The French say "Rosée à la Chandeleur, l'hiver à sa dernière heure". This roughly translates as 'If there is a dew on Pancake Tuesday the Winter is in its final hour'. There was a hard frost on the morning of the 8th March, and while the days are becoming longer, and the sun is getting higher in the sky and stronger, the effects of Winter have not fully departed. Consequently, we have been shy to sew any seed as yet, and have committed no potatoes to the ground. However, the hard work has begun and there has been a significant amount of digging taking place as we are trying to reinstate the raised beds.
While the beds in the allotment look somewhat bare, in some patches there is evidence of strong growth as evidenced by the flourish of rhubarb, sorrel, chives and mache. Elsewhere, fresh new green leaves are shooting on the berry bushes. The crop of leeks and Jerusalem artichokes which have survived the harsh Winter will taste all the better for it. We spent a good hour excavating the Jerusalem artichokes and hope not only to roast them but experiment with cream of Jerusalem artichoke soup, Jerusalem artichoke mouse, and any other recipe we can get our hands on.
The kitchen has been busy in the last few weeks turning out a celebration of citrus; making lime marmalade, lemon poppy seed cake and a second batch of orange marmalade. The arrival of Spring, and relatively mild conditions experienced in February, has awakened the stinging nettle in the local forests and we have already gathered two batches of nettles and commenced our second brew of nettle top beer. In the next few weeks we should be able to sample this years production, and in the meantime we may experiment with nettle pesto and nettle soup!
