Not so smart

That last one was an attempt to post photos direct from my new smartphone. Needless to say the process is hopelessly complicated, took me several days to work out how to do it and then fails anyway. I will continue to try as I'm sure seamless posting direct from the pea patch is a prize worth pursuing.

Smarten up

Tuesday, 14 February 2012

Savoie Fare

For a state with a proud history, it is strange that Savoy's few vestiges in the English-speaking world are a place for high-falutin cream teas and a crinkly winter cabbage. I'm not sure if the cabbage is so named because of its popularity with the hotel guests or if it was prominent in Victor Emmanuel II's potager. In any case, it gives reliable January greenery in the alpine regions and beyond. As ever, these are somewhat smaller than your supermarket versions but I shall claim to be growing meal-sized specimens to avoid having cut cabbage getting browned off in the fridge.

A simple hearty and very satisfying winter supper repeated on a weekly cycle up here is a version of clapshot/ rumbledethumps/ colcannon. [I prefer the name clapshot but that seems to use neep rather true cabbage.] Ingredients are butter, leeks (or onions), diced waxy potatoes (pink fir apple, still abundant in the pantry though starting to sprout), cabbage and cheese (I recommend gruyere or perhaps a Tomme de Savoie from your cheese specialist). Saute the ingredients adding them in sequence to make sure everything is tender at the same time. You may want to par-boil the potatoes to speed it up. Finish under the grill with the cheese and serve with plenty of black pepper.

Wednesday, 1 February 2012

Do The Brussel

(R to L) Sprout to the Top

Last year was my first attempt at brussel sprouts. Although I've always been a fan, they only seem to go with roast turkey or when making up the numbers in meat and two veg - but I'm willing to try anything to keep me in good winter colour. Not following convention as ever, I went for a red variety (Red Rubine), because all the veg needs to look the part now there's a smart new house on the plot. The plants are a lovely reddy purple and the sprouts inside are a purple-veined pale green. Success horticulturally I have to admit has been modest, with the sprouts only slightly bigger than peas and never in sufficient number to overpower a dish. I think I need to sow and transplant earlier.  Still you get a second chance at this time of year when they start producing sprout-impersonating tops, which you can pretend are the well-sized real thing - a great boost for the nanogardener trying to prove his worth.

If you're struggling to think of things to cook this time of year, or indeed any time of year, a bag of pasta and a trip to the orto usually provides the inspiration. I'll call this pasta dell'orto stagionale (inverno).

Sprout to lunch

• leeks or microleeks*, no substitute.
• hardneck garlic**, softneck if you must
• chilli**
• sprouts, microsprouts and sprout tops*, must be purple veined or don't bother starting this dish. Cavolo nero* will do the job too.
• mushrooms***
• sundried tomatoes*** (the veggie's bacon substitute, adding a salty piquant flavour)
• seasonal herbs (e.g. parsley*, chervil*, thyme*, winter savory*)

Footnotes
* dall'orto stagionale
** dalla dispensa
*** l'anno prossimo, forse? D'occhio questo spazio.

I won't insult you by telling you how to cook it. Ok, throw it all in a pan with some butter till its done, stir it into some cooked pasta, top with a palmful of parmesan and pep it up with some ground pepper***.

Meraviglioso e semplice!

Tuesday, 24 January 2012

Upwardly mobile

Many apologies for my recent silence. Having moved house we no longer have a landline and were quoted >£1000 for one unless I dug the trench myself. The thought of the pile of stones that would entail has forced me into desperate measures: a visit to the mobile phone shop. It appears we have a broadband transmitter visible from our bathroom. Although my mobile phone puts up a miserable performance in the house, we can get perfect internet by placing a receiver smaller than Al's prized parsnip on the ledge of the pantry porthole, the only north facing window in the house. Marvellous.

Miner Detail!

I suppose I better talk about some vegetables. Now having the plot in my back yard as it were, a constant flow of winter produce is feeding a line of new experimental dishes, and not all of them contain turnip. By popular request, I will be passing on some recipes starting with some dishes to keep you going through the tough winter months. The subject of the first is Miner's Lettuce, fresh and succulent from its goldrush at the end-of-year awards. Claytonia perfoliata amazingly grows through the winter unperturbed by heavy frosts although susceptible to a bit of mudsplash. While having no distinctive taste, its attraction is in its texture, a chewy crunch if that's possible (officially "mucilaginous"). A recipe? Two slices of homemade sourdough (sliced), some cheese (sliced), a large dollop of home made carrot chutney, one miner's lettuce (chopped). Combine the ingredient in layers, starting and finishing with the bread. I havent got a name for it yet but I think might catch on.

Thursday, 29 December 2011

Shallow Onions across the globe

At end of year I thought it would be good to reflect on the global phenomenon that is Shallow Onions so here are the all time stats for the Shallow Onions blog.





While we at first glance we aren't doing bad this amount of hits could easily be the result of keyboard typing errors, though being generous here is a list of search terms used
shallow onions - eighteen searches - probably Hugh Fearnley Shittingstone trying to find the link
firewood racks made from pallets - three searches!
home made rhubarb forcer - two searches
jackknife position - eh?
wood shed using pallets - I blame DSB's pallet toilet thingy for this
azada shovel - one search - i think that may have been me
pictures of deer stands made from pallets -eh?

We have some way to go and DSB I am looking to you as lead blogger to crack the South American market this year so more of the Inca veg please and any other tubers, the STANCAM(tm) and live weather link may also bring in a viewing or two. Clearly the word pallets are popular but if we can mention the words tits or arse somewhere might help as well. Anyway much to ponder as we build up to the new year.

Tuesday, 27 December 2011

His parsnips are small, but they're yellow

and just to prove it here are a couple of snaps from my extensive land holding on Christmas eve - all I can say is they tasted great! so will have another go next year though obviously not in the same spot (notice attention to detail with tape measure used this time).