Don't Judge Me!

I cooked rabbits.

I know, I know, But before you say "But eating bunnies is so cruel! Wook at their widdle faces!" I'll just say this-
Yes, bunnies are really cute, but then so are pigs, chickens, pheasants, lambs, cows and even prawns. The rabbits I cooked were wild and so as free-range as you can get. They're a fabulous source of lean protein and super cheap, at a mere £2.50 each from a game supplier at my favourite local farmers market.
I'll admit that for many years I couldn't conceive of eating bunny, as I'd had them as pets growing up but I would much rather that than cook any of the millions of factory-farmed animals that never see the light of day or live any kind of natural life.

*Give me a second to climb down from my soap box....*

I've only cooked rabbit a handful of times before, having tried Jamie Oliver's Essex Fried Rabbit once with tough, dry results and a few casseroles and stews with marginally better texture and flavour.

The problem with rabbit is similar to those we all experience with many game birds in that if the whole rabbit is cooked in the same way, you end up with at least one tough and chewy component.
The legs benefit from long, slow cooking much the same way that duck legs do, while the loin turns to dry, splintery nastiness when given anything more than a quick flash in the pan or oven.

I bought Flopsy and Mopsy home without any real idea of what I wanted to do with them, but I knew it had to be something different from my previous attempts and that if the result wasn't satisfactory, I would probably leave bunnies alone from here on out. I thought about it for a few days and decided to give the rabbits a little bit of a Chinese treatment, slow 'red' cooking the legs and then giving the loin a quick stir-fry with some carrot (of course!) and cashew nuts. Simple right? You'd think so....

So that afternoon, I can't remember why, I got to thinking about Nine Inch Nails and how much I loved Trent Reznor when I was in my teens. I decided to Google him to see what he was up to these days and landed on his Wikipedia page. At the bottom, there was a link to a video that he had narrated for PETA about the Chinese fur industry. I am not going to post a link to it here, because there is no amount of disclaimers or warnings that could prepare you for what you see, and his isn't even the hardest of these Chinese fur PETA vids to watch. Basically, the undercover video shows images of animal abuse so horrific, it makes the Hostel and Saw movies look like Sesame Street. Google them if you like and try to watch if you can. I have said before that when we were in China we were shocked by the animal welfare standards (or lack thereof) but this is something else. I have resolved to never again buy a Chinese animal product, including leather.

Wow, look! I somehow ended up back on my soap box!

*climbs down*

So I felt pretty guilty while washing residual fur from my rabbits and really didn't think I'd be able to eat them, especially cooked Chinese style. I told myself that I was being silly and that these rabbits had had happy, hoppy lives and had been dispatched in a humane way and that I couldn't stop cooking Chinese food just because of a horrible video. I forged ahead and I'm glad that I did, because the result was by FAR my best rabbit result to date. If you do cook rabbit, I would definitely give this a try. If your childhood memories of Peter or the Velveteen Rabbits are still too fresh, then skip this post and stick around for the completely animal-free one coming tomorrow.
If you dig on swine, the red cooking is traditionally done with pork belly and is seriously out of this world.

Red-Cooked Rabbit Legs
serves 4, takes 2 1/2 hours (only 20 mins or so work)

4 each front and back rabbit legs (either wild or free-range)
2cm piece of ginger, sliced approximately 2mm (1/8") thick
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbsp caster or granulated sugar
3 tbsp ground nut, canola or sunflower oil
3 star anise
3 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
3 tbsp light soy sauce
500ml (1 pint) chicken stock (home made or good quality bought)

It's best to leave the meat on the bone, but if you have family members who whine when you leave bones in messy meat dishes (as I do) you can remove them. It may also be necessary to cut the legs into pieces to make it easier to remove any buckshot. Leave the meat on the bones of the front legs.

In a hot sautee pan or wok, heat the oil over a med-high heat and add the sugar, stirring for a minute until the sugar has melted. Add the rabbit pieces to the oil and stir-fry for a few minutes in the sugary oil until you have a nice, brown colour all over. Add the remaining ingredients to the pan, bring it to a simmer, then cover the pan, lower the heat and let it cook for about two hours, checking now and then to make sure there's still liquid in the pan. When the two hours is up, remove the lid and turn up the heat to allow the remaining liquid to reduce into a thick, syrupy sauce.

