The first pink dandelion emerged today, always a thrill. This one is about 11 years old now and hasn’t sowed itself much…I always leave dandeliond to flower on this bed just in case, but they are always yellow!
All posts by Stephen Barstow
Belated happy birthday to me
The first veggie food I ate was macaroni cheese and chips at Edwin Jones (now Debenhams) in Southampton, a treat when we Mum took us shopping back in the 60s…
Most years since I’ve followed this tradition on or near my birthday, no chips this year as the potatoes have run out and nowadays the macaroni cheese is mixed with masses of green stuff both from the garden and, yesterday, fiddleheads harvested on the Homla walk. This is more or less the only time in the year I have dessert and the only time I eat sugar…in rhubarb crumble, also with family roots back to the 60s :)
rhubarb crumble, also with family roots back to the 60s :)
Sunbeam reflections
Sunbeam reflections last night on the fjord
Homla walk May 2018
Pictures from this week’s 5 hour (botanist pace) walk along the spectacular Homla canyon, the start about 14 km from home!
Sunrise 16th May
The temperature plummeted this morning as a cold front moved in, replacing the unseasonally warm summer weather. But, before it arrived there was a gorgeous summer sunrise at 04:30.
In the video below a pied flycatcher (svarthvit fluesnapper) can be heard singing.
Karvekaalsuppe
One of the joys of spring is traditional Norwegian Karvekaalsuppe (caraway green soup), last night’s dinner. This was one of the first wild plants I domesticated in my garden for the soup, leaving some for seed later (used on bread, in curry spice mixes, ferments etc.). I simply collected a large bowl full of leaves with the top of the roots attached. I then made a butter and wholegrain Svedjerug (old Norwegian rye flour) roux with garlic, water and caraway greens, adding a hard boiled egg to the soup…
Learn much more about this great multipurpose vegetable in my book Around the World in 80 plants!
Heavy ground elder bread
I’ve never seen real bread for sale, you can tell from the weight. The loaves I made yesterday weighted in at over 1.5kg! This sourdough was made from a selection of whole grain organic flours (yesterday’s pizza dough was taken from the proving dough) including: coarse rye, emmer, barley, coarse spelt, svedjerug and a few barley and svedjerug grains and fresh ground elder (skvallerkål) mixed in at the end!
At least the ground elder and seed toppings were home grown, from left to right – caraway (karve), opium poppy (opiumvalmue) and greater plantain (groblad) / Plantago major
Velvet mites
At the moment there are many of these tiny red so-called velvet mites (probably Trombidium holosericeum) crawling around hunting on open soil and compost in the garden. I knew almost nothing about them, but just discovered that the larvae attach themselves to spiders, harvestmen and insects as in this picture…I’d seen this before in the garden but hadn’t realised before! See https://
Happy Habby Pizza
Last night’s dinner was a 100% wholegrain sourdough pizza with Hablitzia, four cheese and poppy seed topping…
The dough was made from a selection of whole grain organic flours including: coarse rye, emmer, barley, coarse spelt, svedjerug and a few barley and svedjerug grains added.
It was accompanied by a blanched salad – sea kale, dandelion “Vert de Montmagny Ameliore” and Allium tuberosum!
Sooooo tasty….
The Hablitzia once again impresses with its incredible productivity and early growth in one of the driest, shadiest places in the garden!
Record warm spring
We’re enjoying record warm days for the first half of May….today is the 5th day above 20C…. enjoying an early breakfast in the garden 
…..and I can hear new arrivals whitethroat (tornsanger) and lesser whitethroat (møller) singing…
