At long last... aubergines! So far we have three. Small ones. They always take ages to come and I can't plant them any earlier as it's too cold, so every year I just have to bide my time and be patient.
this is the largest and this...
is the smallest! Not a whole lot of difference.
Next piece of purpleness - sort of!
Red Onions!
These are the best red onions I have ever grown, which is actually not saying much as I have little or no success with onions. So little, in fact, that I had no intention of trying to grow any at all. These were bought as spring onion seedlings because I had forgotten to plant any. Time passed and they grew red and oniony and absolutely nothing like a spring onion at all, and for that I am actually rather glad. They've done so well I think I'll try again next year.
More purple?
Passion fruit
I LOVE passion fruit. And it freezes beautifully so you can have it all year round. I had an old self seeded passion fruit vine that did really well then just died. I planted a new one last year but it did nothing in the drought, however this year it sprung into life and gave me a fairly small crop, but I have high hopes for next year.
( To freeze I just halve the fruit and scoop out the seeds then put them in a wee freezer bag. I've heard some people say they just freeze them whole, but I've never tried this.)
and finally, not purple at all but yellow.
These are jerusalem artichoke flowers, so pretty, I usually pick a bunch for the house.
Personally I think the flowers are nicer than the artichokes except for Jerusalem artichoke soup which Lloyd makes and is simply delicious.
Just the joy of planting is all I need...success and failure always. Every year the excitement of working the garden and planting supersedes the "will everything grow" moment!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos. Your produce looks so healthy and delicious. I too love passion fruit, there are never enough left around here to freeze...even though we pick hundreds of them :)
ReplyDeleteWe love read onions. Yours are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteLove the photos :)
ReplyDeleteI'm envious of the passionfruit - we have only about 1/2 doz fruit on our plant, despite it having heaps of foliage(& it is in its second year).
your onions are so shiny and healthy! my red spring onions didn't do well at all this year, got eaten by everything! what eats onions??!
ReplyDeleteOoh yes I'm with Mel - envious of your passionfruit. Hope I manage some soon.
ReplyDeleteHow funny, I just posted about aubergines too!
ReplyDeleteYour onions look good, I didn't plant very many this year and am wishing I had.
Our passionfruit vines are not producing much, one is very small with a little fruit on it and the other has lots of foliage but no flowers :-(
Purple passionfruit jealousy going on here too - we can only manage the big yellow ones. Purple are nicer I think.
ReplyDeleteOoo I love a good eggplant! I just read your birthday post and have finished thinking about the chocolate fountain, it was very distracting.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Laura!
Ali.
ps I am the only one not jealous of the passionfruit, they grow very easily where I live and everyone is always handing around bags of them, but I hate passionfruit!! Lol, I am alone in this, I know.
Um, hello? Recipe for said artichoke soup? Or is he unwilling to let that go. And if so, I perfectly understand. I feel that way about some recipes myself-lol!
ReplyDeleteOh, and one more thing, as we yanks say: "You're killing me!" All those gorgeous veggies and spring is being so slow to arrive here!
Happy Belated Birthday too!
meggs.
Hey Meggs, He'll happily share. I shall ask him when he gets home xx
ReplyDeleteHere's the recipe for Jerusalem artichoke soup:
ReplyDelete1kg peeled artichokes chopped roughly, and gently fried with a finely chopped onion and a couple of cloves of garlic and a level tsp of asafoetida until all are softened but not browned. You can do this in a saucepan then deglaze with about 2 tbs dry sherry. The next ingredient is about a litre of good chicken or veggie stock. Also add a couple of bayleaves and some sage leaves. Bring to the boil, simmer for about 30 min and then season to taste. Decant to a blender or food processor and whizz until smooth. Return to the pan and add about a cup of soured or single cream and reheat until just below boiling. Serve with crusty bread. A scoosh of chilli oil on top is good too! Enjoy!