Saturday 13 April 2013

Something for Nothing

I have had a good day of getting something for nothing yesterday. When I say for nothing I mean for no money, though some time and effort were involved.



It started with getting a few months of extra wear out of my daughter’s school trousers. She is growing so fast that I was debating whether to cut a little slit at the bottom of the trouser legs and call them cropped trousers, but in the end I let the hems down and gained an inch. They won’t last for much longer, but hopefully until its warm enough for summer dresses. Any way this is the photo she took today of the first butterfly we have had in the garden this year. Now that is worth celebrating :-) (Or it would be if the dog hadn't trodden on it soon after!)

 
Then a generous lady called Suella had offered the Transition Group some manure for the community allotment. I volunteered to collect it along with Steve, and we managed to fill 17 sacks, 14 for the community allotment and 3 for me. Some will go on the raspberries and the rest on the veg patch. The sun shone, the sheep baa-ed and the conversation was good... quite pleasant really.



By the time I got home I realised I was too late to start cooking the meal I had planned, but the only other meat in the fridge was a few slices of lamb, leftover from a roast. There was not enough to make a whole meal, but too much to give the dog. Cornish pasties saved the day. They are a brilliant way of making a small amount of meat go a long way because they are packed with veg and they are very filling. My boys gobbled them up and I even got a rare compliment on how delicious they were.
 
And now for the grand finale. Look at my gorgeous rhubarb!
 
 
 
I do not force my rhubarb. It feels a little bit cruel to deprive it of what little sunlight there is, and in return I am always rewarded with a rather superb crop, which just continues all summer. I don’t know why this rhubarb is early. It is a sheltered location and it did get a helping of manure earlier in the year, but my other rhubarb plants, just a couple of metres away, have barely poked their noses out. Anyway, here’s to home grown rhubarb crumble tonight to celebrate the first edible harvest of the year. May there be many more to come!

3 comments:

  1. A good day then! Love that rhubarb, it looks so healthy and happy. A tip for cooking with rhubarb that I learnt last year. If you add 1/4 tsp bicarb soda to an average pie/crumble amount of rhubarb as you cook it, it will neutralize the acid, and you will only have to add a tiny amount of sugar to sweeten. Happy spring gardening!

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    1. Thanks for the tip Jo. I will try it on the next batch I make.

      Judy

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    2. That is a great tip for rhubarb. I used half the sugar and it was plenty sweet enough :)Have you tried adding bicarb to anything else?

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