At last

So, last week, before he went to BSAVA and because he is very dynamic, Andy sowed some seeds in the propagator - tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines.

And by the time he returned 5 days later, they had all germinated. The cucumbers were most impressive, managing a good four inches in growth and threatening to push the top off the propagator. It seems that even if Spring doesn't know it is Spring, vegetable seeds do!

We got to the allotment this morning, and took a load of rubbish to the tip. We dug over two of the veg beds, tidied the ground under the recently cut back raspberries, and discovered two rhubarb crowns and a lavender plant in the undergrowth. We saw the woodpecker that resides in the tree behind our shed. A neighbouring allotment holder had left three red currant bushes just inside our gate for us. It was so very, very good to be back allotmenteering!

Brought home the abandoned leeks and some abandoned potatoes. These are currently sitting on the stove turning into leek and potato soup for dinner. I made some lemon curd last week and am wondering if I should push out the boat and make a lemon tart for pudding. Should one have pudding in the middle of the week? Is it a decadence to be avoided? Or do we deserve a splurge for all our hard work a-digging and a-doing this morning?

Actually, the best thing about today was finding those two rhubarb crowns! I don't know why, but there was something very heart-lifting about seeing those pink knobbly bobbles emerging from the earth. I am looking forward to all rhubarb related happenings later in the year. Especially ones involving crumble.

All systems go, then! Gotta get those shallots in, and the potatoes.

And we went for another lunch in the name of research (ahem) for our vegetarian eatery. We have yet to discover a place that will be quite as good as ours! Aha!

Actually, I am thinking about cooking my way through Rose Elliot's Vegetarian Cook Book a la Julia Childs cooking her way through le grand livre de cuisine Francais (bit o'French there, did you see??). Andy and I have already thought we ought to start having regular taster dinner parties where we test out potential recipes on our victims... I mean family and friends.

Right, off to attend to the soup. And to phone our friend Jane who has just dismembered her garden decking and has some planks of wood that might just be the ticket for edging some allotment beds with...