Sowing in January: Broad Beans

January is traditionally too cold for anything to be sown. However, in warmer areas, you can sometimes sow broad beans. These are the earliest beans to crop. If your soil is too damp (through rain or snow) then they will not grow, so ensure the soil is relatively dry.

Broad beans will require a sunny position, but soil type is less relevant. They are normal sown in double rows, 9 inches apart, and with the seeds the same distance apart in each row. Dwarf varieties of the vegetable won't need support, but taller varieties will. Use cane or posts with string to give this support.

The worst pest that will afflict your broad beans is blackfly. To deter them, remove the  top 3 inches of the shoot when the plan is in fire.

Harvest the beans when the pods have swelled. They can be used immediately or frozen and used later. The green broad beans freeze better than the white ones.

Broad bean, feta and basil mash

For this dish, peeling the broad beans probably is essential - unless they are really tiny and fresh. The mash can be served as a side dish, but to keep it simple just eat it spread on toast (bruschetta, if you want to be classy about it).

400g shelled broad beans
150g feta cheese
50g basil leaves
500ml olive oil

Pop the broad beans from the pods and cook in boiling water until just tender. Cool in cold water, then peel them by squeezing between your fingers. Place the beans in a food processor with the feta, a generous handful of basil and a generous splash of olive oil. Blend the mixture in short bursts to get a rough mash. Season with salt and pepper, though the former might be unnecessary with the feta. Use at room temperature.

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General Gardening in January

Snow hasn't really been prevalent this winter, and it looks like that is going to continue. But what have we had instead? Rain. The weather is really preventing us from doing very much in the garden, but there are a few simple things you can do to prepare your garden for the spring. Some of these tasks are simply carrying on things we talked about last year, but some are quite new!

If it looks like its going to get cold in your area, then keep the water pipes drained or lagged. However, if you've escaped the cold, its probably safe to run them again.

This is the principal time to prepare the soil for a vegetable garden. Your main concern must be, as elsewhere in the garden, with the condition and fertility of the soil. When digging the soil, it is a good idea to periodically loosen the lower soil by double digging. Dig two spade spits deep, but don't mix the lower spit of soil with the upper spit. You need only do this every few years. The rest of the time, a single digging will suffice. You should also avoid walking on wet or sticky soil because this will compact it.

Additionally, now is the time to make sure you've ordered seeds and plants for the next year. Even this is leaving it to the last minute, so ensure you get on with this.

Tackling the borders of your garden, the bits that can be reached from a solid path, is another easy job to do this month.

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0443 across the river-l'autre coté de la riviere, a photo by liboironh on Flickr.

Barbecued Vegetables

Its not just meat that you can cook on a barbecue - check out these great recipes for vegetable based dishes.

Ratatouille
25g butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 medium aubergines, thinly sliced
1 large green pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 large red pepper, desseeded and chopped
5 medium courgettes, sliced
1 can tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/ teaspoons black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

In a large flameproof casserole dish, melt the butter and oil over a moderate heat. Add the onions and garlic and fry, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the aubergine slices, green and red peppers and courgette slices to the casserole. Fry for 4-5 minutes, shaking the casserole frequently. Add the tomatoes with the can juice, the basil, rosemary, bay leaves and seasoning. Sprinkle over the parsley. bring to the boil then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 40-45 minutes until the vegetables are cooked. Remove from the casserole and serve at once as a vegetable dish, as a basting sauce for meat and poultry or as a starter.

Stuffed grilled mushrooms

24 large open cap mushrooms

salad oil

2 cloves garlic (optional)

1 medium onion

4 tablespoons chopped parsley

salt and black pepper

Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and set aside. Wipe the caps to clean then brush with salad and oil and grill, over medium to low coals, for about 15 minutes. meanwhile, chop the garlic and onion until fine and mix with the parsley and seasoning to taste. When the mushrooms are almost cooked, put a spoonful of the mixture in the centre of each mushroom cap and cook for a further 5 minutes.

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Recipes for your Barbecue

The other day we discussed how you can get year round use out of your barbecue, so we thought now might be a great time to suggest a few new recipes you can try on the barbecue.

