I made the decision after much talk, to finally learn how to grow my own vegetables this year. I've been pretty proud of my herb garden the last few years, so it was definitely time to make the plunge and become a real gardener! Unfortunately the last few months have been a bit crazy so I haven't had as much time to look after the garden as much as I would have wanted, but that hasn't stopped the veggies growing!
I never thought I would do it, but here it is my first recipe using my very own garden produce! I'm going to do a post with all the photos from my little vegetable over the last few months but for now, here is a recipe using one of the easiest vegetables I have had the pleasure of growing! Broad beans were definitely the most entertaining to watch growing from seed. They grow on a really sturdy stalk, and are fascinating to watch explode into giant, green torpedoes, perfect for picking!
Broad Bean Crostini This is a perfect way to savour the fresh flavours of home grown broad beans. The thick broad bean paste can also be stirred through pasta for a tasty supper.
Serves 4 150g of shelled broad beans. 2-3 mint leaves. ½ clove of garlic. 3 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. A good handful of grated parmesan cheese. A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper. A few slices of toasted sourdough bread.
Place the broad beans in a pestle and mortar with the garlic, mint, sea salt and pepper. Mash it all up until a thick paste forms. Add the parmesan and a little olive oil to loosen the mixture, stir this through with a spoon. Check the seasoning and then spread the broad bean mixture onto the toast. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil, sprinkle with a little more parmesan and serve as a tasty little appetiser.
Gizzi Erskine may be a new name to you, she was for me, but her book, "Gizzi's Kitchen Magic" cover totally caught my eye while I was browsing through the amazon cookery section the other day. This is possibly one the coolest cookbook covers I have seen for a while and it's even cooler when you get your hands on it as it's embossed in gold! Now not being one to judge a book by it's cover I took my copy with me on my travels to have a good nose through it and get a good feel for Gizzi's writing. To give you a brief bit of back ground Gizzi is one of the "Cook Yourself Thin" girls and was orignally a food stylist before she got into the tv side of things, so has a huge knowledge of food! The one thing I do have to point out is that the book is quite girly, and I know quite a few potential domestic goddesses who could definitely be encouraged into the kitchen with a present of "Gizzi's Kitchen Magic" wrapped up in a bow! The book is absolutely jam packed with really fantastic tips on everything from what meat cuts to buy to choosing the best pastry to make. The lovely folks at Virgin books have provided me with a few recipes from the book to share with you this week and on Friday there will be 3 copies up for grabs, so stick around for that. Gizzi will also be stopping in for a quick interview aswell so if there are any questions you want answered, leave a comment below.
Gizzi Erskine's Creamy Smoked Salmon & Pea Spaghetti Spaghetti carbonara is a classic for a reason, but it is laden with cream and, therefore, also very guilt-inducing. So I decided to halve the cream content and replace the rest with Greek yoghurt. Having done this, it seemed natural to replace the smokiness of the bacon with smoked salmon. I then decided to add some green colour with the summery addition of broad beans and green peas, my favourite veggies, and fi nished with a hint of lemon to lift the dish.
Serves 4 Preparation time 15 minutes Cooking time 10 minutes 350g dried spaghetti 150g podded and shelled broad beans 150g fresh or frozen garden peas 200ml double cream 200ml Greek yoghurt 2 large free-range egg yolks 35g Parmesan cheese zest of 1 unwaxed lemon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 180g smoked salmon (about 8 slices), sliced into short ribbons A small bunch of fresh chives, snipped
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the packet. For the last 3 minutes of the cooking time add the broad beans and peas. Meanwhile mix together the cream, yoghurt, egg yolks, Parmesan, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Drain the cooked pasta, beans and peas, leaving a few tablespoons of water in the bottom of the pan. Return the pan to a low heat and pour in the sauce. Toss the pasta in the sauce, then add the smoked salmon and chives, giving it all a good mix round until it’s evenly incorporated and the salmon has cooked through. Serve piping hot.
(Taken from Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic by Gizzi Erskine published by Virgin Books, price £20)
Last year I tried my hand at growing a vegetable garden and although there were major fails like when my spinach went to seed and when my courgettes were eaten by slugs, there were also major success stories like when I harvested big heavy baskets of broad beans and pulled mysterious looking red cabbages from their stubborn roots! Those were the really proud moments of the whole experiment and made it all worthwhile! I made the conscious decision not to blog about it last year, partly because I was totally winging it and partly because I wanted to prove to myself I could do it, but I think this year it's time to let everyone in! I am still by no means in anyway an expert so I would like this little kitchen garden diary to be more of a journey which I will share any tidbits of the knowledge I pick up along the way which hopefully might inspire to get into the garden yourself!
