Baking and Other Stories ....



Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of baking chez Fenland Lottie.
And nationwide, baking is the new thing. 
It seems that the process of weighing, mixing and stirring, whether it be bread or cakes has struck a chord with people in these unsettling times; a gentle antidote to the anxiety which can easily prevail.
But, as a consequence, stocks of flour having been running low in the shops.
  Trying to buy flour at the local supermarket was proving very difficult, until a local farm shop came up trumps. 
So mr digandweed, whose birthday was a couple of weeks ago, was able to celebrate with a cake....



... and a virtual birthday party with family thanks to 'Houseparty' app.

And for a quick and easy baking fix, requiring no flour, I can recommend Mary Berry's flapjack recipe  - just the right degree of chewiness in my opinion. 





 In other news, a couple of weeks ago, our allotment neighbour gave us some sweetcorn seeds; a little package lobbed across the path from a safe distance and containing a few wizened little kernels.
I've never grown sweetcorn before and was thrilled when the seeds germinated!




The seedlings are now much bigger and are planted out on the allotment. Fingers crossed for some lovely corn on the cob later in the summer.
There are some silver linings to this devastating virus and one is that our allotment has never looked neater than over the last few weeks and there is a lovely sense of cheerful community amongst the plot holders.

I've recently been reading up about the 'no dig' system of cultivation pioneered by Charles Dowding
and his multisowing method. Maybe you have already heard of his techniques? Or even tried them?
I've sown several rows of beetroot and swiss chard on the allotment with 3 or more seeds at each station and germination has been good, the little plants look healthy so it's all looking very promising.
Less promising are the climbing beans. I was caught out once again by a late frost in May. Every year, I get over excited and sow and plant them out too early! Please - next year someone remind me that night time temperatures even in May can drop very low!
I've hastily planted more seeds!

Hope you are all keeping well and safe.
Speak soon
Annie
x



Comments

  1. I can imagine how good it is at the allotment site. I miss mine sometimes, although I do have veggie growing space in the garden which is good. I hope Mr Digandweed had a good birthday, the cake is brilliant, exactly the cake that my youngest will choose for his birthday which is soon. (In exactly one week and six days apparently, he is giving me regular updates.) Sweetcorn is a great thing to grow. The badgers used to eat it all at my allotment though. They were skilled at getting to it precisely one day before we were going to pick it. They would completely trample the whole lot, but I imagine they enjoyed it immensely. Your seedling photo is a thing of beauty, it's hard to make seedlings look wonderful, but you have managed it. I am always blown away by your pictures. CJ xx

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    1. You can't beat a good old Victoria Sponge! I hope your son enjoys his birthday despite all the restrictions. There are pigeons, but hopefully no badgers at the allotments! The ones at your allotment obviously recognised a good thing when they saw it! Thank you for your lovely comments about my photos :)

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  2. I have never grown sweetcorn before but I could easily be tempted to try. The cake does look. Flour has not been a problem here but we are not able to get yeast. Bread making has come to a halt.

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    1. I'm hoping for a good harvest! First there was a shortage of eggs and now flour! I'm not sure about yeast as I've been making sourdough bread. Hope you are both staying safe up there :)

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  3. My friend has been using the no dig system on her allotment for a few years now and has the most beautiful plot. I have created a little raised bed from an old drawer today so I can grow a few veg in the garden

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