The Good Life - Harvest on 22nd August

Today's take from the allotment was modest because I am cooking for one. The green and yellow haricots are just ready and there should be a few more weeks of production from these plants. The second crop of peas are coming along nicely and the swollen pods are filled with the sweetest peas I have ever tasted. Corinne's butternut squash plants are producing the nicest courgettes and there should be more to come in the next three or four weeks. Likewise we should have a few patisson for the pot over the same period. the end of August and start of September is all about the sweet corn and I have broken off a few cobs to keep me going during the week.

The last week has brought about a big change in the allotment as there has been a lot of growth over this period; the result of a good balance of rain and good periods of sunshine. The courgette plants, beans lettuce and beetroot have all filled out and matured well.

View from below showing partial veil and white gills

As I walked home this morning, I decided to take a closer look at the conifers on the route and check out what was growing around them. I am aware that some varieties of Amanita are mycorrhizal with conifers. The example photographed above and below has many characteristics common with the Amanita genus; crowded white gills, partial veil and a volva at the base of the stem. However, the cap is a little unusual for an Amanita as it has a scaled or feathered appearance almost appears to be pealing. I have not been able to identify this variety but Rome was not built in a day and there are about 600 varieties to chose from! As I have mentioned on a number of occasions the Amanitas, apart from a handful of examples, are toxic and in some cases deadly poisonous. They should not be eaten, or picked and mixed with mushrooms that you intend to eat.

Side view of mushroom

The Good Life - Amantia Phalloides or Death Cap (absolutely deadly)

Bees continue the important process of pollination

Corinne has retreated to Franche Comte and I have been left on my own to weed and attend to a few small tasks in the allotment. The weather was forecasted to be unsettled for the last few days and this weekend but it has actually been quite refreshing, being mild with a cooling breeze and intermittent spells of bright sunshine. Generally "unsettled" means you should always have a coat to hand to protect you from frequent showers.

With a solid dose of optimism I walked confidently to the allotment early this morning and went for my usual forays in the forests but was disappointed only to find one bolet and a few amethyst deceivers. I simply noted their position but did not pick them. I also took the opportunity to inspect the growth of the blackberries and elderberries because they will be ripening soon. I am aware of a few wild souls who may be experimenting with making elderflower wine this year but I will definitely be making making another batch of blackberry jelly this year.

Patisson

The patisson, or patty pan squash, plant has provided us with one good sized patisson to date and is currently producing three more; they should be ready to pick in about two weeks. I tried a potato and patisson gratinee with the last one and will fine tune this recipe for the next crop and report back in due course. The courgettes are growing nicely and some courgettes which are meant to be butternut squash are also developing well. I will have to chat to Corinne about this planting error upon her return!

While the broad beans appear to have been a failure this year, I am quite hopeful that the current dry (or shall we say less wet) spell will provide a good crop of yellow and green french beans. These plants are progressing well in their raised beds, and we should be able to have a few meals from them in the coming weeks. A second crop of peas and broad beans are also progressing quite quickly which is encouraging and we might yet be able to put a decent plate of broad beans on the table. Meanwhile our crop of salad leaves and lettuce is coming on very well. These were initially planted among the corn and transplanted out into a bed once the first drop of peas had been cleared.

Wonderful head of red lettuce

Walking home, I took a detour through Newbridge house and among the oak trees I noticed a solitary mushroom growing on the ground close to one of the smaller trees. The round broadly convex cap was shiny but patchy in places with a metallic ivory colouring. Beneath the cap the ringlike veil was unbroken; this thin fibrous delicate skin covered the gills. The cap measured in the region of 120mm in diameter. The thick stem had a large volval sack attached to its base. This was a young mushroom and it did not have a distinctive smell.

Amanita Phalloides

View of the foot and underside of the cap of the Aminita phalloides

While magnificent, the Amanita phalloides is deadly poisonous and should not be picked. There is no known antidote to the toxins in this mushroom. It ultimately causes liver and kidney failure so do not touch it, and if it does end up in your basket of wild mushrooms throw the entire basket away because the deadly poisonous spores will become attached to other mushrooms. This Amanita is in season from late Summer through to the Autumn and is mycorrhizal with the oak tree but has been found growing with other deciduous trees. I removed it because there were children playing closeby and generally running around the park area, but I took great care carrying it away and carefully washed my hands afterwards.

