picked a few today and I have a feeling that I will be making some jam very soon - maybe I could sell it?

On Tuesday I made some Moroccan lamb (nice recipe James), and today I rustled up a quick prawn linguine (see recipe below), but I spiced mine up with some salmon which I marinated in chilli and honey - both were delicious according to my husband!

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2506/special-prawn-pasta

The recipe today had to be quick and easy as I was engrossed in the tennis this afternoon, and forgot the time. I did have a nice bowl of fresh cherries to nibble on (from the plot), and I will be raiding the cherry trees again tomorrow. I went to put the chickens away tonight and I still have two broody hens, they haven't moved for nearly a week now, but we are getting plenty of nice fresh eggs I'm pleased to say.

Still broody!

I will be over on the plot early tomorrow and I am going to take some photos of the cherry trees and post them on here later in the evening. I also need to come up with another nice treat for tea tomorrow night so I will be looking for some inspiration, I'm sure that I'll find some.

Cindy xx

Myer Bridge Farm pork, and home made chocolate brownie for father's day

Father's day started with an early visit to the plot to check how the chickens are getting on, and to collect some eggs for my home made chocolate brownie (a little father's day treat). I didn't stay for long as I have a busy day planned, and need to spend some time in my own garden this afternoon, which makes me feel slightly guilty about this update. Well, my last 3 updates really, after all, my blog is called Lucinda's Village Allotment! Anyway I have decided to post an "allotment only" update tomorrow to make up for it.

I paid a flying visit to a local car boot sale to pick up some more plants, and this afternoon I will be planting these, along with all of the beautiful plants and flowers that I bought on Friday at BBC Gardeners World Live. The garden has had a good watering over the past 3 days so planting will be easy, that's for sure, however, the rainfall has also been good for the weeds (maybe that's a nice little job for my son Bradley).

We also attract a good variety of birds to our garden, and this morning David filled up all of the bird feeders, and cleaned the bird table, before stocking that up as well. They are very busy at this time of year, and also very hungry, and the garden is a hive of activity. It's also really nice to see all of the juvenile birds (Goldfinches are my favourite), and they are so funny to watch, but they are ever so messy, especially the starlings!

Well, my lovely piece of Myer Bridge Farm pork is almost ready, and I must say it smells delicious! I have a feeling that David is going to wash it down with a couple of glasses of Chardonnay, before tucking into a piece of my home made chocolate brownie. I have just posted a link to the brownie recipe, you should try it while it is still warm, mmmmmm!

Cindy xx

Best-ever brownies recipe - Recipes - BBC Good Food

Best-ever brownies recipe - Recipes - BBC Good Food

Neglecting my plot

I have had a very busy two days, so busy in fact that I have not been on my plot! Fortunately, my dad is up at the crack of dawn to let the chickens out, and he also puts them away at night (thanks dad). My updates have been missed because my father in law sent me a text message this morning asking me where the update was for Tuesday (thanks dad in law).

What has been keeping me away from the plot you must be thinking? Well, yesterday I visited my friend Annette's farm, Myer Bridge Farm, nr Southam, Annette is my best friend, we grew up together and have remained friends since our school days. She has been on the farm for 4 years, along with her husband Gavin, and I really like to go and visit because I can lose myself over there, and we do lots of farmy things!

On Tuesday we pottered around, first we pricked out some chilli plants, and picked some fresh strawberries, then we cleaned out the barn, which is where Ernest the naughty (teenage) donkey lives. He's a very lovable donkey as well, but he does have a habit of trying to take a bite out of any part of your anatomy, especially if you are silly enough to turn your back on him.

Juicy and fresh

Then we had some lunch, and a good old natter, one of the things we discussed was the two Dexter cattle that have just been sent to slaughter, they are the first beasts to go, and Annette and Gavin are marketing the meat! This is their first attempt, and they are quite excited by it, they already have commitments from several family members and friends (me being one of them), to buy a box of mixed meat, so hopefully they will make a nice profit. I have also bought lamb and pork from Gavin and Annette as I think it is nice to know where your meat comes from. We finished our afternoon by watching the first day of Royal Ascot, but we did not manage to pick any winners.

I'm off to bed now so I will fill you in on Wednesdays activities tomorrow (most of the afternoon was spent watching the action from Royal Ascot), and I will also have some allotment news as I will be spending a good few hours on my plot!

Now, I wonder what colour hat the Queen will be wearing tomorrow?

Another busy day

Well, after a day of rain yesterday, the allotment looked good today, weeding is so much easier when it has rained! I think two of my hens are broody because this is the second day that they have spent in the nest boxes, they haven't moved so I need to do something or the other hens will stop laying.

Dorothy, my little Bantam chicken is so protective of her eggs, she goes for you if you try to remove them, so I sometimes have to wear my gloves when I collect the eggs. I was expecting a basket full today but only had 8, which was slightly disappointing.

My broody girls

Well, back to my gooseberries, because yesterday evening I promised that I would tell you all about what I was going to make. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided to make a creamy vanilla Panna Cotta, with a gooseberry and ginger compote, sounds delicious doesn't it?

Here is the recipe for the Panna Cotta:

3 gelatine leaves

250ml/9fl oz milk

250ml/9fl oz double cream

1 vanilla pod, split lengthways, seeds scraped out

25g/1 oz sugar

Soak the gelatine leaves in a little cold water until soft.

Place the milk, cream, vanilla pods, seeds and sugar into a pan and bring to a simmer.
Remove the vanilla pod and discard.
Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves, then add to the pan and take off heat.
Stir until the gelatine has dissolved.
Divide the mixture among four ramekins and leave to cool.
Place into the fridge for at least an hour until set.

For the compote you will need:

500g of gooseberries, topped and tailed
75g of caster sugar
50ml of water
Ginger

To make the compote, put the gooseberries into a pan with sugar, water and ginger, then bring to a simmer and cook gently for 10 minutes, until the gooseberries are soft. You can leave it to cool, or serve it warm.

Enjoy!

How it all started

I live in Cubbington, which is also where I was born and grew up, and as a little girl I can remember my nan and grandad having an allotment on this very site. I am one of nine children, and throughout my childhood I was a regular visitor to the allotment, and my earliest memory is of sitting in the pea patch, shelling the peas, but eating more than we kept!

Our village church

My nan used to feed us with the produce from the allotment, and there was a constant stream of goodies, including, home made apple pies, various jams and fruity chutneys, all of which were delicious. A particular favourite of mine was the plum jam, which I used to enjoy on some nice fresh bread, and I remember that my nan always used to leave the stones in it. Sweets were scarce in those days but a stick of rhubarb with a bag of sugar was a more than adequate replacement, and was also a real treat! 

When nan and grandad passed away, my dad took on the allotment, and when it became too much for him, he retired, and my youngest brother Simon took it on. Simon sadly passed away in January 2010, so I decided to take on the allotment, with help from my sisters, and my eldest brother Christopher, and my dad also came out of retirement to boss us about. The idea was for the allotment to provide a wide variety of home grown produce, and to be a place where the whole family could meet up. We also invested in some chickens, a brand new hen house, and a rather boisterous cockerel called George, and we were soon producing a regular supply of fresh eggs as well.

Christopher finished building the shed that Simon had started, and between us we soon had the allotment ship shape, then earlier this year another plot became available. This was a much sought after plot, nicknamed "The Orchard", and we asked if we could also take this on as well. To our delight, the answer was yes, so we now have two very productive allotments ... I think we are going to be busy!