Courgette Curry

This is being cooked regularly at this time of year. A great one for the freezer and one of my favourite curries.

According to one of my curry books this is called  Toorai Tarkari. I don’t know what country it originates from. Google Translate seems to think Toorai Tarkari is Finnish but I doubt it!

The tinned tomatoes can be the supermarket cheapies. Chillis can be fresh, frozen or dried.

• 4 – 6 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1kg courgettes (5mm slices)
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• 4 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 4 – 6 chillies, halved

Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds. When they start to crackle (put your hearing aids in if needed), add the courgettes. Stir and add the dried spices, mixing well. Add the tomatoes, salt to taste and fresh chillies.

Cover and cook until tender. 15 – 20 minutes.

Phill really likes this curry, even though courgettes look suspiciously like cucumbers!

Mike, who thinks every plate should have meat on, liked this one too.

The Pond!

Having been prompted by a visitor from Scotland. I am happy to post a couple of  pics of the pond as it is now!

Pond!!

A year on and it is eventually nearing completion.

Digging the pond

As I type this it is 30 degrees C in the cattery. But, Mike has had a whole year in which to pick which day to finish digging the pond! We hope to get the liner in this evening and then wait for the thunderstorms to fill it up.

Lining underlay going into the pond

A whole roll of underlay being used.

Ready for the liner

The 6m x 6m liner is in place.

Filling the pond started at 4.30pm.

Garden (again)

The veg garden this year has been a little disappointing but things are starting to brighten up a bit now. The beans will perhaps produce a meal or two but no more. We have eaten lots of pak choi and the celeriac is looking good. We unearthed 2 grow-bag potato plants the other day and they were very tasty. The second sowing of carrot seeds has produced 3 rows, protected from whatever ate the first attempt. I think I have 1, yes 1 and 1 only, parsnip!

Veg Plot July 2008

The courgettes, butternut squash and pumpkins are starting to really take off now. We’ll be eating round courgettes by the end of the week.

Round Courgettes

More Ducklings!

Last year George let a broody hen sit on some of his duck eggs and they all hatched. The resultant offspring are Appleyard/Rowan crosses. This year he gave some eggs to Rob & Nina who put them under one of their hens and 8 hatched. Unfortunately a fox took most of their hens and 6 of the ducklings. So we have taken the last 2 ducklings and their surrogate Mother. Mike is probably worried that I’ll come home from The Tram Inn one day with a sheep!

Here they are at two and a half weeks old, at the the side of the cattery.

2 ducklings with surrogate mother hen

I just hope they are not drakes.

Moles

Our next door neighbour said ‘thanks for all the moles’ this morning. I put in a couple of solar mole repellers which really seem to do the job. They only cover a certain area and a mole has appeared at the very edge of the pak choi bed this morning so I’ve ordered another couple, repellers not moles, to keep them at bay from the whole garden.

The veg garden is not doing too well at the moment. Bean germination was very poor so I’ve plonked some more directly into the soil to see if I can get some more plants. Something has eaten all the carrot seedlings so I shall have to relent on my anti-slug pellet stance and sow some more surrounded by the little blue pellets. The pak choi has a mole but I have moved a repeller directly into the veg garden to see it off.

The tomato plantation is doing very well so are the spuds in upended grow bags.

Whilst it was 34 degrees C in the cattery

It was snowy somewhere in the Pyrenees. Photo courtesy of Scott of The Pyrenees.

A long Way Damp

Scott left us today on the second leg of his trip to Spain on Sharon’s old Triumph Legend. He arrived yesterday amidst torrential rain and stayed the night with us after a few restorative pints in The Tram Inn.

Today he is journeying down to our parents in Devon, before catching the Plymouth to Santander ferry to Spain on Wednesday.

He might be dry by the time he gets there.

Green Grass

We’re getting some grass back in the old duck runs now. The top one will be used again in winter when they will relocate to a new posh duck house Roger the Hairdresser has promised to build for us.

I have extended the shrubbery at the back to meet up with the ‘bonfire’ bed. The pond is still a big hole full of weeds. I am determined that this shall become the year of the pond, especially after a visit to the Malvern Spring Show.

I have sown carrots, parsnips and swedes in the veg patch. This morning I planted out the celeriac and pak choi plants. Next it will be runner and french beans, courgettes, squash, pumpkins and butternut squash.

Whilst I spend time trying to improve the garden Boogie and Spike spend time trying to turn it into a bomb site. I found a dead mole behind the shrubbery but now I think they are on a mouse hunt.

They spend a lot of time in the conservatory, waiting for the mud to dry before Spike comes in and wipes it off on the carpets.

Gate

This is ‘Roger the Hairdresser’ as he is known locally hee hee, with Mike modelling the gate he has made for us. It is a work of art, all jointed properly rather than put together with bolts. It is now installed across the drive and I’ll post another pic when it is all painted and even more lovely looking.

It is an unfortunate measure required to put a stop those customers who turn up early, drive past the sign clearly displaying our opening hours, stand in font of the door again clearly displaying our opening hours, ignore the closed sign in the window and still ring the bell!

They don’t come to the house any more, I shot the last one………

Marmite has earnt his pocket money

He caught a rabbit the other day. I know it was only a baby because he didn’t eat its ears!