Aminita phalloides cross section

A short weekend excursion on foot these days rarely leaves me with nothing of note; every step and glance can reveal a great variey of nature's beautiful and deadly creations. In particular, August marks an important turning point bringing the Summer to a close and turning attentions towards the harvest. Looking ahead the riches of Autumn are yet to come as trees and shrubs end their annual cycle producing their fruit.

The Good Life - Is this mushroom a Gyromitra Esculenta or false morel? No, but it could be Hellvella Palustris!

Side view of the mystery mushroom

We went on a wander through the woods this evening and Corinne found this mushroom growing alone on mossy ground. The cap has billowing folds but is not folded and creased like a brain typical of a false morel. The outside of the cap was a light grey in colour. We cut the mushroom in half to check out the interior and it was indeed hollow and light coloured. The small foot, white in colour, was not quite hollow but had chambers.

The closest type of mushroom I can relate it to is the gyromitra esculenta but it has obvious differences. Anybody got any ideas?

Cross section of the mystery mushroom (on a similarly coloured rock) with the foot on extreme left and right

After much thought, deliberation and reviewing a few French publications I am of the opinion this is HELLVELLA PALUSTRIS - 2nd September 2009

The Good Life - Harvest on the 25th July

After a long week working and attending my parents' birthday parties on Thursday and Friday, I was looking forward to Saturday but in an unplanned and spontaneous way. Lets face it, I was too tired to plan and just wanted to get out and breath in the fresh air. These were the instant thoughts occurring to me as I woke early, but immediately declined the opportunity to leave the bed as crawling and struggling were a little beyond my abilities. Eventually at 8 a.m. I swung my feet out from under the duvet and wandered like an uncoordrinated crippled crustacean across the room. Making it past the door and into the kitchen where a pot of coffee was prepped we found our milk had set over night and the kettle was boiled to thin the coffee, making it a less lethal dose. During the week I had been collecting blackcurrants in the late evening and by midnight most nights a few more jars of jam had made it into the safety of my store. Toast was buttered and decorated with a thick layer of blackcurrant jam whereupon I was ready for to take on the world again aided by the bright morning sunshine.


We headed down to the allotment intending to stay for half an hour but stayed for three. Having pulled at a few pea plants it was decided to clear the entire bed and prepare it to transplant some lettuce and fennel. Corrine does not like slugs and at times I could hear her muttering softly in a French/Dublin accent while stabbing her trowl into the ground "You guys have got to go or I will kill you". I pretended to pay no attention but it was amusing and I suppose slugs do bring the worst out in you!

First Brown Birch Bolet of the Season

We made our way to the birch forests and were quite surprised to find a few bolet mushrooms. They were ten to fourteen days old and I was quite interested to see them fruiting in mid July because we would normally be collecting them in September. My information from Poland told me they had arrived there some weeks agol. Over night, having given the issue due consideration I decided to do a little more foraging and visit a few spots which always seemed to produce good specimens. I was not disappointed. A dozen good sized mushrooms were located however they were past their best and cooking them was out of the question because they had become spongy and contaminated by our old friends the slugs and maggots.

The first crop of Brown Birch Bolet

Back in the apartment we were preparing meals for the week ahead and cooking Sunday dinner but also trying to make the place look somewhat presentable. Trays of potatoes should not be in the hallway but they are. My jam making efforts had left a large impact on the sink and this unfortunately had to be dealt with; a further kilo of blackcurrants were languishing in the fridge requiring attention and eventually I gathered the enthusiasm to stand over them in the pot for forty minutes to jam them.