My plans for the vegetable garden this year are already under way, and I have been speaking to lots of gardening people in the know, a few of whom will be popping up on the blog in the coming months. One of the many things I learned from last years experiment was to get as much advice as possible. The people I have spoken to, from home growers to professional gardeners are all so incredibly passionate about what they do and are more than happy to have lengthy conversations about what to grow, when to grow it and even the best ways to cook them. If you do know someone who grows their own veg, give them a call, sometimes the best advice you can get is from people you already know. An essential buy for me last year was a really decent book about growing vegetables, "Grow Vegetables" by Alan Buckingham is fairly extensive and details growing in even the smallest spaces, also after watching Carol Klein's passionate BBC series I bought her book, "Grow Your Own Veg" which is a pretty straightforward and informative book.
You can plan your garden in advance earlier in the year, but March is really go time in the gardening world, with a huge variety of seeds being recommended to be sown now. I have been lucky enough to nab my lovely aunts back garden to grow my veggies which has now become my very own little allotment. I am pretty sure she has mixed feelings about me trudging through the house with muddy feet but it all pays off when the veggies arrive. I was busy in the garden yesterday as Sean Gallagher from patchworkveg.com installed 3 amazing raised veg boxes which are perfect for growing in. I will be showing you the pics from the full installation process during the week because these beds are ideal for people who haven't grown before! I am heading out to pick up some seeds today which can be sown this month, I will be picking up onions, cabbage, broad beans, peas, beetroot, carrots, parsnips, tomatoes and spinach. Another tip is that Lidl and Aldi both have really cool mini greenhouse sets you can pick up on offer at the moment, they are perfect for starting seeds out and mean you can keep them outside without the frost getting at them!
Well I am just up after travelling to Gothenberg via Copenhagen last night, and I have a certain sense of accomplishment (and relief!!!) about myself today. For the last 4 weeks I have been keeping my head down busy writing recipes for the new book and in between all the writing I got the amazing and slightly nerve wracking opportunity to give cooking demonstrations at two of Ireland's leading foodie festivals, something this time last year I couldn't even imagine! Thankfully both went extremely well and it's funny how things like that can make you nervous before hand but when it comes down to actually doing them, they are thoroughly enjoyable. I suppose in life there is always goals you lead up to, things that are ahead of you that you know you have to achieve in order to go on to the next step. The last few weeks have been for me the next step and now on sunny morning in Sweden, it feels great to know that I only have a handful of recipes to write to complete the new book!
I have to admit writing the first book was a bit of a disaster because I was extremely disorganised and generally did not know what I was doing, but having learned from mistakes things have run a lot smoother this time around, I have a set recipe list which was chosen a few months ago and it is just a case of writing in a set format, which makes it both easy for me and everyone else working on it. I'm dying to give you more details about it and hopefully in the next few weeks when everything is submitted I can give you a bit more info about behind the scenes! For now though, enjoy this quick and simple creamy broccoli pasta recipe! Make it a good one! :)
Creamy Broccoli Pasta I am huge fan of simple pasta dishes which are easy to throw together in a matter of minutes and this one definitely hit’s the spot. There is a wealth of in season vegetables at the moment and you can easily replace broccoli with asparagus or cauliflower and maybe some broad beans thrown in for good measure. If you can’t your hands on parpadelle pasta, tagliatelle will do just fine.
Serves 4 250g of papardelle pasta 1 head of brocolli, broken into florets 1 tablespoon of olive oil 4 garlic cloves, sliced finely 200g of crème fraiche Juice of 1 lemon A generous pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
Cook the pasta according to the packet. Steam or boil the broccoli until tender when pierced with a fork, drain and place in a bowl filled with cold water. Fry the garlic in a large frying pan over a medium heat, for about 1 minute, then add in the crème fraiche and bring to a steady simmer. Add in the lemon juice and season with sea salt and black pepper. When the pasta is cooked, drain the water and place back into the pot. Pour in the garlic crème fraiche and broccoli and stir through gently until everything is combined. Serve straight away with an extra sprinkle of black pepper.
