ON MY MENU: I’M IN MY GARDEN, PICKING FLOWERS AND EATING PORTOBELLO BURGERS
Preparation: 30 mins Cooking: 20 mins Makes: 10
INGREDIENTS
2lb beef mince meat
1 egg
4/5 tbsp chestnut flour (gluten-free)
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp tamari sauce
1 large onion, finely chopped Sea salt & white pepper
I love the warmer weather, as it brings the first UK-grown produce. There is so much more flavour in locally grown fruits and vegetables — not to mention the good feeling that goes with keeping food miles low. I’d love to grow my own, but it’s just too labour intensive. Two years ago, I grew cucumbers and 20 Portobello mushrooms, gills removed
4 tbsp olive oil
5 avocados, sliced
6 salad tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 red onions, thinly sliced 2 romaine lettuce, core removed, halved
METHOD:
Heat oven to 200°C (180°C fan) and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Mix the finely chopped onion with tomatoes from seed. The tomatoes produced a huge crop — too many to eat — a faff in itself as I was forever picking and finding ways to use them. The cucumbers were another story. An entire summer of planting, replanting, watering and inspection produced four paltry cucumbers. Maybe five.
myrelationshipwithfood. com The crunchy green fruits were delicious, but with all that love (and time) invested in them they should have been! They were (almost) as needy as my children — who inspired my horticultural hopes. I had wanted them to see where food comes from, but they could not have been less interested. This year I won’t be planting anything, but as I’m blessed with an elderflower tree in my garden, I will be making elderflower cordial. Unlike gardening, the “effort invested” versus “opportunity to show-off” ratio is far more positive. It’s simple to make, impressive and gives me a huge balaboosta buzz. Here’s my recipe: