Maytime

I found some beetroot the other day, down on the allotment.

They were in one of the raised beds almost hidden under some hefty weeds.

I brushed off the soil and took them home, not expecting them to be very tasty. They had after all been in the ground for upwards of 9 months.

But after scrubbing and chopping, I was surprised to see they looked remarkably good. 

So I made a cake. A chocolate beetroot cake. A birthday cake for mr digandweed.

This is not the first chocolate beetroot cake I have made, but this recipe may well become one of my favourites.

Ridiculously easy - it is one of those ' measure and blitz everything together' type recipes - it produced a moist and deliciously chocolatey cake.

It also uses heart healthy rapeseed oil and quite a lot less sugar ( if you ignore the icing) than similar recipes.

The recipe is here, if you would like to try it.
And so we had a birthday tea with both lovely daughters and their partners and our very dear Tiny Girlie.
There were mini sparklers on the cake and a rendition of 'Happy Birthday'.
A jolly time was had by all.

Meanwhile April has come and gone. The last few days have seen hail, arctic winds and frosts, but now May is here and the forecast for the coming week is much better.

I'm going to plant out the runner beans.

 I can't wait any longer! 

They have taken over the dining room and are twining themselves around everything and everyone ( that last bit may be an exaggeration )

And finally, some pics of my newest allotment helper.

Hoping you all enjoy the rest of the long weekend.





annjenny x