An Organic Lifestyle (Organic Growing Pains)

 I don't grow Beetroot anymore as I no longer have the space to do so but, I would buy fresh at a Farmer's Market or where I know its local and organic. Saturday was one of those days I saw a bunch of Beetroot and decided I would pickle some. We are currently having a heatwave with near drought conditions and water rationing, YES, in Ireland!  Vegetables are in short supply and may even get scarce unless we get rain. Potatoes have failed in some places due to lack of rain at a very crucial period in their growth. Anyway, back to my Beetroot. I have been doing a very short term pickle recently, just roasting the beets, slicing them into jars, pouring in red wine vinegar, and keep in the fridge for a week or two.  This time, to make store cupboard pickle I Googled for a simple ,quick recipe which I found. I think its from a Blog so if anyone reading this thinks it looks familiar or knows the Blogger please credit in the comments and I will add as I screenshot it and ...

 Today's harvest from the allotment, it was not very colourful until I added the carrots and beetroot from the raised bed.I cut down the Broad beans and stripped the pods which are filling the bag on the left.I just cut the stems leaving the roots to rot down in the ground as legume roots are rich in nitrogen. There are 7 courgettes! Time to start making soup I think. The carrots from the covered raised bed are really tasty, these are the Sutton's baby veg which we are using while young and tender, leaving others to mature. We are coming to the end of our new potatoes, these are old reliable Home Guard, there are more beetroot and 2 nice  size heads of Broccoli. A few weeks ago we didn't think we would have anything much to take home as we started so late but the heatwave helped and dare I say it , those nice soft summer showers!  The tomatoes in the lean to tunnel are just about OK, not a lot to harvest at all.I have almost stripped all the leaves and branc...

Our pickle day was a great success, thanks mainly to Chris and Maeve who did most of the pickling and brought lots of goodies! Zwena also produced some delicious calorie laden cakes as usual but nobody complained about the calories! Chris had brought some lovely potato and leek soup with savoury cheese scones, there was apple and treacle tart , festive queen cakes and a deadly but delicious chocolate gateaux.There were dips of various chutnies and jams also.Not a feast for the faint hearted! All served in Zwena's farmhouse kitchen as it was too cold and wet to venture outside. Some of the jams and pickles laid out, Plum & Star Anise jam,onion marmalade,Rhubarb& Ginger jam,Apple& lemon curd,Plum jam,Basil mayonnaise to name a few! Chris and Maeve are still harvesting radishes and white turnips and salad leaves. A close up of the lovely finish Chris had given to the jars. We all save our jars so they have various produce lids on them, Chris bought some hessian fabric and ...