MR. HCB'S PRIDE AND JOY

Although it was still quite sticky during the night, thankfully this morning, it is very much cooler, so no doubt, being British, we will soon be grumbling about that!

I had a few boring jobs to do first thing, then pegged out some washing before having a wander round the garden with Mr. HCB, who is feeling a little “off colour” today with a headache and sore throat.  I don’t think he will be doing too much today, but will be conserving his energy for the BIG match tonight, which is fine, because he has worked hard in the garden.  No doubt his throat will be “well oiled” this evening with a glass or two of wine or beer.

You will know by now that the vegetable patch and greenhouse are Mr. HCB’s pride and joy and the various beans, peas and sweetcorn are looking quite good.  He is very proud of his Tromboncino, a variety of butternut squash, that is dual purpose - it can be picked when still green and used as a courgette or can be left to grow and then eaten as squash.  I wish I could get him to do jobs in the house as quickly and as well as he constructed the frame for these climbing squashes. 

According to the Suttons website : “Tromboncini can be cooked in a variety of ways, it can be roasted, grilled, fried or added raw to salads and stir fries. The taste will be sweet, mild and nutty with a hint of artichoke flavour. The longer fruits are ideal for spiralising and will make wonderfully healthy ‘spaghetti.’ As with courgettes, the flowers are also edible and just perfect for stuffing and frying.”

I have never stuffed and fried courgette flowers, and in fact, I think Mr. HCB would be cross if I started plucking off the flowers on his plants.

We are still waiting for the rain to come - although Mr. HCB has been watering the vegetable patch, the flowers are wilting and dying, but we feel the water must be used for the produce - hopefully once we have some rain, the flowers will recover.

“It’s been many years 
     since I had such an
          exemplary vegetable.”
Jane Austen : Pride and Prejudice (Mr. Collins)

P.S.  Mr. HCB has just picked our first runner beans, Gold Field - they will look good in a salad later and I'm sure will taste delicious.