URBAN GREENS

Autumn Treats

Today I shall mostly be harvesting red and green things from my garden and eating them. Very delicious they were too! I made a spicy dish with chillis, onions, smoked garlic, red pepper, cabbage, fresh ginger, lemon juice, turmeric and coconut milk. AND a dash of The Post Office Garden Raspberry vinegar to which I admit addiction.

Beetroot, Frise Lettuce, Windsor Apple, Pepper

Our garden can only be described as compact and bijou, it really is a small garden but the flavours we pull out on a daily basis are big, big, big! Today was a feast for the heart, eyes and mouth - a culinary journey from seed to senses.

When you have nurtured a plant from a seed, seen it survive slugs and heat and hail, you come over all parental. Watching it day by day gives a deep appreciation of the time it takes to grow food. It is an investment of time and attention, the payback on the palate all too brief, logically - why bother? Because it is bloody lovely, that's why!

Simple, savoured things

...and baby cabbage, chills, spring onion

I was chatting with my friend Karina Wells the other day and we were talking about how as we get older, simplicity becomes more important. We agreed that the pleasure of picking fruit with friends on a sunny day felt joyful, childhood regained for a couple of hours before returning to the demands of home, work, etc etc etc. Karina is an amazing woman. Her energy and generosity has driven so many community initiatives like ABUNDANCE - a group of people collecting unwanted fruit from private gardens and juicing, jamming and scoffing. We've gathered, plums, pears, blackberries, elderberries, lots of apples. My hands are stiff from peeling and sieving but man, the rewards are worth it.

Our lovely Sarah, lodger and friend has been enjoying toast and homemade jam - the ingredients for which we ABUNDANCED together.She says it is the breakfast of champions, I say, I like a big old dollop in a bowl of porridge. Hands off, Goldilocks...