Salads Everyday

French breakfast radishes with greens

here in west cork, we are having the best weather in it seems like a century! you don't even want to think about cooking, its that warm. spain is even cooler than here, global warming? maybe. does it matter? not right now! (i'm half joking there) we seriously haven't had rain in weeks.

despite the lack of rain, one of the great things about this time of year is every time i go to the garden, there's something new to pick and chop up into a salad. which is great for a hot afternoon.
there's cauliflower, courgette, cabbage, kale, peas, beetroot, radishes, spinach, lettuce, onions, chard.... you get what i mean? its a great time to have a garden and this post is a celebration of that fact.

there's no recipe today but there's more posts on the way like: a tangy slaw for tacos, elderflower fizz and cocktails (yes, MORE cocktails!) and a recipe that goes great with crispy calamari. enjoy the photos, there's loads more on the FWDR instagram page.

little gems are a great lettuce to grow if the slugs don't get to them first!

smoked mackerel with chard, fennel and flowers

Lemon Thyme Whiskey Sour

 

thyme is by far my favourite herb, and among that my favourite type is lemon thyme. the lovely citrusy notes to the earthy sweet herbal qualities make it great for cooking, baking and infusing into cocktails. like this infused simple syrup, its so easy to do. the syrup will keep for months refrigerated in a clean sealed jar.

 

I encourage you to seek out lemon thyme at your garden centre, just one sniff of this herb well sell you on buying two plants, mine has been used down to a little nub! I hope it grows back for more of this cocktail lover approved tipple! my syrup only lasted a week with my friends, better double up when the plant rejuvenates! this whiskey sour is great for summer barbecues or all night drinking sessions.

 

naturally one is enough but three is always better!

 

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Lemon Thyme Whiskey Sour
Makes 1

inspired by: The Seasonal Cocktail Companion: 100 recipes and projects for 4 seasons of drinking, by Maggie Savarino. a pricelessly inventive cocktail book!

2 measures Whiskey, your preference, I love Bushmills
1 measure Lemon Juice
1 measure Lemon Thyme Syrup (recipe follows)

for Lemon Thyme Syrup:

3/4 cups (180gm) white sugar
1 cup (240ml) water
1 good fistful lemon thyme or thyme

• using a mortar and pestle crush the thyme with a little sugar, or bruise with your fingers
• place all ingredients into a sauce pan and bring to boil stirring occasionally
• let cool and strain out thyme
• store in a sealed jar in the fridge for 1-2 months

for drink:

• place all ingredients into a large jar or cocktail shaker with a good amount of ice
• shake or stir until well chilled
• strain into a glass tumbler or cocktail glass filled with ice
• garnish with thyme sprig or thyme flowers and a cocktail cherry

the creative process

 

FWDR on Instagram

Flour Water Dirt & Rain is now on Instagram! I'm finding Instagram really handy as a substitute for blog posts. I know myself and the reality is, I can only get time to make 1 good blog post a week (sometimes 10 days!! eek). I wish it was more, but a full time job in a bakery has precedent over blog time. i'm not complaining either! I love my job. I also really like the FWDR blog and I love getting feedback from readers. so if there are any readers who wish there were more frequent postings, following FWDR on Instagram might suffice! It's great for those little moments you find in the garden where something new is happening but might not require an entire blog post. like the flowers on the 'golden wonder' spuds. so cool! or the oats i'm experimenting growing - they must be 4 feet tall by now! Instagram might also spark an idea for a blog post too, like a kale and radish slaw for tacos? so delicious! I have to blog that one.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! there is also a FWDR Pinterest account, just click the links on the right hand side bar to get to both sites.

Gooseberry Elderflower Pie

 

Last week was a glorious week of balmy summer weather. the gooseberry bush (that we adopted with the house) was heaving with bright green fruits. screaming: "hey, pick me! don't forget about me like last year!" the big question was: what do you do with all those gooseberries? gooseberry fool pops into everyone's mind but, what else? after browsing my Bookshelf, I came across recipes for savoury uses like, a sauce for pork or mackerel, and sweet ones like: a pie, jam or chutney. the pie recipe jumped out at me, as well as a seasonal pairing of elderflowers. its that time of year too! bring on the elderflower champagne! 

Aioli Egg Salad

luckily working in a bakery I get bread on tap, as well as having chickens in the garden I always have eggs on hand. with that, a bit of oil and a minute or two of wisking I have aioli( too. (or homemade mayo). egg salad or 'egg mayonaise' is one of my comfort foods, especially when served in a toasted croissant.

I've been relying on it for sustenance after getting home from work. something crunchy and warm (toast) and something cold and creamy (egg salad), no complaints here! I've had a glut of eggs lately which is good because the garden has yet to reach that glut stage.

Cucumber Gin Gimlet

 

what's better than a day in the garden? a drink afterwards! especially on a misty day like today. (its the first rain in weeks!) this cocktail is the perfect summer time refreshment and if you are growing your own cucumbers you shouldn't have to wait much longer to harvest your own 'cucs' and try out this handy cucumber gin infusion recipe. then you can sit back and admire your garden and your fancy cocktail skills.

 

a gimlet is a classic cocktail traditionally made with Rose's Lime Juice (a sweetened lime juice) and gin or vodka. Rose's proves hard to find in this part of the world so a simple syrup and fresh lime juice combo makes a good stand in. the gimlet has many variations, a cocktail tip: if you substitute the gin/vodka for rum you'd be making a daiquiri!

 

I had my first gimlet last year in a cool cocktail bar in Barcelona, with no menu.  the gimlets were served with a retro green maraschino cherry as a garnish. im not sure if it was the day-glo green cherries or the heat (or maybe just the gin), but I've been thinking about my own version ever since. a cucumber gin and lime pairing seemed like a good idea. after the first test run I was a bit surprised that I didn't have to tweak the ratio at all. the cucumber flavour makes a great background for the zingy lime juice and herbal gin spices. a word of warning - just follow this golden rule: no more than two!

 

 

I ended up using a store bought cucumber for this recipe, I just couldn't wait for the in season ones! be sure to use the entire thing for packing loads of cucumber flavour in your gin, I recommend Gordon's gin for this recipe it's my favourite at the moment. De-lish!

 

Polytunnel Build

about a month ago I set up shop to build a small polytunnel, to cover the new 'herb only' addition to  the veg patch. I took the idea and design from my neighbour's who own Cambium Garden Centre. last year they grew the most amazing basil plants and lettuces, I was sold on the idea. everything seems to grow better under plastic in Ireland. that said we seem to be experiencing a drought! im afraid to mention it else I jinx the good fortune we've been having. at the moment watering the garden has become a novelty!

 

below are some images of the polytunnel build as it progressed over one week. it's a great design as it can be opened from both sides. with over 2 feet of standing room for plants you can grow just about anything, bar: sweet corn and tall tomatoes. this bed is being held as a herb bed for basil, parsley, sage, rosemary, mint, thyme, lemon thyme, coriander, fennel bulb and lemon balm. just about every herb you can dream of - which should make for some interesting pesto recipes!  the dimensions are 3'x 14' so, 42 square feet.

 

empty bed constructed of pallet wood

6' lengths of 1'' piping doubled up at four points, 2'' would be ideal

2"x1" brace under piping and ends covered in polytunnel plastic, stapled at bottom