January 2010
108 posts
3 tags
Premier Seeds Direct →
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1 tag
Lemom Balm
Lemon Balm needs no special sun or soil requirements. It is grown for its oval leaves which emit a strong lemon aroma when crushed.
We can start from seed in spring but it is much easier to use small plants in pots from a garden centre.
Like Mint, it needs to be trimmed on a regular basis to stop it getting out of control.
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LEMON BALM CHEESECAKE
PASTRY:
1 c. flour 3 oz. butter in small pieces Pinch of salt
FILLING:
2 oz. butter 2 tbsp. honey 12 oz. cream cheese 2 eggs 6 tbsp. finely chopped lemon balm
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Make pastry: Cut 3 ounces butter into 1 cup flour until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Add pinch of salt and enough water to make a soft dough. Roll out and line a 7 inch pie tin. Prick bottom. Bake 15...
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Mr Middleton Garden Shop →
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Red Cabbage
Red Cabbage is a summer cabbage, grown from seed in April and May. They can be transplanted into their “final resting place” in early summer once they have been hardened off.
Plant in a depth of 2cm with a distance of 40cm. The rows should be 50cm apart.
The life of the red cabbage is spent mostly under nets. After planting the seedlings, they should be fitted with brassica collars...
6 tags
Devilish red cabbage
1 tbsp sunflower oil 1 onion, chopped 450g/1lb red cabbage, shredded 225g/8oz cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced 2.5cm/1in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated pinch of ground cinnamon or allspice 150ml/¼pt vegetable stock salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, red cabbage and apple and cook gently for 5 minutes. 2. Add the ginger and...
2 tags
Veg Seeds Online →
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Swedes
You only start thinking about sowing Swedes indoors in early May, and later planting the same month outdoors when the soil has got a littler drier and warmer in a depth of 2cm and a distance of 24cm. The rows should be 40cm apart.
They take about five to six months to mature so we had better tell chef not to hold his breath waiting for them. Its a simple case of lifting them and trimming...
2 tags
Gingered Swede
450 g (1 lb) swede, peeled 4 tbsps water Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 15 g (1/2 oz) butter 2 tbsps fresh ginger, peeled and grated Fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips, or parsley, to garnish
1. Cut the swede into small pieces and place in a bowl with the water, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. 2. Loosely cover and cook on HIGH for 10-15 minutes or until...
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Pak Choi
Pak Choi grow very fast, someone, somewhere says that they should not be sown before the longest day of the year. They take about 10 days to germinate from seeds and that same someone suggests that this should happen in biodegradable pots so as not to disturb the roots when planting.
Plant in a depth of 4cm and about 20cm apart. The rows should be 25cm apart.
They are another cut and come back...
5 tags
Pork and Pak Choi with Black Bean Sauce
400 g lean pork, cut into thin strips
1 1/2 tablespoons black bean sauce
1 medium or 2 small heads pak choi, shredded
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 handful sliced water chestnuts or red pepper
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
optional: 2 teaspoons fish...
4 tags
How to Braid Garlic →
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Garlic
Garlic couldn`t be easier to grow. Split a bulb into seperate cloves, plant then out in the ground just below the surface and within months you will have new bulbs in their place. Buy specialialy grown varieties that are free from diseses and not what you would pick up in a supermarket.
Plant the cloves in early winter for harvesting the following summer. Plant them in a depth of 2cm and about...
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Butterhead Lettuce
Lettuce seed tends to have a short shelf-life, so it is a good practice to sow the seeds in the year they were packaged. Sow the seeds in early March indoors in seed trays. Thin out the weak ones and plant out in April (this is all down to the warmth of the spring weather).
Sow lettuce seedlings very thinly into drills 1.5cm deep with the rows 30cm apart. Thin them out to 15cm-30cm apart.
In 10...
6 tags
Asparagus and Butterhead Lettuce Salad
1 bunch asparagus (about 1 lb.)
2 heads butterhead lettuce
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly shredded lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
4 ounces perlini mozzarella (tiny balls)
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1. Hold the end of an...
4 tags
The Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim →
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Scallions (spring onions)
Scallions are easy to grow and very versatile, and so are spring onions ;-)
Sow direct into the ground from March onwards. You can keep sowing through to September. They should be in a depth of 2cm and 2cm apart. The rows need a gap of 30cm. Weed and water regularly.
Begin picking them when they are about 15cm high. The best method is harvesting as if you were thinning them out, thus leaving...
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Stir-fried Chicken with Scallions and Ginger
3 chicken breasts (deboned and skinned, if necessary, and cut lengthwise into 2-inch strips)
4 stalks of scallions (cut into 2-inch sections)
2 inches fresh ginger root (sliced into pieces)
3 tablespoons cooking oil (one tablespoon for marinating protein)
1/2 tablespoon of potato flour or corn flour
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon of sugar or sweetener of choice
2 tablespoons...
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Lissadell House kitchen Garden →
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Baby New Potatoes
These guys grow best in a sunny, well drained part of the garden. Crop rotation is important, try and grow where you had beans or peas last year and not where onions or other root vegetables grew.
Plant the “seed potatoes” in March or April in 15cm depth with a distance of 30cm. The rows should be 45cm apart. Once planted keep them well-watered and continously earth up to keep from...
5 tags
Baby New Potatoes Stuffed with Blue Cheese and...
25-30 small round potatoes, all about the same size if possible.
1 small container 8 oz crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
2 shallots fine chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary fine chopped
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup crumbled bacon (approx. 4 strips)
First boil the potatoes. Boil in salted boiling water for 10 minutes until slightly soft but not overdone....
