Tageggs

Goal #1 “make a meal using only ingredients I’ve grown myself” – DONE!


This was my dinner this evening – courgette frittata with side salad – and it was made entirely using things from our garden (with the exception of the wild garlic pods – some were from our garden, others from further into the woods).


Ingredients:
– courgette (although I only used one in the end – could have used a bit more for flavour though)
– new potatoes
pickled wild garlic pods (not in picture)
– eggs (from yesterday, needed beating better hence the egg white bits)
– basil (grown from seed this year) & oregano (had for a few years)
– salad leaves (lollo rosso)
– chives
– and, ok ok, a little oil for frying the courgettes – a small cheat ;)

It could have used a bit of salt & pepper for flavour but other than that, was pretty damn good!

And that’s another goal ticked off my list.

Food metres, great taste, dog identification

1. We’re supposed to have leftover risotto for lunch but what should have been a side dish for that becomes our main dish instead: John’s Grandma’s marrow flower fritters, made with flowers, courgettes and eggs from our garden. The risotto can wait for another day.

2. The holy basil cuts through the spice. It’s ages since I’ve had any Thai food and this is just wonderful.

3. The pub is full of dogs when we arrive and we sit near the terrier and the other one we can’t identify – she looks like a labrador in the distance – perfect shape and proportion but tiny. She looks so soft, smooth and uniformly black that we’re transfixed by her. Later on, we discover what it is: her owners don’t realise when she escapes and wanders around the pub introducing herself to everyone. After she’s nearly completed her round and heads over to the dog-loving shift manager for a hug, her owner spots her and says “oh look, there’s another Patterdale like Jessie.” Then he realises and laughs, and with a smile, warns us off the dark Erdinger.

Stroke, good dogs, crunch-crunch-crunch, stroke

1. They’re slowly getting used to us. At first, they quietly protest about being held but I’m barely holding the last one, just a supporting hand on her chest then nothing at all, and she stays there on my knee. She peers at us both without blinking for a few moments then slowly hops off my lap and returns to her pecking.

2. We meet two cute little dogs on the walk – Murphy at the start, Scraps at the end. Both are tempted to stop and play with Lily but like good dogs, they respond to their owners’ calls instead.

3. The baked egg shells crumble easily under the mortar and the sound straddles the fine line between wonderful and grating.

4. Boron joins us on the sofa and the position he’s in means I can stroke him with my full forearm, not just my hand. His fur feels warm and luxurious on my inner wrist.