Grow your own - planning

Whatever the reason for you wanting to grow your own fruit and veg - whether it is to save money, reduce food miles, eat fresher produce or a new hobby - a bit of foreword planning will help before you get stuck in. Obviously you want to grow the varieties that you enjoy eating and will get good use out of, but a few practicalities are worth considering before you decide what you will grow and how you'll go about it:

• How much space do you have available? If you're lucky enough to have a reasonable sized garden, you can no doubt find space to designate to your veg patch. However, if you have little space or you have a yard out the back, pots, growbags and even hanging baskets can come to the rescue. There are certain crops that require more space than others - I've been informed that asparagus, sprouts, main crop potatoes and squash are best avoided if space is limited.
• The position of your garden can make a difference. Although most crops grow best in sunny spots, lettuce, spinach and peas don't min a bit of shade. If your garden isn't sheltered, it's best to avoid more delicate plants such as peas and beans. Wherever possible, don't plant near trees or hedges, as your crops will have tough competition for water and nutrients.
• What type of soil do you have? Heavy clay soils don't warm up so quickly in spring, so early crops tend to struggle, though later crops do better and need watering less often. Light sandy soils are a better bet for growing early crops, but later ones will require a lot of watering if they are to be successful.
•  It's worth growing fruit and veg which are harvested at different times of year to make the most of your plot. At this time of year you can enjoy cruciferous veg, once spring is in full swing you can be eating salad veg, by July new potatoes, French beans and beetroot can be on the menu and in September you can still be enjoying peas, spring onions and runner beans.
• How much time can you devote? If you know you're busy and will have limited time to care for your crops, choose those that do well when left to their own devices - runner beans are a good example. This is also likely to dictate how much of your garden you give over to growing.
• If you're looking to save money, it makes sense to grow fruit or veg which are more expensive to buy, so you might favour leeks and courgettes over potatoes, carrots and onions.

In the next part of the "grow your own" series, we'll look at preparing your plot.

In the spotlight - Spinach

Perhaps you're not as keen on spinach as Popeye is, I certainly wouldn't relish the thought of eating it straight out of the can! However, fresh spinach makes a tasty alternative or addition to lettuce in a salad, or the little blocks of frozen spinach can be easily added to soups and curries. Perhaps some people may have had pancakes yesterday stuffed with spinach and ricotta, a change from the usual cannelloni.

•  Spinach was cultivated in Iran about 2000 years ago and its name is derived from the Persian "ispanai", which means "green hand". It didn't reach Europe till the 12th century and the smooth version that we're used to today didn't come about till the 1500's.
• Spinach actually grows best in cooler climates and can survive when the temperature falls below freezing, so can be planted out early in the year. It's a quick growing crop and can be harvested within 6 weeks of planting.
• Spinach is a good source of Vitamin A, C and folate, and particularly high in Vitamin K, so go easy on it if you're taking warfarin.
• The vitamins in spinach are soon lost after harvesting - within 8 days of picking, the folate content has halved - so if you can grow your own you'll get a lot more goodness than a bag you'll pick up from the supermarket. 
• Asked for a veg that contains iron most of us would probably say spinach. Unfortunately like other plant sources, this form of iron isn't very available to the body to absorb. However, taking a glass of citrus juice with a meal containing spinach or including other Vitamin C rich veg such as peppers or tomatoes will maximise how much iron your body can absorb.

Spicy spinach dip - if you're looking for a change from humous or your usual dip, why not try this?

• Brown a diced onion and a crushed garlic clove in a little oil.
• Add 800g chopped spinach to the pan in two batches, waiting for the first addition to wilt before adding the next - it should take between 5 and 8 mins for all the spinach to cook.
• Drain the liquid from the pan using a sieve and press to remove any extra liquid.
• Add 125ml milk to the pan and stir in 175g reduced fat soft cheese (or equivalent) until it has melted, which will take approximately 3 mins. 
• Add the spinach mix to the pan with a few dashes each of Worcester and Tabasco sauce, stir well and season with black pepper.
• Add to a lightly oiled oven proof dish and sprinkle with a little Mozzerella cheese. Cook in a preheated oven (220 degrees C, gas mark 7) for about 15mins or until golden.
• Enjoy with sticks of veg, crackers or crusty bread.

Spinach, squash and tomato curry - an easy recipe for when you want a curry in a hurry

• Cook a sliced onion in a little oil until it is softened (about 5 mins).
• Add 2tbsp curry paste and cook for a further 3 mins.
• Add  a small butternut squash (skinned and cut into chunks) and 6 tomatoes chopped into quarters, along with 200ml water.
• Simmer covered for 15 mins until the squash is just cooked, then add 100g spinach and cook for another few mins until the leaves have wilted.
• Enjoy with rice or your grain of choice.