Stir-Fried Rabbit Loin with Cashews and Carrots
serves 4 (as part of the 2-part dish) takes 20minutes

4 rabbit loins (from two rabbits) silverskin removed
1/2 cup raw cashews
8-10 small Chantenay carrots, topped and quartered
1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns, crushed
3 spring onions (scallions) sliced about 2" long
2cm (3/4") piece of ginger, julienned
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp preserved black beans
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp Szechuan rice wine
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp corn flour
2 tbsp ground nut or other flavourless oil
Slice the rabbit loin into 1 inch pieces.

Mix together the soy sauce, rice wine, vinegar, black beans, peppercorns and corn flour together in a bowl and add the pieces of rabbit loin, set aside to marinade while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Heat a wok or frying pan over a high heat until smoking, then add the oil. Toss in the garlic and ginger, stir-frying for a few seconds until fragrant but not brown. Add the marinated rabbit pieces to the pan, leaving the marinade behind and stir-fry for a minute or so, until beginning to brown on the surface all over.
Add the cashews, stir those in and then add the scallions and carrot, stir-frying for a further minute-90 seconds. (if you prefer your carrot soft, add it before the cashews) Add a couple tbsp of water to the marinade and pour this into the pan, cooking for another minute until the sauce has thickened and coats all the ingredients well.

Serve both rabbit dishes on either side of a pile of plain boiled rice with some extra sliced spring onion.

Annie Leibovitz I Ain't

Those of you who have read this blog before, especially at the beginning, might find it hard to believe that there are actually pictures of my food that I deem too bad to use. I take my photos with my phone right before we dig in and I have appalling lighting in my kitchen. I WILL sort myself out soon and get a decent camera, but for now, I've decided that I'd rather post my rather poor excuses for food photography than not post at all.

I nearly didn't post this recipe for rhubarb and apple crumble because I couldn't get a decent picture of it  (I made a mess serving it, bad lighting). Yesterday I made a 6-hour roasted and barbecued piece of belly pork that was probably the best I've ever had, but forgot (yes, forgot!) to take a picture of it on the plate and so will wait til the next time I make it to post it.

This crumble was a special treat for my husband who was sulking because his shiny new laptop that had been due to arrive was stuck in UK customs. Given the sheer scale of his geekiness, it's unlikely that it completely made up for his disappointment, but he certainly didn't mention it after he ate this. All of us agreed that this was my most successful crumble yet and that the rhubarb and apple is a serious winner.

The rhubarb is the first and only harvest we'll be able to get from our juvenile plants this year, so it was important that I make the most of it. The recipe is very simple and I think really makes the most of the rhubarb, which is at the height of its season here at the moment. Not including baking time, this is a quick dish to make and because of its rustic nature, is super, super easy.


 
Best Ever Rhubarb and Apple Crumble
serves 6, takes 90 minutes

4 stalks rhubarb
5 eating apples, such as Braeburn or Gala
1 knob of stem ginger in syrup, finely grated
100g (3.5oz) golden caster sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

For the topping:
175g (6.2oz)  plain flour
100g cold butter, cut into 1cm dice
30g rolled oats
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 170C (340F)
Cut the rhubarb into pieces approximately 5cm (2") long and peel, core and cut the apples into half-moon slices about 1" thick.

Sprinkle both with the sugar, flour, nutmeg and ginger, then mix well to combine. Leave the bowl to sit for 15 minutes while you prepare the crumble.

Put all of the crumble ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse for 20-30 seconds until you have the texture of coarse breadcrumbs.

Arrange the apples and rhubarb in a baking dish, with the rhubarb at the top. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top in an even layer and then bake for 55-65 minutes, until you have a golden-brown top with a warm, syrupy bubbling around the outside.

Allow the lot to cool for about ten minutes before serving with custard or vanilla ice cream.

*I made a vanilla bean custard, cooled it and then folded in sweetened whipped cream. Holy CUSS! Is there a name for this already or did I just invent the most amazing dessert accompaniment EVER?

