From Spade to Plate: Parsnip, Potato and peas

Although we have been trying to plant potatoes for a couple of weeks now, the weather has not been very favourable.  Frost is not good for our new potatoes (Charlottes) so they have been nicely chitting  inside. (we had the first harvest of these Monday 28th May)

sowing peas in the raised beds at home

potatoes chitting

In the previous years I grew a row of Early Onward Peas between the rows of potatoes and this worked very well. The peas don't grow very high and are propped up by the potato leaves. so no need for more support. They should be ready to harvest in June at the same time as the potatoes. I tend to harvest the whole bed in one go at the end of in June so it is ready to transplant the Beetroot and leeks and sow the Fennel in between.

Ingredients for the curry

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As we still have some parsnips in the allotment, we will be making a Parsnip and Chickpea curry with rice to have as our lunch.

Digging up the parsnips with Raymond

Bringing back the harvest to turn into a lovely lunch

As we had a rainy day the Wednesday group did not go  to the allotment to harvest parsnips, I harvested some this morning so we used them for the curry and the  Sweet potato and parsnip soup with some scones.  We also made another batch of parsnip and chick pea curry

As the weather was so horrible, we decided to sow  various types of french beans, mixed lettuce, beetroot and mini cucumbers  in the warmth of our kitchen.

From Spade to Plate - 26 June Peas and courgettes

Today we harvested the last of the peas and new potatoes in one of the raised beds in the garden.

June harvesting the peas

Some of our freshly picked peas

harvesting the Charlotte potatoes

Shelling peas with a few friends is so much nicer and more sociable than doing this on your own


I noticed that the first courgettes in the allotment are ready too so what better to make for lunch than Jenny's Pea fritters.

June and Hyungi on the way to the allotment with the spent Pea halms

harvesting the first courgettes

 She brought some to the Garden Walk street party and they were yummy so was inspired as with all the fresh ingredient to hand, I could share it with more friends?

As the new potatoes are ready too and are in the same bed, we harvested them today to get the bed ready to transplant some lettuces and sow some beetroot.

For Salad we will be making a Rocket, pear, walnut and parmasan salad.

• walnuts
• pear
• parmesan, shaved
• rocket leaves
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation time: 10 mins | Cooking time: 6 mins | Total time: 16 mins

Makes 12 Fritters

INGREDIENTS ·       2 Large courgettes (skinned) ·       150g cooked petit pois ·       A good handful of fresh mint, 1 tbsp lemon juice ·       140g flour ·       1 egg ·       Salt to flavour ·       Cracked Black Pepper ·      Olive Oil, or similar frying oil We thought that feta cheese incorporated in this mixture might be a nice addition, but we had not tried it. We had some runnerbean chutney with the fritters. Delicious

METHOD 1.     Grate the courgettes into a large bowl (be sure not to grate your fingers). 2.     Sprinkle grated courgette with a pinch of salt, stir through and leave to sit for about 10 minutes. 3.     In another bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (bar the oil). 4.     Once the courgette has finished resting, using your hands, squeeze over the sink with your hands to remove excess liquid. 5.     Add the courgette to the other ingredients and mix well. 6.     Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium-high heat. 7.     Take a tablespoon, and transfer spoonfuls of the fritter mixture to the pan. 8.     Flatten the spoonfuls with the back of a wooden spoon. 9.     Cook for a few minutes on either side. 10.   Eat while piping hot, or leave to cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.