Sowing and Growing, Cooking and Eating, Walking and Breathing

Growing and Sowing

I have to admit to a feeling optimistic delight every time I go into my glasshouse. Daily, no - hourly, the seedlings seem to grow, transforming the pots of dark soil into mounds of verdant micro jungles all jostling for space. Some of the larger seedlings have been pricked out and potted on and they need even more elbow room. Outside I've got a large cloche type cold frame covering my square foot garden where beans, garlic, black kale and spring onions grow on, it won't be long before I fill that too. 

Oh yes,  there's still the potatoes to plant (soil is a bit cold), the spinach and onions to go out, the parsley and leeks, the garlic chives and ....................hmmmm my garden isn't small but it is too small for my enthusiastic seed sowing! (And I've not even started to take into account all the ornamental seeds I've sown too)

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Cooking and Eating

Ages ago I made 'veggie Cornish pasties' which is a bit of an oxymoron and is a recipe that needs a name of it's own, but it was rather tasty and I promised to share the nuts and bolts of it (not to worry they are not ingredients!).

The original recipe came from here but I did my usual and fiddled with the recipe to make it our own.

1. I used onions, courgette, carrot, potatoes and mushrooms.
2. As per the instructions I chopped, sliced and diced.
3. The vegetables were cooked over a medium heat and
4. The grated cheese and stock was added.
5. I cheated and used ready made short crust pastry and instead of making Cornish-pasty rounds I made a single large pie. The veg mix is lovely and moist and the pastry collapsed last time so this time, I lined a dish (not necessary could just grease instead) and made a double crust pie.
6. So, a quick photo before it was guzzled, with home grown salad (first decent crop of this year!) chips as a concession to  Youngest and who proclaimed himself most-starving-one and garlic bread - discovered hiding in the freezer. Yum.

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Walking and Breathing

Youngest has been away for a week at an outdoor activity centre in the Lakes, so he has had less energy than his usual firecracker self and our regular weekend yomp seemed to fizzle away. By Sunday evening I was pacing the floor feeling quite out of sorts. I kinda threw a wobbler and insisted we went out for a walk as soon as we had finished eating. Strangely all my normal walking conspirators were reluctant, preferring to podge out.

 It took a fair bit of firm talking to, to get the boys (all 3) to move but once they did, their dour moods lifted and the walk took on a refreshing cleansing feel to it. 

The evening sunlight gave everything a warm golden glow and the sky was full of dramatic flame coloured cloud. There were lambs everywhere, frolicking in the gentle warmth.

It was like meditation, my breathing connected with my footsteps and my feet connecting with the earth - wonderful.

As usual, our weekend was over in a flash. 

Here's wishing you a magnificent Monday (in the words of my fav sis in law) and a wonderful week xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx