The Hebridean Gardener’s Lament “its cold, wet and windy” or in my case the grumpy gardener blues is yet to be replaced by the sunny morning tuneless whistle as I pull on my red woolly hat and wellies and march off to the garden. In the “edgy islands” spring does not officially start until May
Spinach is a great leafy vegetable and one of our staples in the early spring and winter. I grow two varieties of baby leaf spinach, Ottawa and Amazon, both suited to early and late sowing and producing an abundance of leaves either for salads or cooking. I sow my first batch in the polytunnel in
Nothing but blue skies……With high pressure over Scandinavia and the jet stream well to the south the northerly air flow has turned the islands into a frigid riviera. Long sunny days and balmy temperatures of 5°C, which in the lightest wind become a chilly 1°C, are perfect for brisk walks along the beach but hopeless
I’ve never really understood the appeal of cold soups, except maybe real gazpacho eaten in a Spanish estancia surrounded by cork oak forests and roaming pata negra hogs feasting on acorns, but that is another story. For me soups are one of the ultimate comfort foods, rich, thick and soothing, served in rustic pottery bowls
