SNOW CALLS FOR SOUP...

MORNING VIEW - PHOTO 'SOPHIA HOME'

What is it about even the slightest sprinkling of snow, to bring out the child in us?  It was with much excitement that I opened the shutters this morning, to see a light dusting of snow covering the garden and fields beyond.  Mr. W was less impressed with the thought of possible disrupted trains to London, but for a home based designer and blogger like myself, a day working at home was going to only be enhanced by being surrounded by this pretty winter wonderland.

KITCHEN GARDEN - PHOTO: SOPHIA HOME

My poor kitchen garden and greenhouse looked a little cold and sad this morning, and it is hard to believe that in just a few weeks, it will be all go in here with much preparation and planting to do.  

However, look a little closer and there is life in here!  We have leeks and kale to enjoy at the moment, and these beautiful 'Marveille de quatre saisons' lettuce.  Whether the latter will stand up to this snow and cold temperatures I'm not sure, but they are incredibly hardy and as their name suggests, they really are a marvel to grow all year round!

PHOTO: SOPHIA HOME

Another great success this year has been growing Brussel Sprouts, which is encouraging as it is the first time I have grown them. Love them or hate them?  Personally I love them!  If you are not so keen, just try and think of them as 'mini cabbages' and roast them or stir fry them with bacon or chorizo and maybe chestnuts or pine nuts.....a complete revelation! 

PHOTO: SOPHIA HOME

Like a number of winter vegetables, sprouts benefit from a cold snap and this brings out their sweet nuttiness beautifully.  

PHOTO: SOPHIA HOME

Followers of my instagram @sophiahomelifestyle will know that last week I tested out a delicious recipe for 'Brussel Sprout, chorizo and chestnut soup' which I can confirm was SO delicious!  It is the perfect winter warmer, and bar the small amount of chorizo (an essential addition!) which adds a wonderful rich and spicy kick, it is super healthy and perfect for all those good intentions for the new year.                                                                                                                                                                                                 

PHOTO: SOPHIA HOME

Sadly I forgot to take a photo of the end result, but trust me, it's delicious, so do try it!

INGREDIENTS:

400g Brussel sprouts, trimmed

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 bay leaf

100-150g cooking chorizo chopped

1 tsp group cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp smoked paprika

Leaves from 2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped, in two equal piles

2 large tomatoes or 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes

500g cooked peeled chestnuts, vacuum-packed 

1 litre chicken or vegetable stock

4 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

METHOD:

Separate the sprouts into two equal piles.  Cut one portion into halves and finely shred the other and keep separate.

In a large saucepan heat 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the onion and carrots until they start to brown.  Add the bay leaf and chorizo and continue frying for another few minutes.

Now add the halved sprouts, the cumin, cayenne, smoked paprika, rosemary and half the garlic and stir for another minute.  Next add the tomato, chestnuts and stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Use a hand blender or food processor to blitz the soup but don't make it too smooth - some texture is good.  Reheat in the pan, adding salt and pepper as needed.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat.  When the oil is hot, throw in the remaining garlic and the shredded sprouts and stir fry for a minute or two until the sprouts are just tender and bright green.

Stir through the soup just before serving, saving a spoonful to garnish each bowl.

****

Bon appétit!

With more snow forecast, do stay safe and warm.   I have a new delivery of seed catalogues, and shall be doing just that, and dreaming and planning for Spring, which really is not too far away.

Happy Friday!

Sophia xx

GETTING 'SPRING KITCHEN GARDEN' READY...

What glorious weather we have had over the last few days!  Cold admittedly, but with beautiful blue  skies and wall to wall sunshine, it has been absolutely stunning here in Kent. 

My daily dog walk has brought me home most days with a detour in to the kitchen garden for some pickings of the few winter veg I have this year....chard, spinach, kale, carrots, leeks and celeriac, and I have found myself daydreaming of Spring and this year's plans for hopefully an abundance of produce....

Daydreaming is no good though!

It happens each year at this time...I get lulled in to a false sense of security thinking 'it's winter' and 'I've got lazy weeks stretching out ahead of me'.....time for a reality check though and to start planning and thinking about all those jobs that need doing!

There is the greenhouse to clean and disinfect...

Raised beds and this pergola to mend...

 ...and the back breaking but oh so worth while task of spreading barrow loads of manure on all the beds.  (Perhaps I can sweet talk Mr. W in to that one?!)

Eighteen months ago we planted these tiny Portuguese Laurel trees in four small raised beds.  They were just wispy leftover hedging plants, but having already taken on some vigorous growth and by removing the lower branches, we are nurturing them in to 'standards' which will hopefully be spectacular 'lollypop' shaped trees in a few years time?  Worth a try!

I am not renowned for my patience when it comes to 'creating', but while creating this large garden and also keeping an eye on the budget, I have gradually learnt that it is well worth the wait for the rewards!  Smaller trees and hedging plants end up stronger in the long run and it is also so satisfying to nurture something so small in to something special.

Rhubarb is being forced under the terracotta forcer.  Not long now until those first precious and delicious stems...

Now for that planning.....the fun of choosing seeds, both new and heritage varieties is always exciting.  As mentioned before here, each year I vow to grow less but end up growing enough to feed the whole of Kent, but it is always so lovely to share with friends and family and I may look out for a good cause too to donate both seedlings and vegetables this year.   

Thankfully the choosing and ordering can all be done from the warmth and comfort of indoors!

  Keen veg gardeners out there, what are you planning to grow this year?  Are there any unusual or particularly successful crops or varieties that you can recommend?  

I would love to hear...

Happy garden planning!

Sophia xx

A LATE SEPTEMBER HARVEST...

