garden – Page 5 – Myfrenchkitchen

I love sorrel, especially with salmon. This time round, I thought a sorrel gazpacho could be nice too with its slightly sour characteristic. Topped with some apple brunoise and croûtons, it could only be gorgeous. So, why not try it and see if you love it as much as I did and still do. I tried it out on mon chéri and he devoured two bowls, practically licking them out. A sure winner for this spring and summer.

La recette:

Peel and cut 3/4 cucumber and 5 kiwis in cubes. Place in mixer/blender.
Wash 1 large handful of green sorrel leaves(or mix of green and red sorrel) and remove the hard stems. Add to the blender.
Blend together until a puree.
Remove to a bowl.
Season with salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar and chopped tarragon.
Cut 1 apple and the other 1/4 cucmber (with peel) into small dice(brunoise). Drizzle with apple cider vinegar.
Cut 3 slices of stale country bread in small cubes, drizzle with olive oil, season with fleur de sel and chopped tarragon and roast in the oven until crisp.
Serve the gazpacho in individual glass bowls, top with the cubes of apple, cucumber, croutons and tarragon.
Drizzle with olive oil and a drop of french mustard and serve at room temperature with extra toppings on the side.

Serves 3-4 people

Pincée de fleur de sel:

Use a mix of sorrel and a green with a more peppery taste, like watercress, or even young spinach leaves, some salad leaves with a pronounced taste, lamb’s ears salad leaves(which are sweet and mild), even radish leaves could be delicious.
Add some green tomato(peeled) and for those with strong digestive systems, greenpepper.
Stick to crispy toppings which contrast beautifully with the gazpacho.
Don’t serve directly from the fridge…too cold a temperature kills the taste , room temperature or just below is the best.

The greens in April are quite special with all its new shoots, young leaves and colourful buds, while some trees and branches are still bare. Below some photos of the area with its greens, from dark to yellow to almost white.

In the garden, the tulipes dentelle “Snow valley” are in full bloom, my favorite tulip. The bees are back, the Jack Frost is happy with its little blue flowers and the strawberries are plentiful.

I couldn’t resit playing around with all the greens from the market and the greens from the fields…the greens in April, wild or cultivated, beautiful in their own right.

..asparagus and dandelion seedhead..

..avocado and forest fern..

..cucumber and dandelion seed head..

..peas and forget-me-nots..

..Until next time, enjoy your last week of April..

Ronelle

A big hello to all! I took a break, longer than intended, but summer kept me busy in several ways. As is the habit with summer, it is over before you know it and October sets in with all kinds of challenges: digging for warmer clothes….rain, bulb planting, cleaning garden tools to store away, facing weeds that have grown undisturbed, working vegetables from the “potager“, picking up walnuts and rushing to get to the chestnuts before the squirrels do.

I love the fall colours of the hydrangeas…the blues turn to greens and the pinks and whites turn to an old, faded pink. The Maroccan mint is still a deep green which peeps through the pinks of the hydrangeas.

I never clean up too much…have always loved the difference in seasons…the rain and fallen leaves and twigs, the weeds, fried flowers and seeds…they all add to the atmosphere of autumn.

After the rain.

A bottle of wine forgotten outside….

Raindrops on some roses still blooming…

Rosehips living happily alongside Nepeta…

Rain crystals on rose petals…

Fresh water for all the animals..

Droplets hanging on cafe chairs..

The “potager” delivered a bounty of vegetables this year and is still going strong even though the weeds are flourishing right there along with the vegetables.

Beautiful light shimmering through changing vine leaves..

Stinging nettle needing no encouragement in flowering..

A yellow rose in the yellow garden..

Cleaning up is not a favorite passtime of mine. I love to make a mess..and I love to have someone else doing the cleaning up. Unfortunately, I am that “someone else”… Evidences of unfinished spring work still staring me incriminatingly in the face.

The mornings stay darker longer and the evenings turn darker earlier..lighting candles and chandeliers and lanterns make for atmospheric evenings, which is what autumn and winter should be about, after all.

Our windows are in and I revel in the reflections!

Reading asks for blankets…

Bright yellow nasturtiums in the yellow and orange garden add a blast of sunshine to cloudy days.

Apart form the beautiful colours of autumn which is so obvious, many other scenes of October beauty can also be found in: the disarray of garden chairs, a chicken hiding in a flowerbed, walnuts bursting, a dilapidated rattan chair for the chickens, an enamel jug, a garden tap, a garden cloche…