It’s started. Goodies from the allotment are beginning to trickle into the kitchen; shelves in the fridge are now permanently dusted with earth from our freshly harvested veg, and homegrown dinners are brightening the table with increasing frequency. This is the time of the year when things start to get a bit more interesting in the kitchen, and all Ade’s hard efforts on the plot begin to pay off.
At the moment, we’re helping ourselves to handfuls of red-veined spinach which I’m chucking into everything: salads, sides, soups, stir-fries, smoothies, pies, pasta sauces, the list goes on. I love spinach, it can be used in so many ways and it is so good for you!
We’ve also got a fine crop of radishes coming through. It’s actually the first year we’ve grown them, which probably sounds odd as I know they’re one of the easiest things to grow. I was never much a fan of radishes when I was younger so Ade didn’t bother to grow them in previous years, but he decided to try them out this year and I’m so glad he did; I’ve definitely come around to their flavour. They add a wonderful, crispy crunch to a salad and I love their bright colour. I’m curious to find out whether I can cook them into something delicious as well as eating them raw. Any suggestions?
The rhubarb is still coming through thick and fast. I’m mostly stewing it up with honey and ginger or maple syrup and cinnamon, and then spooning it into Greek yoghurt or porridge for breakfast; pink porridge is the best!
Perhaps the loveliest surprise of the week was an unexpected harvest of potatoes. As Ade was clearing the bed to plant his beans, he came across a load of potatoes still buried from last year, and they couldn’t be more welcome!
A happy kitchen indeed; enough produce to keep me busy, but not so much that I feel swamped. What’s coming through for you at the moment?
Have a great week everyone!
AGENTS OF FIELD 
Hi Sophie, we went out for a meal, I had fish with flash fried sliced radish @ samphire, it was really nice.
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Hmmm… that sounds good! Will have to try it. 👍🏻
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The red veined spinach looks great. This is my first year growing spinach for a while and it is doing well (previous we lived on swiss chard – which I do still love). We too are eating lots of radishes – and lettuces, rhubarb and early strawberries in the polytunnel, mangetout – the peas don’t make it into the house, I eat them all straight from the pod outside, kohlrabi, cavolo nero – greedily waiting for the broad beans and eyeing up the first little cucumber. We also still have a little celeriac left from overwintering and this week I will finish off the last of the leeks – those still standing I have left to flower for seed and the bees. I might try a quick pickle on some of my radishes for dinner tonight as a we have a bit of a glut I am thinking of fermenting some.
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Wow, you’ve got loads of things going on! Cucumbers and strawberries already? It sounds like your crops are a little ahead of ours. Fermented radishes, now there’s an idea! Thanks for your comment. 😄
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We have a polytunnel – this is my first year properly using it – I am in love ……
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Believe it or not, thinly sliced radishes on buttered toast makes a tasty lunch.
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Oooh, thanks for the tip, Laurie!
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Great time of year for gardeners and cooks alike! I quite like roasted radishes, especially in amongst a tray of root veg – a bit like young turnips. Yours look immaculate – ours have been thoroughly flea beetle-d, but still tasty!
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Roasted radish – that’s a great idea! Thanks for the suggestion, and sorry to hear about the flea beetles! 😩
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