Wednesday 14 September 2011

Curiously Pink... But Very Frugal!

Dinner From The Garden

Nothing beats good, fresh, homegrown produce.

After a slow start to the day, the clouds cleared to reveal bright blue sky and the sun shone, so being outdoors was preferable to being sat at the computer all day.

Here in Frugaldom, there are no end of surprises awaiting us in the garden, so today's find wasn't so much shocking, as rather exciting.

Having been househunting, moving, transplanting a garden and trying to make the new place habitable for the first half of 2012, potato planting was somewhat shambolic, to say the least. I had no seed potatoes ready, so anything that sprouted was put into tubs or into the ground pretty much as soon as we got here - but I definitely didn't plant any pink potatoes!

Tonight, I went to lift some potatoes for dinner and chose to empty one of my tubs. I knew there wouldn't be many potatoes in it, but enough for a meal is enough for a meal. Imagine my surprise when I found these lovely pink tatties! I had wondered about their colour, as the foliage had red veins, but I still didn't plant anything looking remotely like these. A frugal bonus!

Dinner was chicken, (not one of our own, as they all have names!) so I needed some veg to go with it.

Plenty of carrots this year, so it goes without mention that it's carrots with most things here in Frugaldom, at the moment. But the sprouting broccoli is erupting everywhere now, too, so it's a must have, as we love it.

Frugal cooking means making the most of everything, so I don't peel the carrots, these are simply scrubbed, topped and tailed.

To cut down on electricity, I steam veggies over the top of the potatoes - fewer pots to wash doing it this way, too!

Please note - the rabbit was NOT part of dinner!

Frugaldom's Big Bad Bunny
Rooting about in the garden for dinner is great fun on a sunny day like today, never really knowing what you'll find. One thing you will find, however, is our big, bad bunny!

Floppity loves hiding beneath the kale and broccoli, then leaps out when anyone (or anything) walks past. The poor cat has been caught out several times and, being smaller than our rabbit, said Scruffy cat needs to be quick!

This afternoon, bunny decided it would be fun to wriggle her way beneath the netting and was only discovered by the dirt that was flying from beneath the brussel sprouts! This was a great game for her, as she could sprint between the veg beds, stopping only to eat whatever else got in her way. The Frugaldom bunny is becoming very cheeky, indeed!

4 comments:

  1. LOL at Floppity not being part of dinner! Great harvest, all looks very scrummy! Must have a fairy in the garden planting pink tatties when you are not looking :)

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  2. Can't wait to dig up the next lot to find out what's there. I think I like pink and purple veg, might try growing more of it next year. Friend gave me some purple beans and carrots last year, so I sense a theme here... girlie, girlie veggie garden? :)

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  3. They look lovely, as does Floppity....oooh I would love a rabbit, but unfortunately one of my cats and my Jack Russell Rosy would love a rabbit too.....but for dinner!!

    I love to find unexpected things in the kitchen garden, I was weeding around some rather pathetic looking beetroots yesterday and found a clutch of potatoes that we had forgotten to dig up, but they weren't as gorgeous looking as yours.

    Sue xx

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  4. Today, I found cape gooseberries. :)

    I got 3 seedlings a couple of months back. With no greenhouse, I just tucked them in beside my tomatoes in a makeshift plastic 'frame'. Spotted all the fruit while picking tomatoes this morning, so I'm quite pleased they survived outside.

    Have to say, my beetroots are a bit pathetic, too. I really haven't looked after them the way I should have, after throwing the pack of seeds into a fish crate then leaving them to get on with it. But I never got around to thinning them. Don't know where all the time goes!

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