2009 has been a fairly spectacular year indeed, between the band, the book, and lots and lots of cooking I have never been so busy in my life, but it has been totally worth it! Here's my run down of 2009 highlights!
- Started the year flying high as Peter Pan in the Tivoli theatre's panto. - Putting together plans for a mixed pop group. - Forming Industry with Lee Hutton, Michele McGrath, and Morgan Deane! Favourite Recipe: Roast Garlic Potatoes
- Going to Stockholm to record Industry's first single, "My Baby's Waiting". - Received first draft of Good Mood Food, the book. - Pancake season! - Went to Stockholm to support my Swedish superstar buddy sing at the Swedish Eurovision selection. - A name was finally chosen for Industry, thankfully 4DB was thrown out the window. - Going to Stockholm again to record very first music video, for "In Your Arms". - Doing first photoshoot as a band- very glamorous. Favourite Recipe: Chocolate Chip Oreo Cupcakes
- Was busy working on what I thought were the final drafts of the book. - Planned my very first attempt at a vegetable garden. - Planted Dill, Fennel, Pak Choi, Broad Beans, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Red Cabbage, Cabbage, Cos Lettuce, Rosemary. - Submitted last photos for the book. - Made first public outing as Industry on the red carpet at the Meteor Irish Music Awards. - Went for a walk on the cliffs every morning this month. - Blog got 10,000 unique visitors in one day, was very excited. Favourite Recipe: Bacon Avocado and Sundried Tomato Sandwich
- Got my very first blog/book press. - Back to Stockholm to record more tracks with Industry. - Flew to Spain to record music video for Industry's "My Baby's Waiting". - Took a little break in Gothenberg with Sofie. - Submitted what I thought was the last draft of the book. - Fell in love with dried Mango... mmmm... mango. Favourite Recipe: Red Onion and Garlic Focaccia
- Got the BBQ out early for Mays mini heat wave. - Back to Stockholm again to record more tracks with Industry. - Shot the final cover for the book with the help of Erica and Sofie. - Performed with Industry at our press launch at The Sugar Club in Dublin. - Industry's single got it's very first airplay on 2fm. - Got a blackberry phone. - Sang Kate Bush wuthering heights in falsetto on radio, not pleasant but very funny. - Discovered Flahavans porridge pots which kept me alive and well on the road. Favourite Recipe: BBQ Cajun Spatchcock Chicken
- Got to finally visit Cork's English Market. - Went to Ireland's Eye with Morgan and Lee for my birthday. - Found a brill table to shoot food on. - My annoying but hilarious fight with the birds and the strawberries. - Lee buying male Ugg boots. - Got introduced to Dave Peelo, the toughest fitness trainer you ever did see. - Industry's first single "My Baby's Waiting" went straight in at number one in the Irish charts. - Performed at the Ms. Universe competition. Favourite Recipe: Warm Chorizo, Red Onion and Baby Potato Salad
- Went to LA with James, Morgan and Sofie. - Got upgraded on the flight over but had to slum it on the way back. - Saw the massive amount of tributes to Michael Jackson at his house and his Hollywood star. - Went surfing with my Uncle Niall on Santa Monica beach. - Did a photo shoot for VIP magazine, blue steel was out in force. - Went to outdoor yoga in Stephens Green in Dublin. - Supported the Pussycat Dolls at the Killarney Summerfest. - Sent off the final final final edits of the book. - Visited the republics very first Ikea store. - Recorded music video for Industry's second single "Burn" at the amazing Grouse Lodge studios. Favourite Recipe: Sticky Mustard Chicken Drumsticks
- Went on a romantic little bank holiday break in a cottage near Carlingford. - Co-hosted the South East Radio breakfast show with the brill Tony Scott and Industry. - Became a regular contributor with Irish Tatler. - Industry's second single "Burn" went to number one. - Supported Tynchi Stryder in Tralee, as you do. - Had a brill getaway anniversary weekend in Castle Leslie, massages all round. Favourite Recipe: Asian Teriyaki Chicken Salad
- Started tweeting 140 character recipes on my twitter. - Appeared on RTE's Ice with Industry. - Performed at the Barretstown Charity Bandana launch. - Went blackberry picking with Maisie the cupcake queen. - Picked up my copy of Good Mood Food! - Recorded 3 new tracks with Industry at the amazing Grouse Lodge recording studios. Favourite Recipe: Oriental Steak Salad
