When life gives you…

blackberries……you make blackberry cobbler …of course…..

the custard on top is optional but it helps…big time…..cause those blackberries can be a touch tarty…..and you want something really sweet to make it all perfect…..

What else can I make with the rest of the blackberries in the fridge? …Overnight oats? ….muffins?  we’ll think of something I’m sure….

Wishing you all a great ending to the weekend….

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

Runner beans….

they are here!!!!!……we didn’t intend for them to grow so big before we harvested them yesterday…… we like them smaller, when they are really tender but we couldn’t get to them earlier and I swear they grow so much from one day to the other …subhan’Allah…still we got enough for a couple of dinners at least….in tomato sauce, in salads or tossed in olive oil and garlic….simple tasty dishes….

Wishing you all a very peaceful and productive weekend,

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

In the greenhouse …

considering this is my first year growing indoors overall it has been a very positive experience; new plants for the first time, earlier harvests and hopefully extended ones …and although I have made a few mistakes a lot has been learnt so as I said very positive all round….alhamdulilah

Let me show you what is growing in the greenhouse  currently….

tomatoes and cucumbers to the right …we’ve eaten plenty already and they are delicious as you would imagine…..Pepito melons at the far end right…..aubergines and the back and peppers and chilies on the left….

Oh and the fig tree that at last seems to be fruiting insh’Allah….

Feeling blessed….subhan’Allah……

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

 

I did it and it felt so good….

the texture in my hands, the weight , the colours…..there I was sitting in front of the computer compiling to do lists and other stuff while listening to motivational TED speakers when just like that, I picked a crochet basket and went for it……I don’t know why I picked this one…I could have picked at least another two WIPs nearby but anyhow this one was the chosen one……

I managed to join together all the squares you see above and then this morning the need to do some crochet was still there so I carried on….I now have four rows of ten granny squares and I’m still in shock but I’ll get over it …..what on earth is going on…it’s not even cloudy outside!!!!

Wishing you all a peaceful and productive day…..breakfast time here….not even 8 30 and I have done crochet, cleaned and a few other things…this getting up earlier in the morning business rocks…..

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

 

 

When life gives you…

chilies…..make chili sauce….

simple yet very yummy ……we love it round here….fry and blend….lasts us a couple of weeks max……thinking of making salsa and freezing cause the chilies are still coming fast and furious ….insh’Allah

 

Potatoes….make vegetarian samosas….quick and simple of course….you know my motto….cause life is complicated enough….

5 year old to wash the spuds not essential but immensely helpful…..

Wishing you all a  productive and  peaceful week…

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

Another before and after…

it all started soon after we bought the dinning table and chairs…..I just knew it wasn’t the perfect table for us but I saw the potential…..it was a matter of time and some research until I could have the table I was after…fast forward a few years and while I was browsing on pinterest I came across THE ONE….shabby chic/farmhouse/cottagy/simple/clean lines…..here is the one …..mine’s still crispy new but give it a few years and it will look more like this one……..

Now I needed to work out how to do it but let’s be honest here I’m not a DIY natural……and I know the right person for the job….remember this other table transformation? My friend did it and we are still as much in love with the table as we were the first day she brought it back from her workshop….

So just casually I contacted her on fb two days ago to let her know of my latest whim (she knows me that well 😉 ) ….and to my astonishment she was at our place only a couple of hours later with a bag full of tools and bags of enthusiasm…..she is one in a million I tell you….ok this is going on too long and I know you guys just want to see the table…..so without further ado….tadah……here it comes……drum roll…….tadah……

No more hiding the table under a plastic cover…now it is a table to be proud of…..I just love it…..Allah ibarak……

What do you think? Do you agree with me that it is now more natural? It was a bit too conservative for us……..

Wishing you all a good ending to the weekend…..

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

 

The last of the broad beans…

this morning I have cleared the broad beans bed and I have done it slightly differently….rather than just pull the whole plant out of the soil and put it in the composter I have cut the plants at ground level…just like shown here….next as soon as I do a little bit of weeding I will sow pak choy in the same bed…..

Little one has truly enjoyed being in charge of podding the peas and the broad beans….she loves weighing them up too….bless her she has done most of it by herself….

the fruits of our labour…..feeling blessed….

Have a nice day….

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

A…B…and C

Artichokes…thinking of cooking them with peas and broad beans…simple but yummy

Beans….they are here!!! not quite…but not long now…..I love love love the first sight….subhan’Allah

you see those beauties? No? ….what about now?

such cuties……

Chard for dinner….might cook our favorite chard dish again…..it’s a winner with the vegetarians and the non vegetarians in the house so I’m one happy mama…

plenty there for a big pot….

Hope you guys are making the most of the Summer days…….

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

 

It’s going to be one of those days…

hot, slow and go with the flow…no point getting cross over water puddles all over the floor……..a day of ice creams, ice lollies and cold drinks…..no decent meal until the evening when is cooler and we can sit on the patio for a light dinner….a day of summer…..they don’t happen often here in London so make it fun and memorable….

 

I was at the allotment by 7 30 this morning…already people watering their plots….I had to wait around for a free tap….no worries…I had these beauties to look at…

Wishing you all a relaxed chilled day….

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

Not all is lost…

a whole raised bed of cucumbers vanished overnight….I had sown them indoors…plenty TLC but as soon as I put them out in their designated bed they just disappeared….at the time I blamed it on the elements…too much rain soon after planting….sudden temperature drops…until today when I think I have found out the real culprit….we were digging the little trenches for the carrots seeds when I must have disturbed a red ants nest cause they were crawling all over me….I’m still itching a few hours later….so yeah…could it be that they had devoured my cucumbers? …sounds reasonable, don’t you think? …of course I have not sown the carrots and just left them to it until I find the best way of getting rid of them….time to turn to the experts at UK Here We Grow….they are a great bunch I tell you….but not all is lost my dear friends….I planted three cucumbers in the greenhouse and one of them is bearing fruits!!!! Hallelujah……Alhamdulilah….see the beauties in the pic? won’t be enough to pickle but enough to add to a few salad….insh’Allah

Edit—-The experts have responded and they agree with my suspicions of the red ants eating my crops……Also they have come up with a solution !!!! Make your own ant traps.
Mix 1 part icing sugar with 1 part bicarbonate of soda/baking powder to a thin paste in warm water.
Once cool, lay trails of it across the ants’ paths.
Does the same as the poison, they eat, then take it to the nest, where they all feast on it, then get bloated and go “pop”!

 

Also remember me telling you about the sad state of the aubergines? It was, according to the experts at the fb forum, a case of over watering…so  I now only watter every three days and not as much as before and things are slowly improving…and one of the plants is bearing fruits!!!!! Hallelujah….Alhamudilah….

I don’t feel as bad now….part of the learning process but still I felt so responsible…..

Wishing you all a relaxed end to the weekend and a productive week…

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines