Sowing Season, yeah

Today I are been mostly sowing sweetcorn, tomatoes, celeriac, Brussels sprouts and walking stick kale. Excitingly Mr Fatveg bought a bought a little faux green house thing for us to bring on our seedlings in, which we have propped against a south facing wall at home. Sadly there has been too much vandalism at our site to make it an idea to put anything there. Not just the normal break ins to sheds and thefts and but now arson to sheds and green houses, on two separate nights in one week. Weirdly nothing actually appears to have been nicked, just burned.

I'm using biodegradable seed pots this year, it just seems like a much better idea. Exciting times. At home Mr Fatveg had started a beautiful herb bed with hitherto unknown skills. Our first harvest of worm compost went into filling the new raised bed. After thinking I'd killed them all this was a delight, the worms are alive and the wormery is working. I used a ton of worm tea as fertilizer down on the allotment (diluted 1in 10ish). I didn't transport it in a properly air tight container and had an in - car spill! (if you have ever smelt worm tea you will know why this is so bad). The first bucket of bokashi has been filled and sealed, lets see how that goes. Will let you know how it all goes.

How To Get Started With Raw Foods

yummy Brighton

So I went to fair Brighton for a day out yesterday. I love Brighton it's fun, has the funkiest shops, and has so many veggie places to eat it is a total delight. Much to my disappointment The amazing Terre á terre is closed on Mondays, If you go to Brighton and it's not a Monday you simply must go to this place it's great. So seeing as it was closed I lunched at the Infinity foods cafe which is great. I shared the mezze platter with my beloved and it was really delicious, it is just a lovely little laid back cafe. While I was lunching I overheard some well travelled vegans saying how easy it is to be vegan in the UK compared to other countries, I think if they are living in Brighton they are definitley having a head start :)
Afternoon tea was in the choccy woccy doo dah's bar du chocolat. this was amazing. i has a white chocolate hot chocolate, with all the trimmings and a lemon cup cake. I'm guessing this combo probably had wayyyy more calories than my lovely mezze and was so rich I just couldn't finish. I love choccy woccy doo dah and they are making my bespoke wedding cake. Their creations are just stunning and taste amazing.
Dinner before the drive home was in food for friends. Yum yum yum. I love this place. I had the stuffed portobello with sweet potato, fine beans and pesto which was delicious, and my fiancee had the stuffed butternut squash filo parcel, I'm guessing it was good ... when i asked for a taste it had all gone. We shared the stuffed peppers with goats cheese (yes please).

I wish I lived somewhere with so many great veggie places to eat out.


How To Get Started With Raw Foods

Back to the land

After a good (weather induced) rest i got back down on the allotment today. The garlic I planted back in November looks to be doing well. I've planted the Garlic Lovers collection from The Garlic Farm and am quite excited. Last year being a newbie I planted my garlic in the spring instead of in the autumn, If you do this, you end up with just an eye wateringley enormous clove rather than a head. I've since learned its frost that make the garlic head up and we sure have had enough of that I think.

Today (a little later than planned) onion and shallot sets went in. Shallot sets are a ton of fun, you plant one and you just get loads and its definitely low maintenance. I hope it's as good this year. Also going on the ground were potatoes Maris Peer (second earlies) and Maris Piper (Main crop). Actual proper seed potatoes, not like last year when my beloved planted a bunch of Desiree that had chitted in our cupboard, although that did work much to my surprise.

Sprouts (Brussels), sweet corn and tomatoes I plan to all sow indoors this week, wish me luck :)



How To Get Started With Raw Foods

Three Bean and Vegetable soup

I haven't written in ages, I know. No I haven't been snowed off the Internet just been nesting. No visited to the allotment as it's been to cold to go in the garden! Much to my surprise having written them off as dead my worms are thriving, just making their way though the waste slooowly. I've made some good soups, it's a winter thing I think. Made a lovely 3 bean one in the slow cooker and a butternut squash and sweet potato one which I definitely over gingered, it was H O T. My lovely mum made me some amazing butterfly cakes, which I will definitely do some of myself soon.

Three bean and Vegetable Soup

1/2 a cup each of mung, black and aduki beans
1 big carrot
2 celery sticks
125g (ish) mushrooms
1 pepper (any colour it's all good)
1 onion
2 l vegetable stock

• Soak the beans in cold water overnight
• Rinse thoroughly, pop in a saucepan and cover with cold water, bring to the boil and boil fiercely for 15 minutes
• Rinse thoroughly and pop in the slow cooker
• Chop all your veg, add to the slow cooker and add the stock. Cook on low for six to eight hours, until the beans are tender
• Allow to cool a little, then blend
• Bring the boil, season and serve

Serves four to six

Any combo of beans or veg I imagine word have a similar effect and a diced chili would spice it up up nicely. How much you blend depends on how chunky a soup you want. being the saddo that I am I took ages trying to blend the veg but leave most of the beans intact which looks cook but is a hell of a faff. For stock I cheated (as usual) and used marigold. I used their organic stock and it was amazing, am not sure if this is because it was organic or just much fresher than my old tub.

As soon is the ground is not quite so frozen my shallots will go in, I am really looking froward to graong these as they were such a success and so easy last year.

How To Get Started With Raw Foods