- Picked up my brand new camera, the Canon 5d Mark ii. - Saw the book in shops for the first time, rearranged the shelves. - Appeared on the front page of the Irish Examiner. - Did lots and lots of radio interviews about the book. - Went mushroom hunting with Aoife. - Went back to school to do a cupcake demonstration at my old school. - Interview on Tubridy with Ryan Tubridy about the book. - Got a text from Michele to tell me she nearly fell over when she saw a giant poster of me in the window of Dubray Books on Grafton Street in Dublin! - Did the official launch of the book in Dubray Books on Grafton street in Dublin. - Appeared on RTE's The Cafe with Industry. - Went to Gothenburg and visited a Swedish bakery. - Interview with Ian Dempsey on Today FM. Favourite Recipe: Blackberry Vanilla Cupcakes
- Upgraded my old desk, for a new fancy one from IKEA. - Wrote my very first food column for the Irish Independent Weekend Magazine. - Finally made a vision board. - Became obsessed with one of the kitchens in IKEA. - Heard that The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten has a copy of Good Mood Food. - Did a cookery demonstration at an all girls school. - Assistant food stylist on a Christmas food shoot. Favourite Recipe: Crispy Hasselback Potatoes
- All the brill Christmas food press. - Feature in the lovefood magazine with fellow Irish food bloggers, Italian Foodies, Cheap Eats, and Daily Spud. - Visit to a free range turkey farm. - Massive Christmas baking session with Erica and Maisie. - Getting a video of the book launch from Darragh. - Visit to Sheridans cheese, I am now hooked on cheese. - Skiing with Sofie in Gothenburg. - Jul pa Liseberg. - Christmas in Sweden Favourite Recipe: Avocado, Parmesan and Rocket Pasta
Thanks so much to all who read this blog for all the support, comments and emails this year, and I hope I'll be keeping you cooking all through 2010!
I have been procrastinating over getting the garden together since my last post, I kept putting it off, the weather wasn't good, I didn't have the seeds, I hadn't decided what I wanted to to grow, it was too much work, my feet hurt, Brothers and Sisters was on etc etc etc! The good news is I finally got around to it this week, thanks to the fantastic weather we've been having, I had no excuse but to get out there and get things started.
I have kind of made it sound like I have been doing absolutely nothing, but my little mini greenhouse already has some savoy cabbages, purple broccoli, and chili peppers which are sprouting and looking great! I think the breakthrough in terms of movement has to be the work I did in the garden on Monday. Since Sean installed the raised veg boxes, the layout has changed around a bit so I figured it was time to give the layout a little change around. As you can see from the photo above, I have added a little more structure by breaking the plot in two, which will hopefully mean I can make it a bit more pretty rather than the boring rows which left me with 25 cabbages last year!
The other exciting part of the garden is of course the fantastic raised veggie boxes! I decided to take Sean's advice and break the boxes up into square feet which will all be filled with different veg. I even marked it out with some string and thumb tacks to make it a little more visible until a little bit of growth starts. I did cheat a little by picking up some already grown seedlings of pak choy and some tender purple sprouting broccoli, from the garden centre just to add a little bit of colour at this early stage.
Apart from the ready sprouted stuff, I have sown, beetroot, rainbow carrots, red apache spring onions, spinach, and radishes all in the raised boxes, and some rooster potatoes, broad beans and peas in my newly established ground plot. The whole garden is really starting to take shape and I can't wait till things start sprouting out of the ground! On the other side of the garden I have some more space I'm prepping which is hopefully going to by a big pumpkin patch, with the hopes that were going to be able to pick our own pumpkins to carve for Halloween. Very exciting stuff! I went in to a fantastic little garden shop in the heart of Dublin on Capel St. the other day called Hacketts and they have a great selection of seeds, so I'm going to head in again tomorrow to pick up some Jerusalem artichokes and some more seeds to get going in the mini green house. Apparently Lidl have some great garden equipment at the moment so you might be able to pick up some good deals. April definitely is the month to get sowing, so if you are contemplating growing, do it sooner rather than later for some of the major veg. Also if you are interested in getting some raised veggie boxes yourself make sure to check out Sean's website patchworkveg.com, where he has lots of top tips for growing! Oh and if you have grown you're own veg garden before, what are you growing, and do you have any suggestions for interesting veggies I should be growing?
