Day one of giving kitchen gardening a higher priority was slow to eventuate. Life has this great habit of getting in the way. I either over did it in the garden and landed in a crumpled heap on the sofa, willing myself to get back up again some time before dark. It is the week leading up to being officially safe to plant the garden out – although, the safe from frost date doesn’t apply to us here because we don’t get frosts. Although we do get wild spring weather that does tend to settle down from about now on, so maybe it does apply.
Or it got a little late, so we had a lazy night with frozen pizza – topped with nice extra things from the garden. And one of the Teen Lads has decided they actually like cooking, so I had to let them have their turn making the meal. Who am I to stand in the way of that?
But each day I looked at the fennel and thought, I can’t leave you much longer. So, I knocked off early from garden prep and heading into the kitchen. My first intentional recipe was from the River Cottage Veg Everyday book, and I followed the recipe exactly. I weighed things out instead of eyeballing it and I set timers instead of thinking ‘she’ll be right’.
I chose the Fennel and Celeriac Soup with Orange Zest recipe because it took care of the almost too far gone but not quite fennel and the celeriac that needed to be eaten because I need the space for fun summer things. It turns out following instructions is so much better than winging it! It was delish, and super balanced in flavours and comforting and satisfying. I was nervous about serving something outside of our ordinary to the family and they were a tad suspicious when I told them what we were having but they loved it. Even one of the Teen Lads declared they’d have that again.
Now I feel confident to find the next recipe in my cookbook collection to serve up to my family that showcases something wonderful from the garden. Turning the meal from a chore to a celebration. I suspect this will become a highlight of the week all summer long.
Come again soon – the planting is about to happen.
Sarah the Gardener : o)
Fennel used to be naturalized on the perimeters of the orchards of the Santa Clara Valley. It was so common that all of it could not be harvested. I miss the aroma during the warm days of summer. I would grow it merely as an ornamental. The bronze fennel is something of a fad; but I am not impressed. It looks like it is stained with coffee. Besides, the green is such a rich shade of green. I suppose that if I grow it, I should use it.
Fennel is has a fresh vibrancy that has earned it a permanent spot in my garden. : o)