January shoots

Will post pics soon - some of the last year's spring and summer bulbs have started growing shoots in the garden. I dug up the bulbs and saved them in paper bags (to dry them out and stop mould growing, in a cold cupboard indoors). I'm not completely sure now which are which so they will be a surprise!

There might be tulips, narcissus, muscari and allium I think. I will blog which ones grow when they do as it will be interesting to see which you can keep year to year - no new spend! (I have bought some other plants I can't plant yet as I may be moving house.) I think some would probably regrow if left in the soil but I had planted other things so I wanted to dig them up.

A couple of the larger bulbs I put in plant pots first before sinking into the soil as I plan to dig the pots up for easier transport if the moving house goes through. Others are in containers anyway, and the rest I will see whether they seem worth trying to move. The new plants I'll wait as long as I can before planting so it might be in the new garden - hence the cheap reusing of bulbs.

I have also seen pansies, anenomes, lupins and asters reappear to some extent. Last summer I had lots of poppies and cornflowers, I have more seeds if I need to replant.

Globe artichokes - how to cook, prepare and eat

Ever wondered how?

You may not have tried a globe artichoke before, or you may have seen them but not known how to go about preparing and eating them. Maybe you have tried it on a pizza or from a tin. Once you know how it is not too difficult to cook from fresh, and they're very tasty! You can buy them in supermarkets or markets in the vegetables section when they are in season.

In the UK you are most likely to find them at Waitrose, other supermarkets if you're lucky.

Globe artichokes are different from Jerusalem artichokes - these look a bit like ginger or potatoes (knobbly, whitish, with brown skin that you peel or chop off, then they can be boiled. They have a similar taste to globe artichokes though but maybe a little sweeter - also worth trying!).

Globe artichokes are round and green, with layers of leaves/petals. The bigger ones are probably tastier and have more flesh, but depending on the season or supplier they may be smaller and longer (as the one in my later pictures is), this is still OK.

How to prepare and eat globe artichokes:

1. chop off the stalk with a knife and discard, and wash the rest of the artichoke in cold water

2. cook by either microwaving for about 5-8 minutes on high in a microwave safe bowl or dish, with a little water and clingfilm to cover (optionally: you can add some lemon juice and seasoning to the water) OR by boiling in a large covered pan of water (again, can be seasoned) - this takes longer (25-45 minutes). They can also be cooked in a pressure cooker. When done, you should be able to pull a leaf off easily. The cooking time depends on size.

3. You can start to eat it straight away - just be careful as it will be hot! You'll need a large plate or something to collect the leaves and rubbish in, plus some butter and a sharp knife.



4. First, Pull off the first few smaller leaves from around the outside and discard. Then start pulling leaves off one by one, dip the end (that was attached to the artichoke) in butter, bring to your mouth and eat the flesh by scraping it your teeth!

5. After eating the flesh, discard each leaf into your rubbish pile.

6. Once you have eaten all the larger leaves, you'll get to some smaller thinner ones that don't have any flesh to eat.

Pull all of these off and discard. Now you've reached the "heart" - but it is covered by the "choke" - thin inedible hairs that'll stick in your throat.




7. Remove the choke by slicing it off from the heart. Try to cut so that you don't waste too much heart underneath but not too close as you won't be able to remove the choke in one piece and will end up eating bits of it - not pleasant!





8. Discard the choke. Chop off the bottom stalk/green bits from the heart if there are any left. Then eat the heart by cutting off portions and dipping in the butter.