Rhubarb Crumble

Prawn Yesterday

I have a confession to make.
Remember yesterday that I said I thought that we should get free booze as a reward for keeping our families well-fed and healthy?
Well I told my husband about that and so today when we got to the cash register at the grocery store I grabbed a bottle of really good ale I'd been lusting after. (No, I'm not a bearded 50 year old farmer with a pipe, I'm just a gal who missed English ales for 20 years who indulges occasionally.)
I got back from the store and put away my spoils, updated the menu on the kitchen calendar and went out to the garden to check on/chat with my seedlings and sprouts, carrying my bottle of ale with me.

Did I mention that it is about 1:00pm at this point? (But it's 6:00 O'clock in Yekaterinburg.)

So it went like this:

Sip, Sip, "Hello little corn plants! I see you're doing well. in a couple of weeks you'll be able to live outside!" sip... sip...

Sip, "Hi radishes! my goodness look at you! You're doing ever so well in spite of this cloudy weather. You'll be tasty in some salads in no time. sip, sip, sip....

Sip, "Asparagus! Why do weeds love growing around you so much?? (sip, sip)  Look at the beetroots and garlic! No weeds there, so what are you doing?" Sip, sip, sip......sip

And so on and so on. Sip.

It's 2:00pm now and I am what you might call three sheets to the wind. I looked at the alcohol content (4.9%) and the back of the bottle and it turns out, I just drank 2.45 units of alcohol in the middle of the week. At Lunchtime. Alone. Without eating lunch.
Part of me is ashamed, but the rest of me thinks it's pretty awesome and like I'm getting away with something. Something that I will not make a habit of though, because I keep having to go back and fix typing errors.
I am also aware that I will probably have a hangover at around 5:00pm.

Anyway, on with the cooking.
Last night I made this tasty and quick Thai prawn and noodle dish. Bright with the flavours of fresh lime, lemongrass and coriander it's a delightful Spring evening meal.
I used wide rice noodles, which are lovely but chin-slappy, so rice vermicelli might be a better idea if you like a dry face.

Coconut Prawn Noodle Soup
serves 4, takes less than 45 minutes

1 can organic coconut milk
1 can water
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised and roughly chopped
2 thumb-sized pieces galangal thinly sliced
2 shallots, chopped
2 red chillies, sliced
6 lime leaves (fresh or dried)
400g (14oz) large, uncooked prawns, peeled and deveined
300g (10.5oz) rice noodles
juice of 3 limes
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp palm sugar
1 tbsp flavourless oil such as ground nut or sunflower
green tops from two bunches of pak choi, sliced thinly (reserve the white parts for another use)

Prepare the noodles according to the instructions on the packet, more than likely pouring boiling water over them and allowing them to soften before draining and refreshing with cold water. Divide the noodles into four bowls and set aside.
Meanwhile:
Sweat the shallots, galangal, chili, lemongrass and lime leaves together in a medium saucepan until soft and beginning to colour. Add the coconut milk, palm sugar, water and the fish sauce and bring up to the simmer for about 15 minutes until the liquid has reduced and is very fragrant.
Strain the broth through a fine sieve, pressing on the vegetables to squeeze out all the flavour.
Return the liquid to the pan and bring up to a simmer again and add the prawns. Cook for 2-3 minutes (depending on their size) until almost cooked then add the pak choi, cooking for half a minute more.
Squeeze the lime juice into the pan and give it a quick taste to check the sweet, spicy, sour and salty harmony, adding more sugar, cayenne pepper, lime juice or fish sauce if necessary.

Ladle the broth, prawns and pak choi over the noodles and scatter with coriander leaves before serving.

Eating Apples

Being responsible for the diets of each of your family members is no small feat. Not only do you need to take everybody's likes and dislikes into consideration, you must also make sure that it's nutritionally balanced, varied and interesting, all while staying under budget. I think that we deserve free booze at the end of a grocery shop, as a reward for not giving up entirely or ending up in a clock tower with a semi-automatic weapon.  Free booze would work better for grocery stores than loyalty cards any day.