3 tags
Irish Blogs Directory →
1 tag
Shallots
Shallots are normally grown from small starter shallots: there is now true seed available, but it is all hybrid, whereas once you get shallots growing in your garden, you have them forever by just saving out a small part of each year’s crop as next year’s starters.
Plant the sets in February or March in 3cm depth and 15cm apart. There should be 30cm between the rows..
Weed...
Johnstown Garden Centre →
3 tags
Stilton Topped Mushrooms
12 Large Flat Mushroom
50g/2oz Butter
2 Shallots, finely chopped
175g/6oz Stilton Cheese
25g/1oz Fresh white Breadcrumbs
Salt and Black Pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, Gas Mark 4. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and chop finely.
2. Wipe the caps with damp kitchen paper.
3. Melt half the butter in a saucepan add the chopped mushroom stalks and shallots and fry gently until...
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“Broadcast seeding is the scattering of seed over the soil surface. It is...”
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Chamomile
Chamomile seeds are one of the few seeds that need light to germinate, so starting them by seed is a delicate process. It is best planted outdoors in August by broadcasting the seed and mixing very lightly with the soil. Alternatively, they can be started indoors in propagation flats in March and transplanted outdoors after a hardening off period. In most cases, direct planting in the garden...
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How do you make homemade Chamomile Tea?
Question on Wiki
I have started growing herbs, such as Chamomile, and I am not sure how to harvest or utilize them. Which part of the plant do you cut off and dry? I have no clue about this!
Answer on Wiki
For Chamomile, the flower is the part used, although it is okay if you accidentally get a few leaves. The best time to harvest is morning - after the dew has dried but before the heat causes...
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Irish Seed Savers Association →
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Chervil
An annual with tiny, feathery, aniseed tasting leaves.
Grow in partial shade, sowing seeds directly into the ground anytime between April and September.
Chervil needs lots of water in the summer.
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Chervil Pesto
1 cup fresh Chervil 1/4 cup Romano Cheese 1/4 cup pine nuts - toasted 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 crushed clove of garlic
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until well chopped and blended. Use it as you wish. Yum!
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“Crop rotation or Crop sequencing is the practice of growing a series of...”
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Baby Spinach
Water is key to growing spinach, we need to be prepared to water at least once a day in summer. If the weather turns hot and dry, spinach will bolt at the slightest chance.
Sow indoors in February and plant outside during March & April in 2cm depth, 10cm apart with space between the rows of about 30cm. Weed carefully and thoroughly and water generously.
Begin picking the outer leaves...
6 tags
Spinach & ricotta cannelloni
500g (1lb) ricotta 150g (5oz) baby spinach leaves, chopped 2tbsp roughly chopped fresh basil 1 clove garlic, crushed ¼tsp nutmeg 6 sheets fresh lasagne 500ml (16fl oz) shop-bought fresh Napolitan sauce 50g (1¾oz) freshly grated Parmesan
1. Heat the oven to 200ºC (gas mark 6). Put the ricotta into a bowl and break it up with a fork. Add the baby spinach leaves, basil and garlic and mix well....
The Chilipepper`s from Clontarf →
3 tags
Summer Cabbage
Summer cabbage will grow happily in most fertile soils. Like all brassicas, don`t plant in an area where others were grown during the last three years.
Sow seeds indoors in March and plant outside in April and May. The seedlings should be 2cm in depth, about 40cm apart and the rows should have 50cm between them.
The life of the summer cabbage is spent mostly under nets. After planting the...
Traditional Bacon and Cabbage with Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
1 ½ kg (3 lbs) loin of bacon
1 carrot
2 celery sticks
2 leeks
1 medium cabbage
1 kg of potatoes
1 teasp. peppercorns<
Topping
1 tablesp. mustard
1 tablesp. oven-dried breadcrumbs
½ tablesp. brown sugar
Knob of butter
Mustard Sauce
50g (2 oz) butter
25g (1 oz) flour
1 tablesp. mustard
250ml ( ½ pt) mixture cooking liquid and cream ( ½ & ½ )
1 kg (2...
2 tags
Thompson & Morgan Garden Experts since 1855 →
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Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Start off in February, in trays or modules indoors to begin with, then outdoors from March onwards, under cover if necessary.
Plant in a depth of 2cm with a distance 60cm between them. There should also be a gap of 60cm between the rows. We can succession plant in batches through to July to keep a constant supply to the restaurant.
When harvesting, which can be done regurlary, cut off the...
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“Soba is a type of thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. It is served...”
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Chicken and purple broccoli stir-fry with...
75g wholewheat spaghetti
1 tsp sunflower oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
200g purple sprouting broccoli spears (or broccoli, cut into florets)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
100g beansprouts
1 mild red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
Cook the spaghetti in a pan of boiling...
Night Classes
As we are new to this game, we have made the most of these dark winter months by doing “farming night classes”. The first class was learning all about the latest farming technology and equipment.
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White Turnips
These guys are at their best harvested when they are still young and small. Sow indoors in February or March, a tip is to multi-sow in trays (four seeds in each cell). Plant the little cluster of seedlings together in 2cm depth with a 8cm gap. The rows should be 25cm apart.
Turnips grow quickly, in some cases 5-6 weeks after planting when they are about 4 or 5cms in diameter. The turnip tops...
2 tags
Slice on the Bias →
4 tags
Baby White Turnip Salad With Toasted Pecans And...
4 small white turnips with their greens attached
1/4 c. pecan halves or pieces
3 oz. bacon
1 green garlic stalk or green onion, sliced on the bias
salt and pepper, to taste
1-2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350.
Remove the greens from the turnips. Tear the leaves with your hands into medium to large pieces and set aside.
Slice turnips as thin as possible...