gogreener's Journal

Dave added a mineral powder to both trees because they were showing yellow veins. They’ve since perked right up, looking very green and lush now. Some buds on the lemon tree now too.

We’ve replanted the carrots as we think the first batch were too far beneath the surface to sprout properly.

There’s nothing like eating your own vegetables straight from the garden! Last weekend we thinned out our rocket and cos lettuce, and had the baby leaves in a salad we copied from Duende, a tapas restaurant we love.

Duende’s beetroot salad
for each person, you will need:

a large handful of salad leaves

half a beetroot

an orange

about 150g feta cheese (or any other soft, salty cheese)

a small handful of slivered almonds

olive oil

red wine vinegar

wholegrain mustard

Clean the beetroot, cut it into quarters, brush it with olive oil, and wrap it in tin foil. You can add any herbs you like – tarragon is nice, but not essential. Turn the oven to 180C (no real need to pre-heat) and roast the beetroot for about an hour.

Meanwhile, wash your salad leaves and place them in a bowl. Slice the orange or cut it into eighths, taking care to remove as much pith as possible, and add it to the bowl. Crumble your feta cheese over the top. Scatter the almonds through.

When your beetroot has finished cooking, you should be able to poke a knife through it easily. Slip the skins off the pieces, over the alfoil to catch the drips and skins which can stain. Place the beetroot in the salad.

Make a dressing from the olive oil, red wine vinegar (balsamic is fine too) and the mustard. Drizzle it over the salad and serve.

The potatoes have got leafy tops now; the carrots might have popped up a couple of leaves; the parsnips aren’t doing anything; the rocket and cos are going nutso, will have to thin them out!