Soaking Up the Vitamin D

 
Still recovering from the surgeries. Though with the wonderful sunshine and warm spring days it is much nicer to sit/lay outdoors.

As you can see we still have a lot of snow but it is going down fast.






Even the crocuses are blooming in the small strip of exposed earth next to the house.

Leeks; the Forgotten Vegetable

Our leeks did very well this year.  Obviously a vegetable that likes lots of water.
 

I have never seen such large leeks grown here before



 Tonight's side dish is Braised Leeks from the "Nourishing Traditions" cookbook by Sally Fallon

Braised Leeks

6 medium leeks

2 cups beef stock

1 cup grated Gruyere cheee (which I don't have so I will use some Parmesan)

Trim ends of leeks and split lengthwise.  Rinse well and set ina pyrex pan.  Bring beef stock to a boil and pour over leeks.  Bake at 350 for about 1/2 hour or until the stock has reduced and leeks are tender.  Sprinkle on cheese and melt under broiler for a few minutes.  Serve immediately

Wednesday in Pictures and Commentary

Foxglove - my favourite flower but unfortunately doesn't grow in our climate.  So what is doing in the flowerbed?  Well, Husband started some foxglove seeds last year and they all died off with the exception on a couple which I planted in front of the house (south facing) to catch the heat.  It grew but did not produce any flowers.  In it the fall I didn't pull it out and the deep snow must have kept it fairly insulated.  This spring it started to grow again and now it has flowered!  I love it and so do the bees!

The front flowerbed has finally filled in with perennials - it is looking rather pretty with all the pink flowers!




The new permanent pig pen is finally complete!  The pigs are loving it as there is greenery (almost completely mowed down now) and lots of space to play.

This morning's collection of eggs.  Look at that huge one in the middle! 

Sadie's Horse Bean

Today I planted some Sadie's Horse Bean seeds(?)  that I ordered from Heritage Harvest Seeds early this spring.  The description in the seed catalogue caught my eye and I decided I really needed to try these.  I hope June 5th is not too late to plant these, but I wanted to wait until the ground warmed up some, and this year things are taking a little longer than usual.

When I opened the package I was in awe of how big and beautiful these beans are.... 

Here are a few left over, some of the beans were white, some purple and pink with spots as well these these brown speckeled beans.

From the seed catalogue:

A beautiful heirloom runner bean that was grown in the same family for over one hundred years! Huge beans have to be seen to be believed and come in a gorgeous mix of colors including pink mottled black, lavender mottled brown and pure white. The pods are also huge and can be eaten as a snap when very young. This bean is truly one of the most ornamental vegetables you can grow. The vigorous vines are covered in a mix of white and red flowers all summer long and also attracts hummingbirds. Simply breathtaking! (110 days for dried beans) Pole.


So I really hope that the Sadie's Horse Bean grows.  I have them planted at our 'crazy' garden next to a large trellis.  This is the spot were all things can grow and get out of control if it wants to, and we have horseradish, rhubarb, peppermint, english mint, chives, lovage and also wild flowers growing.

Posted on Homestead Barn Hop #15