ALL PICTURES: SOPHIA HOME

Happy Monday everyone!

I do hope you all had a lovely weekend?

Ours was very much a 'catch up' weekend in the garden….it's frightening just how out of control things can get when you turn your back on things for just a week or two!  

Our efforts were concentrated on the kitchen garden, where the warm September weather had caused the weeds to completely take over! Back breaking work, but quite satisfying to turn chaos into order, and most beds are now weeded and mulched with a thick layer of manure.  Followers of my Instagram @sophiahomelifestyle, will know that it wasn't my most glamorous of Sunday activities!

What was enjoyable, was September's late harvest….here are a few of Sunday's pickings….

Cucumbers from the greenhouse...

'Uchiki Kuri' squashes...

Still an abundance of courgettes!

Beautiful Victoria plums…

Onions to be stored and used over the coming months…

An abundance of apples in the orchard…

And my absolute favourite….

Who could not love these gorgeous 'pink' offerings of Dahlias and Stocks from this year's new cutting garden….and beautiful Borlotti beans!  The perfect ingredient for a delicious Cassoulet supper to end a perfect September Sunday…

Wishing you a very happy week!

Sophia xx

THE GARDEN IN AUGUST…

PHOTOS: SOPHIA HOME

After a glorious start to summer, August has been a little disappointing don't you think?  I am sure my UK readers will sympathise anyway!  

Being a great believer in 'silver linings' though, we are grateful for the rain here at home, as it saves us hours of watering each evening, which is always welcome!  Sadly this doesn't mean we can rest on our laurels too often….as there is always much to do in the form of mowing, weeding, and picking, let alone the constant evolvement of new projects that 'Mr. SH' and I can never resist starting.

As well as all these regular garden jobs, we have the mammoth task of trimming all the box hedging, and considering our penchant (addiction?) to continually adding to this, it is turning in to a serious annual undertaking!  What can start as quite a satisfying activity, soon starts to loose its appeal and we think to ourselves 'what on earth have we started'…. 

But when we look back at the garden after a long day of clipping, the reward outweighs the hard work.  If you are a lover of topiary as I am, I am sure you will understand!

A new 'Portuguese Laurel' hedge is now planted around the kitchen deck….beautiful and evergreen, and will be a great wind break…the price we pay for our view and being on top of a hill!

Having established the shape and structure of three identical square box edged parterre beds, part of which you can see above, my aim is to inject more colour into the summer planting next year.  Something tall and blue, to contrast with the existing Alchemilla Mollis perhaps?  Salvias or Catmint?  Any suggestions would be very happily received!

New gravel beds sit at the back of our side lawn…still in their infancy but we hope they will add 'formal' interest and contrast to the rural backdrop beyond.  Box hedging in time will grow up to contain more of my beloved 'Hydrangea Annabel' which I hope next year will increase greatly in size.  These are interspersed with simple home made planters of box balls….a slightly mis shapened bargain buy, which with patience, will start to look better next year!  Beyond that are tall posts, painted in Farrow and Ball 'French Grey' (still waiting for their finials) with young 'Hornbeam' trees between, which we are pleaching to train along their wires.  A Hornbeam hedge along the fence behind is also a new planting and in time, the aim is for the gap between this and the pleaching to form 'windows' to view the beautiful view beyond. 

Between these gravel beds, we have planted three 'Weeping Pear' trees…their silvery leaves will be a lovely contrast I think, against the green of the Hornbeam hedge and the green

box hedging and balls?

The 'Agapanthus' have been gorgeous….

 Both in pots, and in the long beds at the back of the house, but sadly coming to an end now.

Then there is the kitchen garden…my special sanctuary…which has been feeding us with an array of delicious produce, particularly French Beans and of course, as my regular readers will know, courgettes…perhaps a few too many!

Gorgeous Artichoke 'Violet de Laon'...

The warmth of the greenhouse...

Rewarding us with cucumbers and aubergines…

Going back to that courgette glut, thank you so much to all you lovely readers who took the time to send me your delicious recipe suggestions! 

I leave you today with a favourite, which is from the Sarah Raven 'Garden Cookbook', and uses the beautiful flowers of the courgette plant.  A little fiddly, but so well worth the effort.  

For 8:

16 courgette flowers

200g podded peas (frozen is fine)

300g Philadelphia or other cream cheese

Salt and black pepper

small bunch of parsley, coarsely chopped 

2 tablespoon olive oil

olive oil, for frying

For the tempura batter:

225g plain flour

plenty of salt and black pepper

2 eggs

375ml cold lager 

To make the tempura batter, sift flour into a bowl with salt and pepper and make a dip in the centre.  Add the eggs and with a balloon whisk, mix in the cold lager to make a batter the thickness of double cream that is not too smooth.  Keep this in the fridge until you need it.

Shake the courgette flowers to dislodge ants and earwigs (!) and remove the stigma from the centre.  Cook the peas in plenty of salted boiling water for 3 minutes.  In a mixing bowl, combine the peas, cream cheese, salt, pepper, parsley and a little olive oil.

Although not in the original recipe, I added a little chopped chilli at this stage, which we enjoyed.

With your fingers, gently part the flower petals, leaving one finger inside to keep it open.  Take a teaspoon of the mixture and carefully stuff the flower.  The stickiness of the mixture will mean that you can seal the pointed end easily with a little twist.

Heat about 10cm of olive oil in a deep pan, making sure the oil doesn't come more than one-third of the way up the sides of the pan, until it reaches about 170 degrees C.  Deep each stuffed flower in the tempura batter, then fry them in the hot oil.

These are at their best eaten hot, sprinkled with sea salt and black pepper.

Delicious!

Wishing you a happy week ahead…

Sophia xx