I was feeling quite lazy by Sunday afternoon and required a simple quick and tasty pudding for desert to keep everybody happy. I decided to consult my book of post war cookery, namely the "The Penguin Cookery Book" by Bee Nilson published in 1952. Its a small tome which lacks the synthetic colour which Fanny Craddock brough to cooking in the resurgent 1970s but it contains over 850 recipes from the little known "Ragout of Turnip" to the even less celebrated "Boiled Finnan Haddock". Recipe 773 "Bread Custard" is what one might use in a base for Queen of Puddings (a.k.a. Queen's Pudding and I thought it would go well with vanilla ice cream and a spoon of blackcurrant jam which were all to hand.

To make Bread Custard you will require the following: 4 oz bread crumbs, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of sugar, half teaspoon of vanilla essence, 1 pint of milk, a pinch of salt and butter to grease the bowl. I blended a stale baguette for bread crumbs and heated the milk in the microwave (about all it is good for), then beat the sugar, egg and vanilla together. I poured the milk into the egg mixture and whisked to blend well. At this point I departed from the recipe and threw a handful of sultanas into the warmed milk and egg mix and left it to stand for a few minutes before pouring it over the breadcrumbs. Thereafter it was placed into the oven at 180 degrees Celsius and cooked for about three quarters of an hour.

The vanilla ice cream and blackcurrant jam worked a treat. You may not get this bin end delight in the top restaurants but it was everything a desert should be. The visiting dog had little to savour from the plates before they were cast on the mountainous pile that had grown up in the sink over the afternoon.

The Good Life - Harvest on the 18th July

Saturday was another good day in the allotment. Much of the flooding had worked its way into the soil and clay, but the potatoes, jerusalem artichokes and some of the broad bean plants may not be as healthy as they should be. Harry was not so pleased with some of the potatoes. While they had grown to a good size there was evidence of a large scale slug attack upon some plants. However, I had to point out in some cases he was confusing slugs with damage caused by somebody digging with a large fork! By midday we happily layed out on the work bench our selection of potatoes, beetroot, peas and beans, carrots, chives, fennel, spring onions, lettuce, mint, sorrel and a single "common" field mushroom.

We had a particular surprise with the beetroot. Six weeks ago a debate raged about whether or not beetroot plants could be transplanted. Corinne held the firm view that they could not and wanted to cull a bed of them to plant beans. I held firm and continued to water the guys until signs of fresh green growth appeared. It was also then stated that if the plants survived the beetroot itself would not grow well. Yesterday afternoon Harry and myself made a great show and took great relish in disproving these points of view as we struggled to pull the well formed and rooted beetroot from the soil. Corinne made no formal comment at the time but no doubt I will question her further on the issue when she is eating them.

Harry and Corinne

The Polyporus Squamous is also known as Dryads Saddle, Pheasant Back or Hawk's Wing mushroom. The cap is quite distinctive being kidney shaped with a scaled or feather like appearance. Peering under the cap you can examine the pores which are in the form of beautiful delicate velvet white tubes. This mushroom flourishes in late Summer. It is great to be able to find mushrooms and fungi growing in season when the changeability and unpredictability of the seasons can be the background or basis for many a conversation.

Polporus Squamous

They are quite spectacular mushrooms with caps up to 30cms wide. They can be found growing in large groups on decaying logs or stumps of elm or maple slowly devouring the crumbling bark and trunks of trees. The younger mushrooms are the best ones to pick as they will be quite tender. The more mature and larger mushrooms tend to be too tough and fibrous. The foot of the polyporus squamous is often quite big and thick as it will ultimately be attaching a large mushroom, weighing up to a few kilos, to the trunk of a rotten log. Once cut a sweet smelling liquid runs from the foot of the fresh mushroom. Some people describe the sweet fruity smell being similar to watermelon and I would not disagree.

Polyporus Squamous from the side

While the edibility of this mushroom is not disputed the quality of the mushroom is a little maligned and this is probably because this mushroom grows at a time when other more flavoursome varieties are available, and the "worthwhile" factor comes into play. In my view, when cooking wild mushrooms it is often preferable to have at your disposal a selection of mushrooms to enhance a recipe and this is at least one good reason for not ignoring this mushroom.

The Good Life - Summer mushrooms but...!