Spice up your fruit

You might add paprika to your potatoes, pepper to your cabbage or tuck into a veggie curry, so why should fruit miss out? In fairness apple and cinnamon or rhubarb with ginger are quite common fruit and spice combos, but why stop at that? Fruit is juicy and flavoursome, but adding a touch of spice can just add a bit of a different twist to a dish.

In South Asia it is common to add spice to fruit, think of mango chutney. Fruit Chaat is a spiced fruit salad. Any combination of fruits can be used, but chopped banana, mango and guava commonly feature, which are combined with lemon juice, a little sugar and a teaspoon or two of Chaat spice. The latter can be purchased or you can make your own. The following link details how it can be blended at home - http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/chaatmasala.html - and if you struggle to find mango powder locally, it can be bought online.

In Mexico it's traditional to add lime and chilli to fruit salad. Go easy on the chilli initially; you can always add more, as you don't want to overpower the natural fruit flavours with too much heat!

From a bit closer to home, try spiced fruit compote - add a spoonful to your morning porridge, serve with natural yoghurt or use it instead of sauce on ice cream.


Spiced fruit compote

• Bring 600ml orange juice to the boil with 1 cinnamon stick, 1 bay leaf, 2 vanilla pods (split length ways) and 12 black peppercorns, heating for 5 mins.
• Add 500g of dried fruit - apricots, figs, prunes and pear make a nice combination - and simmer for 10 mins.
• Allow to cool, but can be enjoyed hot or cold.

In the spotlight - Strawberries

When you think about what fruit you might associate with love - it was Valentine's Day yesterday in case that slipped anyone by and they're wondering why on earth I've launched into this first sentence - what would it be? In Greek mythology, it would be quince, but being unable to recall ever seeing this fruit on sale, I thought I'd go with strawberries. Red and heart shaped, they're a strong contender and am sure they featured on many a menu last night.

And following on from childhood memories of podding peas, who didn't enjoy going to a pick-your-own for strawberries in the summer holidays? One for the basket, one for me - I think that's probably why pick-your-own isn't that cheap!

•  They belong to the same family of plants as roses, the sub-group being Fragaria, derived from the Latin for fragrant.
• Each strawberry can have around 200 seeds, but as they have their seeds on the outside, they aren't classed as a true berry.
• 7 strawberries count as 1 of your 5 A Day, which provides a whopping 150% of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C. They are also a good source of folate and like most other fruit and veg, potassium and fibre.
• If you're short on space in your garden, but fancy growing strawberries, they do well in pots or hanging baskets.
• Served with sugar and cream as a summer treat, try them with natural yoghurt, to top cereal, in smoothies or part of a fruit salad on a more regular basis. They also work in savoury dishes such as salads or as a sauce.

A bit of a kick - a sauce for meat, fish or veggie dishes

• Remove the stalks and chop a good handful of strawberries.
• Add to a pan and begin to cook gently in a little oil.
• Now add half a small onion (finely chopped) and a small diced chilli, stirring constantly.
• Once the strawberries have cooked down, add a teaspoon of sugar and pepper to taste, cooking for a few more mins.

Morning fruit booster

• Chop 1 small banana and a handful of strawberries, adding to a blender with 200ml (third of a pint) of milk - you can use soya, rice or oat milk if preferred.

In the spotlight - Garden peas

Podding peas, now there's something I haven't done in a long time. The best bit wasn't the panful at the end to freeze, but as a child, the few you managed to sneak into your mouth as you went along. Unless we've got an allotment or a veg patch in the back garden, we're more likely to enjoy frozen or tinned peas. I say that with a bit of hesitation, as I've never been a fan of peas from the tin, always find them soft and anaemic - but if you know of any good tinned green peas, please do share!

• Peas date back thousands of years and are thought to have originated in China or Egypt - dried peas have been found in ancient tombs.
• While the pods of green peas are inedible, with other varieties of pea such as mange tout and sugar snap peas, the pea and pod are eaten - no doubt I'll be putting these "in the spotlight" a little bit down the line.
• These little green balls are bursting with goodness - rich in Vitamin C, Folate and Thiamine (another B vitamin, which helps the body unlock the energy from food), as well as fibre and protein and small amounts of iron and calcium.
• As peas tend to be frozen in under 3 hours of harvesting, their nutrients are locked in, so frozen peas pack a bigger nutritional punch than when fresh, unless recently picked.
• Whilst peas compliment fish fingers and chips or a roast dinner, it would be a shame just to limit them to an accompaniment. Add peas to soups, sauces, curries, stews, risottos, rice and salads.