For me, one of the things I rarely get right is the quantity or selection of fruit that fills the bowl in the kitchen. If I buy two bunches of bananas, six apples and a kilo of grapes one week, All the apples and two bananas might get eaten, leaving the rest to soften and moulder on the counter.
The next week, two bunches of bananas might be gone in three days, while the apples turn dull and mealy. Oranges might be a hit for three weeks, only to inexplicably fall out of favour the very minute I buy three kilos on sale.
It's enough to drive a girl crazy!

One thing that IS nice about having all this left over fruit is that I can usually cook with it in one way or another. Cakes, sauces, crumbles and even chutneys are often thrown together when I know that they're past their eating best, which I think is sometimes why the guys leave it there in the first place. I mean what teenager wouldn't rather eat a piece of apple or banana cake instead of the whole fruit?

This cake is a very subtly spiced caramel apple upside down cake, with apple in the batter too. The spices are really only enough to enhance the mellow brown sugar flavour, rather than strong enough to really taste them, although if you like very cinnamony or nutmeggy apple, feel free to go crazy!

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
Serves 12, Takes 1 hour, 40 minutes +cooling

8 eating apples, like Gala or Braeburn (whichever is local or in season)
4 tbsp brown sugar
1 pinch salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
about 8 cardamom seeds (out of their pods) crushed in a pestle and mortar
2 tbsp butter, softened
1tsp finely grated orange peel (optional if you don't have a fruit bowl full of oranges..)

250g (8.8oz)unsalted butter, softened
250g golden caster sugar
250g self raising flour (or plain flour with 1tsp baking powder)
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Turn your oven on to 170C (340F) and butter and line the inside of a 22cm (9") square or round cake tin.
Peel, quarter and core 5 of the apples and slice into sorta half-moon shape slices.
Mix the softened butter, spices, orange peel and the pinch of salt together in a large, heat-proof bowl. Toss the apples into this mixture to coat well. I put my bowl into a wok with filled-halfway with boiling water to help melt the sugar, butter and spices well and coat the apples nicely. You don't have to worry about dissolving the sugar, that will happen in the oven.
Tip the apples and sugar mixture into the cake tin and press to make an even layer. If you want to be fancy, you could lay them out in a pretty pattern, but I was making this cake just before midnight, so there was no cussing way I was about to do that.

Peel the remaining 3 apples and grate the flesh off all the way down to the core, then put the grated apple in a colander and set aside for a few minutes while you:

Cream the 250g of butter and the caster sugar together for several minutes until pale and fluffy, then beat the eggs in one at a time, mixing each in well before adding the next.

Squeeze out as much of the excess liquid as you can from the grated apples, then add them to the butter/sugar/eggs mixture, stirring just enough to combine well.
This mixture will look rather curdled and unattractive, but fear not, it will be fine.
Sift in the flour and baking powder, stir well and then add the vanilla. Don't work the batter more than you need to, as you'll toughen the flour. Tip the batter in over the top of the apples and spread into an even layer, with a bit of a crater in the centre to compensate for rising.
Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before turning out (unless you want hot brown syrup running everywhere...)

I sprinkled the top with a little coarse cane sugar before I cut it but to be honest, it didn't add anything, so I'd leave it off next time.
Apple Cake

Bread. The Saga Continues...

I've spent the better part of the last year and a small fortune on flour trying to achieve a really good loaf of sourdough bread. I'd made starter after starter, following a few slightly different methods, finally to end up with Algernon, my starter who has been living in my fridge for about four months now. Like leading men and Iberico ham, Algernon is improving with age, giving me a slightly more complex flavour and more active rise every time I use him. So it seems that while yes, it can take a while (days) to make a really good loaf of sourdough, it is worth investing some serious time in your pet starter, as over time you'll be rewarded a better and better loaf.

Last week, I bought a bag of Malted Blend organic wheat flour produced by Bacheldre Mill, a 16th century traditional watermill in Wales. Being still fairly new to bread baking, I'd never used malted flour before. I even had to Google 'malted wheat' because I wasn't quite sure what it even was.
Apparently, they let the grain germinate, thus releasing some of the sugar from the kernel, giving the bread a sweeter, nuttier flavour. This blend is a mixture of malted wheat and rolled malted wheat flakes.
I made the bread the same way that I made my last loaf of white sourdough, but replaced all of the flour with the malted blend. I made it to serve with a pasta dish I was making for dinner (tasty but not worth posting) for my hubby, stepson and stepson's friend. (In case you had not noticed, ours is a carb-friendly house.)