Agraricus Campestris

We took advantage of a brief gap in the near constant low, middle and upper levels of Irish Summer cloud cover to pay a visit to the allotment and bail the trenches dug to relieve the inundation of the raised beds; one end of the allotment where we have a large raised bed is reminiscent of Venice in a bad Winter over run by the Po. The still night and humid conditions guaranteed we were not the only visitors to the swamp! The air was thick with mosquitos, all hungry and eager for a light snack before retiring to gnaw on a reluctant and acquiescent badger or rabbit.

All moaning aside we did find evidence of some seasonal wild growth in the form of the common (actually quite rare) field mushroom. These pretty little mushrooms have elegant and delicate off pink gills when young which eventually turn brown. The specimens we found had a slightly brown cap and had a sweet smell. It would have been easy to stay in and go through the motions of preparing for work but that would have been unforgivable. There will be plenty of dark of dark Winter nights where you wish you could get outdoors do something or anything!

The Good Life - Harvest on a damp 4th July

We managed to gather a few heads of lettuce, nasturtium flowers, scallions, mange tout and peas, parsley, mint and chives along with a few handfuls of potatoes as the showers were rolling through north County Dublin at midday today. Altogether the basket looked quite colourful and healthy! Looking foward devourig the new potatoes with peas and mint this evening, and possibly a scallion and mange tout salad which is my star combination of the moment.

The Good Life - Elderflower Cordial

Before June slides gently into July it is worth knowing that it is still possible to collect the elderflower heads from the elder tree and make a refreshing cordial. Unfortunately my forays into the hedges and ditches have brought about a few bouts of hay fever which have left my nose streaming and my eyes stinging during the long sunny evenings. I am looking forward to a little light rain as a result!

Elderflowers snipped from the heads ready to be plunged into the warm water

The native Irish Elder tree is called an trom in the Irish language and has a long association with native folklore and old medicinal and herbalist traditions. The Irish Triads, derived from a 14th century manuscript known as the Yellow Book of Lucan, is a record of observations and proverbs and record as follows: three signs of a cursed site are nettles, the corncrake and the elder tree. This is possible a reference to the fact that the elder colonises land quite rapidly and is very visible and recognisable at this time of year by its large bunched heads of simple white flowers with yellow stamens. By now some of the flowers have been pollinated and already small berries are beginning to form.

The ingredients for my cordial are as follows: 25 heads of elderflowers, 1.8 litres of water, 1.3 kilos of sugar, 4 lemons, 50 grams citric acid.

To make the cordial shake any bugs from the heads of the flowers and snip the flowers from the stalks. This may take a little time but your patience will be rewarded! Boil the water and dissolve the sugar into the boiling water. Then add the elderflowers, citric acid and the sliced lemons. I also zest the lemons to get a little more impact from the lemons. If you are not too enthusiastic about the lemon flavour you can use a combination of oranges and lemons. Citric acid can be difficult to find but most eastern food stores stock it under the East End brand name.

This Cordial is good fun to make and also leaves a relaxing scent in your living area. To ensure a long life you should refrigerate the cordial or freeze it. Two jars of cordial I produced, and did not refrigerate, have started to ferment, and I am leaving them to do their thing for a few weeks to see how this experiment develops!

The Good Life - June harvest from the allotment

Today we had a little harvest in the allotment. Scallions and beetroot were thinned yielding a nice crop of young vegetables. The rhubarb is in full flight at the moment and we are taking quite a few sticks for tarts and cakes before the curtain comes down on that harvest in July. The lettuce is coming on really well, but with this fine weather you could not possibly fail to produce a glossy well coloured firm head of lettuce. Our sorrel was severely cut back after an attack of blight but has recovered very well; the young leaves may be seated down tommorrow morningg to accompany a few poched eggs. Salad potatoes and mange touts are also ready for the taking and we spent a good 20 minutes digging and searching through the soil to find the little gems. The turnips, onions and shallots are also entering a period where they can be harvested.


Over the coming weeks we hope to reap the reward of other varieties of potatoes, peas and broad beans. We have tried to draw out the harvest of various types of beans and peas by planting a few seedlings over the last few weeks so we can look forward to a long and fruitful harvest through the summer months.

The colours of Summer in North Dublin