Sunshine on a rainy day

Hello all, I hope you've all been enjoying the start to summer.  There has been some sun in there between the rain and wind!

The veggies have been enjoying it anyway, perhaps not so much the wind, but the change between sun and rain has everything going bonkers.  I haven't been planting much out lately, hence no how-to blogs being posted lately,  I've just been impatiently waiting for things to harvest until recently.  My impatience is being rewarded though, I am starting to get things out of the garden to eat now, hooray! 


Spring onions, broad beans, radishes and lettuces have been been fantastic springtime producers.  This is the first time I have grown broad beans and they have been great!  Husband said he hated them but I have won him over with these home-grown bad boys.  We're getting handfuls every other day but I don't think there are going to be any left for freezing, they are getting thrown in to nearly every meal ... salads, stir-fries and pasta.

Bright green jewels, no leathery grey broad beans 

here!

There are many reasons I love having a backyard veggie plot but Sunday gave me the best reason.  I couldn't be bothered to go to the supermarket but didn't have much left in the fridge/cupboards, went for a walk around the garden and realised I didn't have to!  Luckily I had some milk left so pancakes were made to go with the first generous strawberry pickings and a few almost ripe cherries (need a bit longer but it was a face-off between us and the birds). Breakfast sorted!  It was raining so the strawberries were a lovely ray of sunshine on a grey day.

MMmm summer

Sunday breakfast, can't beat pancakes!

I defrosted some soup made from last years home grown leek and potato soup and that was lunch done.

Dinner was a defrosted peice of chicken made in to a honey soy sauce stir fry with noodles, carrots, mushrooms scavenged from the bottom of the fridge and cupboard topped up with lots of spring onions, broad beans, the first of the sugar snap peas, some coriander from the herb patch and dried chillies from last year.  Recipe below just because it is so easy and damn tasty.

In other garden news ... spent a lot of time in the greenhouse last night.  The tomato plants are starting to freak me out, they are almost as tall as me.  I did a bit of weeding (not too many, hooray), did some lateral hunting and pulling, I broke off some of the lower leaf branches to provide a bit of airflow and to keep things healthy (fingers crossed), and tied a few bits of string from the greenhouse roof to keep the plants straight-ish!  Looks much better in there now.  There are heaps of tomatoes coming through and some are getting quite big.  I am sure the first tomato will ripen while I am away over Christmas, nooooooo!

In two months, the toms have gone from barely visible ...

... to completely bonkers, and forming lots of fruit!

Really do need to go to the supermarket tonight though, no more excuses!  I wish my garden was big enough for some chickens and a cow ... then maybe I could put of the shopping run for another few days! :)

Honey soy sauce stir fry - serves 2

This is infinitely adaptable for using up cupboard stores and whatever veggies you have in the garden, if you want to swap chicken for other meat, omit the honey.  Swap veggies in or out willy nilly, though I have to say this combo was pretty tasty, add in nuts such as cashews if you have them ...

• A large chicken breast cubed
• noodles for 2, whatever you have cooked as per instructions on the packet and left to cool
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 1/2 tbsp chopped ginger
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 spring onions
• ½ red chilli
• 1 small carrot
• 6 mushrooms sliced
• a handful or two of broad beans and sugar snap peas
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (taste then add more if you prefer)
• 1 lime, zest and juice
• bunch fresh coriander

1. Prepare all the ingredients including noodles.
2. Heat a large wok to a high heat. Add a little oil and once it is smoking hot add the chicken. Seal the meat and when it is half cooked, add the honey and continue cooking until the chicken is fully cooked and a rich golden colour. Remove from the wok and set to one side while you cook the veggies.
3. Add a little more oil to the re-heated wok and fry off the garlic, ginger and chilli for about 20 seconds. Add the vegetables moving them around so that they stir fry evenly.
4. Add the pre-cooked noodles and saute for a minute or so before returning the chicken to the pan.
5. Mix well, add the chopped coriander, seaon by addingsoy sauce and the lime zest and juice.