Ginger Teriyaki Steak

900g sirloin steak

6 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon ground ginger

3 tablespoons sake or sherry

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon sugar

Cut the steak into bite-sized pieces. Mix together the soy sauce, ginger, sake or sherry, garlic and sugar. Marinate the steak in this mixture for about 1 hour. Drain well. Then, place the meat on six skewers and barbecue over hot coals for 6 minutes, turning from time to time. Baste with remaining marinade during cooking.


Sweet 'n' Sour Spareribs

1.75kg lean spareribs
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
150ml wine vinegar
150g brown sugar
6 tablespoons water
6 tablespoons pineapple juice
1 teaspoon grated root ginger or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Rub the spareribs thoroughly with the salt. Place them directly onto the grill, over medium coals, and cook for 40 minutes, turning every 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients to make the sweet and sour sauce. After cooking for 40 minutes start brushing the spareribs with this and cook for a further 40 minutes until done - the meat will pull away easily from the end of the bone. Basting and turning should be continuous process to ensure even flavouring and to prevent the ribs from becoming charred. Serve with honeyed pineapple and extra sweet and sour sauce.




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How can I use my barbecue in winter?

Everyone knows that barbecues are fantastic in the summer months, with warm weather and sunshine providing a perfect atmosphere for a barbecue. In Summer, barbecuing is both a culinary occupation and a social one. We have discussed previously, on this blog, how to care for your barbecue and given some suggestions of great summer recipes. However, does a barbecue stop being useful as soon as summer is over? We would say 'certainly not!'

We've heard stories of certain bbq lovers still cooking in the middle of Minnesota, during a sub-zero winter and in 2ft of snow. If they can manage there is no reason you cannot! Indeed, one of my colleagues swears by using her gas BBQ to cook all her meat, every day. She believes this is a better way to prepare the meat for several reasons:

1. Barbecued meat has a distinctive flavour which many BBQ owners find preferable to the 'standard' oven taste.
2. Barbecuing meat is much quicker than cooking it in the oven. If you're looking to put together a meal quickly, then barbecuing is the way forward.
3. Barbecues need much less cleaning than an oven - just swiftly wipe down the grill!

Of course, if its too wet or too windy and you don't want to face the elements, then barbecuing in winter isn't for you. However if you want to brave it, then perhaps investing in a barbecue shelter is a good idea. Either way, we hope we've proved that people do use their barbecues outside of summer afterall, and that there are practical advantages to doing this! Check out our range of barbecues on Alfresia. We also sell a range of garden furniture and patio furniture.

Christmas Plants

When we think of Christmas, several images spring to mind: beautifully decorated trees, snow covered hills, presents and, of course, the plants we associate with Christmas - holly, ivy and mistletoe. These three are intrinsically tied up in the mythology and imagery of Christmas and there are many creative ways to use them!

The European Holly is an extremely old species. Before the Ice Age, holly covered most of Europe. After the glaciers the plants adapted to the hot dry summers and cold winters. These days it tends to be found more to the north and centre of Europe than the south, but it is still prevalent. It is, however, often protected because of its widespread popularity as a christmas decoration.
That being said, holly is a great plant to create decorations with! Instantly recognisable, when you incorporate holly into your seasonal look, make sure to spray it with fire resistant spray (this will keep it fresh) and place it away from both direct sunlight and direct heat. Check your arrangement daily for signs of brittle leaves or dehydration. Remove the offenders regularly.

We all know about the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe, however its mythology dates much further back than that. In the 1st Cenutry AD, Pliny the Elder (a Roman author, philosopher and historian) wrote about the reverence with which the people of Gaul (France) would treat mistletoe, particularly that which grew on oak trees. They apparently believed that it would be beneficial to sufferers of what we now call insomnia, high blood pressure and certain malignant tumors.

Mistletoe plants are a variety of hemi-parasitic shrub. This means that they grow on other trees/plants and derive much of their sustenance from them. Depending on locale, Mistletoe can be found on Oak (as by the Celts), on Polars, Apple trees and Limes and Hawthorn trees too.

Ivy is representative of paganism, a symbol of fertility. It, like Mistletoe and Holly, is deeply entrenched in folklore and legend, particularly in pre-christian religions. Even in Christian times, Ivy has been used as a decoration in churches at christmas for many centuries and mentioned in traditional carols, like 'The Holly and The Ivy'  and 'Sans Day Carol'.

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