Garden Pleasures, Cranberry Cakes and Old Books.

Another week has flown by. The birds are calling and the buds on the pear trees are swelling. The pink blossom on a tree nearby is giving it’s annual show. A little more blossom to come and then it will be magnificent.

We have the first frogspawn of the year in our pond. I’ve planted a white water lily, so next year the frogs will have a little more cover from the herons. I hope the plant will grow and put on a beautiful display.

There are more lovely crocuses, pansies and hellebores adding colour to the garden. I have an unusual pale yellow hellebore. Very pretty but only two flowers on a small plant and, it seems, most tempting to nibblers.

I planted some beautiful anemones. They have my favourite colours of purples and pinks. They’re half-opened and look so lovely as they unfurl their petals.

Time now to sow a few seeds. I’ve made some seed-sowing medium from homemade leafmould and compost. Roughly one scoop of compost to every two of leafmould. There were a few rough bits so I used the riddle to remove scraps of wood and stones. Mixed it together in a big bin so it’s ready when I need it.

I’ve used some to grow tomatoes. I filled two plug trays with my compost and brought them indoors to germinate. After a few days of warmth and moisture they’re just peeping through the soil. It will be weeks before I can plant them in the greenhouse, so I will pot them when they’re big enough and keep them indoors until it’s time.

This year I’m growing “Roma”, an old favourite. I’m also trying “Lampadena Marzano”, which I’ve had from the Heritage Seed Library run by Garden Organic. Both tomatoes are plum types. We like them because they’re fleshy without too many seeds, thin skinned and delicious. They preserve well in sealed jars, processed in my pressure cooker.

My mange-tout peas, called “Sugar Ann”, are coming through the soil in the polytunnel. The broad beans have not germinated, so after two false starts I bought some lovely, sturdy plants from our local nursery. I planted these outdoors because they’re very hardy, but they’re covered with netting to keep off the wood pigeons. The variety is called “Bunyard’s Exhibition”. They look like they’ll do well.

Still cold out there. Nice to be busy in the kitchen. Last week I mentioned I had a new recipe. I love cranberries and I keep packets of the dried sweetened ones at the ready for my banana loaf. They’re like little ruby jewels with a sweet and sharp taste. I thought it might be good to enjoy some in my “sweet-treat squares”. Here’s the recipe, in case you’d like to try it.

Cranberry Squares

200g  Caster Sugar
4 Eggs
200g Self-raising Flour
2 rounded teaspoons Baking Powder
15g Bran
200g Sunflower Oil
1 tablespoon milk
150g pkt dried Cranberries

Grease a large baking tin or roaster,30 x 25cm (12 x 10").
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan oven.
Put all ingredients except the cranberries into a bowl and mix thoroughly. 
Add cranberries and stir well.
Spread the mixture in the greased tin and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Test the middle with a skewer. If it comes out clean it's done. If not, give it a couple more minutes.
Allow to cool and cut into squares. Lift out with a palette knife.
Also enjoyable as a pudding.

My airfryer is fast becoming a favourite bit of equipment. I had one last squash to use from last year’s harvest and it’s so good roasted. So I did it in the airfryer with mushrooms and potatoes. A couple of minutes on roast setting for the squash pieces while the potatoes boiled for a few minutes. Then I added the mushrooms with potatoes on top and roasted for another ten minutes. I found the best way to add a sparse amount of olive oil was to pour it into my cupped hand then rub it over the vegetables. The potatoes were a bit too hot to do that though, so I gently spooned a little around them before adding them to the basket. So quick, easy and economical, with delicious results.

I haven’t painted a picture since before Christmas. Been reading a lot. Currently reading the latest book in the Strike series by J.K.Rowling under the name of Robert Galbraith. Wonderful writing. The television programmes are excellent . The acting is superb and the cast is right for the characters.

Years ago I collected old books because they had lovely and interesting covers. You don’t see that stamped leather or cloth any more. In my opinion, they make a home look cosy and interesting, as well as being good to read. Admittedly, some of my titles are a bit obscure. “Seed Crushing in Great Britain” being one example! But I love to see them and the older they are the more I like them.