Gardening news, steaks, potato wedges and rhubarb crumble
So I’ve had ups and downs with my first year of vegetable patch ownership. For example, the sweet peas went completely mental but didn’t give me a single bloody flower, the pumpkins, coriander and basil all died (too cold? we didn’t really have any sunshine) and the cucumber covered the whole plot in huge leaves and spidery tentrils, but no cucumbers (well how was I to know it was a climber). On the upside, there are two or three courgettes ready to go, the dwarf french beans have given us a sizeable crop; the fennel, parsley, mint and thyme are all huge and the carrots are surviving . In the greenhouse, the tomatoes have been fruiting like wild things, but all the fruit is green and the weather is definitely on the turn here (our morning walk was both rainy AND cold – Bert was not impressed). The aubergine has a tiny fruit but again it might all be too late.
The rhubarb absolutely excelled itself, growing to triffid-like proportions while I scoured local garden centres for one of those terracotta things to ‘force it’. My kitchen gardening guru, Mr Titchmarsh, says that by the end of summer, the rhubarb will be too tough to eat, but ours has been amazing. Sunday, then, saw us tucking into the biggest, juiciest steaks ever, complete with home grown french beans, garlic-roasted butternut squash and some very pleasant home made potato wedges (four or five medium sized potatoes, cut in half, then into four wedges lengthways, blanched in boiling salted water for ten minutes, then tossed in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and baked in a 200 degree oven until golden brown and crispy), followed by a huge rhubarb crumble with cream.
For the crumble, then:
Four or five big fat stems of rhubarb
Big splosh of apple juice or water (say 100ml?)
Sugar for sprinkling
6 oz plain flour
Generous teaspoon ground ginger
4 oz butter
4 oz sugar
1 oz porridge oats
Handful of sliced almonds
So preheat the oven to 200 degrees. I’ve been poaching my rhubarb first as I’ve been freezing some of it, so weigh out your ingredients, then, and wash the rhubarb, chopping into inch-long chunks. Pop them in a saucepan with your splosh of apple juice and a generous amount of sugar (to taste, but remember it’s sour!). Let the rhubarb poach gently with a lid on until it’s just tender but not mushy. Mine took about ten minutes.
Meanwhile, rub your butter and flour together (not too fine – a lumpy texture is better), then stir in your ginger, sugar and porridge oats. Spoon the rhubarb into an oven-proof dish, cover it with the crumble mixture and finally, sprinkle over the sliced almonds. All you’re doing is cooking the top so it should only take about 15 minutes to come out all golden and bubbling.
There you have it, then: good, fresh food, quickly prepared and happily scoffed. I had the leftovers with yoghurt for breakfast then next day too. Mr Atkins wouldn’t like it but hey, them’s the breaks.
Rhubarb Crumble and CREAM? Actually it looks yum, haven’t had rhubarb for ever, we used to pick it in my Grandad’s garden and fill the hollow with caster sugar!
I love rhubarb too – it makes your teeth feel all funny. Yum! x
Roy: Really? Thanks. I’m usually rubbish at food pics – I make it look horrible even when it was quite nice
I think our ‘slightly’ drier, warmer climate helps, lots and lots of watering… and of course ‘my’ green fingers !!!!
It’s on my list of “Top 10 Things I Hate with a PASSION”!!
Nats: Ooh yes it was lovely. I’ve dug my furry boots back out today – officially waving goodbye to the Irish ‘summer’. And yes, I bought the squash from the shop. Ah well…
Best of luck on your next garden. I may try one myself, but really am attached to my flowers. No, I only look at them, I don’t eat them.
Cut out the stage with the saucepan – saves on washing up!
Straight to the oven – lovely!
Here’s one:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060925151500AAvziic
and another:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071220112203AAifkGr
Met up with your brother today, those ‘fleas’ are wonderful kids …..
Moon: Got a text from L to say you were ‘lunching in LA, dahling’. They’re scrummy kids aren’t they – and dig those posh accents! x
Megan: Yes, deffo give it a go. It’s really nice with strawberries in too – even tinned ones x
Avec Custard.
YUM.
Quicky: Mmmm sounds yummy, might have to try that for Sunday lunch tomorrow!
As for the part about porridge oats… do you mean steal cut oats rather than traditional “Quaker Oats” that we have in the States?
Thanks- can’t wait to try the crumble recipe