My stepson has an almost pathological aversion to wholemeal bread and the crusts in particular. It's not bad enough that I pack it in his lunch every day, but now I'm serving it with dinner??! I had put a large plate of the still-warm bread on the table, from which he and his friend took the smallest pieces.

Three pieces and a return trip to the kitchen to get more later, I said to Christian "I thought you didn't like wholemeal or crusty bread!" to which he said, wide-eyed "I KNOW, but this is SO GOOD!" His friend nodded enthusiastically with his mouth full.

That was yesterday. There is no more bread left now. as it got polished off with breakfast and at lunch today but I'm going to make another loaf tomorrow. I also bought a bag of Bacheldre's wholemeal rye flour, so I'll report back and let you all know how that turns out.

Malted Wheat Sourdough Bread
For the sponge:
250g (8.8oz) organic malted blend wheat flour
300ml (10.14oz) warm water
100ml (3.38oz) sourdough starter -Here is one of a few good resources for starter recipes/methods.

For the finished loaf:
285g (10oz) more flour
10g (.4oz) fine sea salt
 tbsp cornmeal or polenta for dusting

At least 24 hours before serving, start the sponge. Mix together the warm water, starter and flour well until you have a wet, stretchy batter. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place overnight.

After 12 hours, you should have a bubbly, frothy mixture that smells all sour and beery. If only a little foamy, leave it for several hours more and see if it doesn't get the light, loose spongy appearance you're after. One thing I definitely learned is that you can't rush a sourdough and that at the beginning, a starter might need a little longer to work its magic.

Add the remaining flour and the salt to the dough (you can use the dough hook on your stand mixer for this part) and then knead well by hand for a good 8-10 minutes, until you have a very smooth, elastic dough that is a little on the wet side.
Spread a little olive oil all over the inside of a large bowl, form your dough into a ball and put in the bowl, covered with cling film in a warm place until at least doubled in size. This may take 4 or 5 hours, it may take ten, it just depends on your starter.

Punch the dough down and give it one final little knead, then shape it into whichever shape loaf you'd like and place on a board scattered with polenta or cornmeal to prevent sticking.

I cover my dough with the large clear plastic bowl from my salad spinner, but you could use a tea towel. Leave it to rise for a final time, probably around 2 hours, then turn your oven to 200C (400F) and put a baking sheet or (even better) a baking stone in to get nice and hot.
When the oven is hot, remove the baking sheet, (or stone) slash the top of the loaf quickly with a sharp knife and carefully slide your risen loaf onto the baking sheet.

Put a small bowl of water on the floor of the oven to help form a crust and set the timer for 40 minutes.

Check the loaf after 40 minutes by turning it over and tapping on the bottom. It should be dry and firm and there should be a hollow sound when you hit it.

After baking a few loaves of sourdough, as is true for many foods, you'll be able to smell when it's done. It's like a little nose alarm goes of like an oven timer and even if you're engrossed in a book (or 30 Rock...) your head will snap up and you'll just know. The first time I was aware of this phenomenon was when I was roasting chicken as a young thing.

Anyway, back to the bread. That's pretty much it. Take it out of the oven when it sounds right and you're happy with the colour. Try not to cut into it while it's really hot because you'll squish the inside into a doughy wad.

This was so good, I ate more bread in the past 24 hours than I usually do in a week. I then made pizza for supper, so I'm in a gluten stupor and I'm getting muscles in my upper arms from all the kneading. I'll look like Madonna with a potbelly in no time!

I wont pretend to be any kind of authority on the vagaries of sourdough, this is just the method I've been following recently. If you have helpful hints or critiques, please leave them in the comments section. xoxo

Malt Bread

Holey Cluck!

This is the kind of dish that makes garlic breath totally worth it, to say nothing of the garlic burps!

What? I never pretended to be a classy lady.

