veg growing Newbies- Feb 2010! lets learn together!

Orange_King

izzwizz wrote: »

First crop of beetroot is ready for harvesting:j, so I'm making beetroot pancakes with a shallot cream sauce for dinner tomorrow tonight (it tastes lovely, but you have to remember what you've been eating because the result is purple poo):rotfl:

Yes, had this happen last year and was rather concerned until I realised!! How colourful!

So the beetroot are showing above soil level then izzwizz? I assume this is how you know rather than any other method. Ours are still just all leaves so far.

Last night I pulled up all the volunteer potatoes that had grown where I had other stuff planted. They were really taking over and there was virtually nothing underneath anyway - sometimes I have been pleasantly surprised with the crop but I'm wanting to get a return on what I planted!

Also lifted the potatoes from one of the containers as the leaves had all but died. The crop was very poor with only about 8 smallish spuds to show. Hope the rest do better than this but I think that I missing a trick somewhere.

My plant in a box parsnips appear to be flourishing and had another bowl of strawberries, one possibly the biggest I've ever seen.

Courgettes are still growing but precious little sign of any crop from them.

izzwizz_2

Hi lolly & orange king, yes you're right, the tops of the beetroot were showing above the soil. They were started off in the greenhouse, grown on in 4" pots, and planted out when they were bursting out of the pots. Then grown in raised bed in B&Q 100% multipurpose compost under an insect cover (so they've been really mollycoddled!). Pulled them up and definitely ready, some were 3 inches across. Have also saved the leaves (minus stalks), wilted, squeezed out & frozen to use as beet spinach in the winter.

We're not doing spuds this year (can get some excellent fresh ones locally), but the tops die back of their own accord and they'll keep in the ground until you need them. Just pull up a plant when you fancy some new potatoes and check how big they are.

We've had a few strawberries but they are nearly over now and didn't crop that well; I think it might be better to plant some out somewhere next year.

Don't worry about the courgettes, once they start you'll be inundated with the things :rotfl:

Our cauliflower & broccoli plants are looking pretty good considering all the dire warnings from everyone about planting in compost. Just hope the veg bits grow quickly before the hens get a chance to demolish the crop!

janibrown

Hi izzwizz
Have you got a recipe for the beetroot pankakes and cream please it sounds Yum Yum please xxxx:):):)

izzwizz_2

janibrown wrote: »

Hi izzwizz
Have you got a recipe for the beetroot pankakes and cream please it sounds Yum Yum please xxxx:):):)

it's from Denis Cotter's "Paradiso Seasons". I'll type it up tonight and pm you the recipe

GarnetLady

Hi everyone.

We've had lovely weather here the last couple of days. Been out in the garden a good bit, although it was bordering on too hot to work yesterday.

I got lots of my new seeds planted today - carrots, onions, dwarf beans, peas, mangetout and beetroot! Just as well I got more compost yesterday really!

Tomatoes and dwarf broad beans are flowering like mad. Pumpkins are doing their best triffid impression. Cucumbers are growing well and potatoes need earthed up again.

I redid some of the planters from outside the front of the house yesterday. I must have disturbed some red spider mites though and the [STRIKE]bugg..[/STRIKE], umm blighters have been coming in the window, grr. Went outside with my spray earlier so hopefully that'll help.

ausmummy

I'm getting excited now. I think two french beans should be ready to try tomorrow (I hadn't noticed these ones before) . I think I shall grow them up a trelis next time, instead of a wigwam, to make it easier to see them. I guess it will be fun to search for them though.
Also my female courgette flower should be opening up pretty soon and the cougette lump behind it is getting pretty big.
On top of that I have been having a break from slug and snail attack - so happy days. This time next week it will all start to go wrong lol.

janibrown

izzwizz wrote: »

it's from Denis Cotter's "Paradiso Seasons". I'll type it up tonight and pm you the recipe

Thanks Very Much thats very kind of you
:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

MKS

izzwizz wrote: »

it's from Denis Cotter's "Paradiso Seasons". I'll type it up tonight and pm you the recipe

Could you put the recipe on here, as I am sure others would love to try it - sounds lovely.

mutley74

my pak chois leaves are just growing bigger each day! Good thing there are no signs of slug or fly damage!!(advantage of a raised bed is now apparent)
also gettings loads of spinach leaves and rocket coming thro..

izzwizz_2

MKS wrote: »

Could you put the recipe on here, as I am sure others would love to try it - sounds lovely.

OK, here goes:
Beetroot with spices in a coconut-rice flour pancake with a scallion and pistachio cream (taken from Denis Cotter’s “Paradiso Seasons”)

For four:
500g beetroots (prepared weight)
50g shelled pistachios
6 cardamom pods
2 bunches scallions (these are thick Irish spring onions, you can use big spring onions or green shallots)
2 tablespoons olive oil

3 fresh green chillies
1 tablespoon oil or clarified butter
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
100g fresh coconut, thickly grated (I used desiccated)
salt, to season

200ml thick plain yoghurt

50g plain flour
50g rice flour (I couldn’t get this so just used more plain flour)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ground
quarter teaspoon ground turmeric
pinch cayenne pepper
large pinch salt
1 egg
200ml coconut milk

150ml cream

Boil the beetroot until tender (20 mins – 1 hour depending on size) and peel them under cold running water, then chop them into thick matchsticks.

While the beetroot is cooking, toast the pistachios in an oven for a few minutes. Crack the cardamom pods and remove the seeds, discarding the pods. Slice the white ends off the scallions and chop them finely. Drop the green ends into a pan of boiling water for a few seconds, then plunge them into cold water. Chop them coarsely and put them in a food processor with the pistachios, cardamom seeds and two tablespoons of olive oil and blend, adding a little cold water in a slow stream until you get a thick but smooth puree. Pass this through a sieve, fine enough to take out any coarse pieces of scallion but not the ground nuts, into a small pan.

Halve the chillies lengthways, and chop them into slices. Heat a tablespoon of oil or clarified butter in a shallow pan and cook the scallion whites, chilles, ginger, mustard and fennel seeds over medium heat, stirring, for five minutes, then add the beetroot and coconut, and cook for five minutes more. Season with salt. Just before you serve, stir in the yoghurt.

Put the flours, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper and a large pinch of salt in a bowl. Whisk the eggs and coconut milk together, then whisk them into the flours to get a pouring batter. Heat a crepe pan, brush it lightly with butter or vegetable oil and pour in enough batter to cover the base generously, a little thicker than a dessert crepe (I use a soup ladle full per pancake and get just over 4 pancakes from the mix). Flip the pancake after a minute or so to cook the other side. Keep the pancakes warm in a low oven while you cook the rest.

Add the cream to the scallion-pistachio puree and reheat it gently while you serve the pancakes.

Put one pancake on each plate, spoon some of the spiced beetroot over one half and fold the other half. Pour some scallion cream over each pancake.


It works best if you can cook the pancakes while heating the filling at the same time, so everything is warm when served. Enjoy!:)