Asparagus, pea and mint soup - you couldn't find a better combination than pea and mint

• It may seem a bit rough and ready, but with soups you don't really need to be that precise when it comes to proportions, with the exception being salt, which I never add, though appreciably it's in stock cubes.

• Chop an onion and brown in a little oil.
• Add a pint of veg stock and a good glug of white wine, along with 2tsp dried mint.
• Add 2 cups of frozen peas and bring to the boil.
• Reduce to simmer, adding a good handful of chopped asparagus tips and cook for 5-6 mins or until the asparagus is tender.

Spicy pea and potato salad

• Cook new potatoes for 15-20 mins (I'd say about 150g per person). Once drained, chop into bite-size chunks.
• Cook peas for 3-4 mins (about 75g per person), drain and add to the potatoes, seasoning with pepper.
• To make a dressing, warm 2tsp Cajun spice and 0.25tsp paprika in a little oil. Remove from the heat, adding 4 finely chopped spring onions, 1tsp wholegrain mustard and 1tsp white wine vinegar.
• Stir through the potato and pea mix and serve with a green salad, sliced tomatoes and peppers.

What February has to offer...

With Cruciferous veg, carrots and leeks still in the limelight this month, to avoid repetition, I thought I'd take a bit of a different slant on what is in season. We are now in "forced rhubarb" season. It's a shame about all the heat that is needed to produce those lovely red stalks in darkened sheds, but until the outdoor crop is ready in May, if you want rhubarb crumble, this is your best bet - the slimy tinned version laden with syrup just isn't the same! You may have heard of the Rhubarb Triangle between Wakefield, Leeds and Morley, and rhubarb grown in this area in the above way has a Protected Designation of Origin - Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb.

So what to do with your rhubarb now you've got it home? If you're looking for a change from your usual desserts, try the following ideas. Although it is usually thought of as a fruit, technically rhubarb is a vegetable and it does go well in savoury dishes.

Spiced lentil and rhubarb stew

• Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan, adding 1tbsp mustard seeds and 1tbsp shredded ginger. Once golden add 0.5tsp chilli flakes, heating for another minute.
• Now add 3 chopped stalks of rhubarb, 1 can of drained lentils, 2 cloves and 4 cardamon pods. Cover with water, so that it is an inch above the ingredients, and cook for 15-20 mins.
• Remove the cloves and pods if you can find them then add pepper to taste.
• Serve with boiled rice, chapatti, bulgar wheat or couscous.

Rhubarb soup

• Chop 2 carrots, 2 celery sticks and an onion, heating in a pan with a little oil for a few minutes.
• Add 2 stalks of chopped rhubarb and stir for another couple of minutes with 2tbsp chopped parsley.
• Dissolve a vegetable stock cube in a litre of water, add to the pan then bring to the boil. Simmer covered for 25mins.
• Add pepper to taste then serve with some crusty bread.

In the spotlight - Kiwi

It might be something to do with the miserable weather that is causing me to gravitate more towards tropical fruit in my recent "in the spotlight" posts. Yes, I know eating fruits from far flung places doesn't help with food miles, but everyone is allowed a few guilty pleasures now and again.

So enough of the pre-amble, what do kiwis have to offer?

• Originally called Yangtao in China, they weren't named kiwis until the "Chinese gooseberry" variety from New Zealand was shipped to the USA in the 1960s - so-called after the national bird, the kiwi.
• They're packed with Vitamin C (they out-run oranges with respect to this) and a good source of folate, Vitamin E and Vitamin K - the latter is needed to help with blood clotting.
• Perhaps not the easiest of fruit to eat due to the fuzzy skin, but you can actually eat the outer layer. If that doesn't appeal, you can tackle the fruit in a number of ways, but my favourite is to halve them and scoop out the flesh with a teaspoon.
• Like pineapple, kiwis can be used to tenderise meat - this time the helping hand is provided by the enzyme Actinidin. Unfortunately this means kiwi doesn't work well in dairy based desserts unless you eat them straight away and jellies won't set.
• Kiwis can be used in smoothies, to make salsas, added to fruit salads or sliced for decoration.
• Anyone with latex allergy or oral allergy syndrome may find there is a high chance of kiwis triggering a similar reaction.

Kiwi dressing - add a bit of zing to your salad or use as a marinade

• Peel and chop 2 kiwis and blend with 0.5tsp ground ginger, the juice of a lime, 3tbsp water and some ground pepper.

Kiwi sorbet

• Place 500ml (16fl oz) of water and 450g (1lb) of caster sugar in a pan, bring to the boil then simmer for 10mins. Remove from the heat and cool completely.
•  Peel and chop 6 ripe kiwis then blend.
• Add the kiwi puree to the syrup, mix, then transfer to a freezer-proof container and freeze till a slush.
• Blend the slush till smooth, then return to the freezer to firm.