My previous post was a whinge about how late this year's crops (excepting lettuce) have been, but this will be about success at last.
On Saturday we decided to have our first spuds of the year, just before June ended. It took several plants to make a dish of littlies, but the sacrifice in quantity later in the year was balanced by the fantastic taste of these blemish-free specimens. Simply boiled, salted and buttered they were perfect. No need to chew, they crumble moistly on the tongue.
In the same spirit we picked a few gobstopper-sized turnips and beetroot and had them raw with spring onion thinings, and raw broad beans the size of undernourished peanuts.
All that weeding is worth it. We have had nothing that tastes so good since last year's first crops.
First ice-cream of the season too, made with a sudden surge of gooseberries. The recipe was adapted from HFW's River Cottage Cookbook, and worked really well. Not one you'd want three scoops of, tart and strongly flavoured, but with a meringue to balance the sharpness the first tasting was lovely.
As per a previous post, I intend next year trying to calculate the cost of materials and rent etc on the allotment against the value of what we get from it, but how do you put a value on something as difficult to find and as delicious as gooseberry ice-cream? And on the lift such things give to your spirits?
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