There are a few flavour combinations that never fail to excite me, and they're usually indigenous to places a lot warmer than the British Isles and with considerably more frightening insects. Thai, Indian, Mexican, North African and Middle Eastern cuisines are all charactarisd by the generous amounts of fresh mint, citrus and coriander to foil the firey chillies and smoky spices that are essential parts of their culinary identity.
As much as I love European foods, there's something so lively and almost celebratory about a plate of food filled with such contrasting colours, textures and flavours. It scratched a culinary itch that meat and two veg never could.

Moroccan food, with the characteristic combinations of harissa spices, contrasted with creamy tahini dressings, fruit and cooling salads is something I've loved since I can remember and never gets old. Guaranteed to give you serious garlic breath, it's the kind of thing that makes your whole mouth feel like it's on vacation, whatever the weather outside.

This dish isn't strictly Moroccan, more like a Moroccan who's having an affair with a Lebanse with loose morals. It's fairly quick and definitely easy to make, with the harissa being the most time-consuming part. I usually make about 4 times this much and just keep it in a jar in the fridge under a little olive oil.

Harissa-Spiced Chicken with Cool Rice Salad 
Serves 2, takes 1 hour (ish)

2 each, chicken thighs and drumsticks (or if you're cooking for Cauldron Boy, 2 breasts;-) Skin removed, bones left in.
1 cup plain yoghurt

For the harissa:
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
1 fresh red chilli, sliced
2 tsp red chilli flakes
2 tsp caraway seeds
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin seeds
1tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp sea salt

For the salad:
1 cup (240ml by volume) basmati rice
1 1/2 cups water
7cm (3") cucumber (English/hothouse) de-seeded and diced small
1/2 cup pistachios, blanched for 15 minutes and leathery skins removed, roughly chopped
 4 radishes, diced finely
1 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 sm clove garlic, crushed
2-3 (depending on size) sprigs of fresh mint, leaves pulled and finely chopped
Juice of one fresh lemon
1 tbsp olive oil

Tahini sauce:
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
2 tbsp tahini
1 small clove, garlic, finely grated
2 pinches, salt

To serve:
coriander (cilantro) leaves
sliced pickled onions or gherkins

To make the harissa, put all of the ingredients into a pestle and mortar and grind well to form a semi-smooth paste.
Use a very sharp knife to cut lots of slits in diagonal rows all over the chicken. This will help the marinade penetrate the meat well and will look attractive when served.
Mix the yoghurt with the harissa and then add the chicken pieces, rubbing the marinade well into all the cuts, nooks and crannies then put the dish off to the side at room temperature while you do the rest.

Rinse the rice really well until the water runs clear, then in a small saucepan, add just shy of 1 1/2 cups of water and a little salt and bring to the boil. As soon as bubbles start to break on the surface, turn the heat almost all the way down, cover the pan and leave the rice to cook for 6-7 minutes, until all of the water has been absorbed.
When the rice is cooked, tip it into a bowl and drizzle over with the tbsp of olive oil and 1/2 of the lemon juice. Fluff well with a fork to coat each grain and prevent sticking. Set to the side in a cool spot until no longer steaming, then pop in the fridge while you prep the veggies for the rest of the salad.

To cook the chicken, put your grill on HIGH and put the grill pan underneath to allow it to get as hot as possible. When stonking hot, place the chicken on the rack of your grill pan and put under the grill, closing the door and leaving to cook for 7-8 minutes, until black sports start to appear, then turn over and give it another 5 minutes. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving.

To make the tahini dressing, simply stir the ingredients together well until smooth. If it's not loose enough for you, add a little more lemon juice.

Serve the chicken with the rice salad and a big spoonful of the tahini sauce. Scatter with the coriander leaves and your choice of pickled veggies.

I'm terribly sorry about the appalling photos, they're even worse than usual I'm afraid... Moroccan Style Chicken

Mini Update!

Just one quick thing.
Yesterday I mentioned that I was going to try cooking the small side shoots of the asparagus ferns growing outside.  Well, I cooked them for about one minute in some butter until they were just tender and served them alongside some hazelnut and herb-crusted lamb chops. YUM!

Like the tiny leaves growing out of baby beets  and courgette flowers, these are some of the best things about growing herbs and veggies. You get to experiment with the things that never make it to the grocery store.