The Garden

This year I decided to be a little more serious about our garden. I made a plan about what to plant in it and where to put the pots, so they would be in the right sun/shade position.
I wanted a big variety of vegetables and herbs and many of our beloved strawberries.
Organized as I am...I started out with looking at websites of how to plan your own little vegetable garden. mijnmoestuin.nl (my vegetable garden) was a little help to when you should start planting you veg and when to take them out.
We went to the DIY shop to buy enough pots and earth to set up on our little strip along the house.
Then I bought all the seeds I fancied and started the germination in small pots in the window shelf.
This doesn't always work as it's a delicate thing to get the temperature, light and watering right.
But it's such an amazing thing to see a seed growing into a green leafy thing that will later on give you tasty food to put in your all home made salad or cake!
I added a video below about the growth of a bean, I find it fascinating!
The pictures you see below are very recent and you can see that the garden is just beginning to bloom and the veg are at their early stage of facing the real outside weather. It's been kind of rough for them lately as we had a lot of rain and cold. Many of my first seedlings did not survive because of this. The second batch seems to be a lot stronger.

This is my list of things I hope to be eating from my own garden this summer:
- Lots of strawberries, I think I have about 15 plants.
- Beetroots
- Olives, I need to find a good recipe to pickle them.
- Sweet chillies, love them!
- Hot peperoncino, last year we had a very successful plant but it died because of the cold.
- Beans, so nice to see them grow.
- Sage, Basil, Origano, Thyme and Mint.
- Lemons, last year they turned black so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
- Tomatoes, big and small.
- Courgette
- Potatoes from the ground, I planted two types.
- Two types of salad.

It will be a humble crop as I don't have that much space. But it's even more the growing process I enjoy. Every day when I get home from work, I check my plants and there is always a surprise waiting for me to be discovered.

The 'garden'

Sage flowers

strawberries

first rose in bloom

Lemon flower, smells amazing!

Lemon tree buds

Potatoes in the ground

strawberries, beetroot and herbs

Young tomatoes

Our olive trees are growing like crazy

Dinner outside, I now made a terrace on the right side with stones

Sunset magazine from Macon, USA

Below a time-lapse about a the growth of a bean

Easter Bunny Brunch!

Yes, I'm back! After a slight hick-up with the name of a whiplash and a more pleasant break from writing in the shape of our trip to the States, I'm back.

As I never like to exclude exciting moments from my blog I thought I'd start my comeback with a post about our Easter Lunch with friends.
I organized this festive lunch because I had the urge to revive family traditions and try some old and new recipes out on my friends.

I had my day planned full with decorating the table, painting eggs, baking the Easter bunnies and preparing all the other delicious things I had on my list.

I wanted to fill the table with a ray of Easter goodies that  I knew from my childhood on.
I started with doing some research on how to make the best Easter bunnies with the most fun shape. I got to the recipe of this speedy hopping bunny, I made them with buttery white bread dough and they turned out delicious, soft on the inside and golden and crispy on the outside.

Then I made my all time favorite scones, crumbly and warm, straight from the oven. I took Jamie Oliver's recipe this time, from his Great Britain cookbook. I served them with whipped cream and raspberry jam, as I like them best.

For a more savory touch I baked some wholemeal blini's and served them up with smokes salmon and sour cream and some dille. I also did a plain flour version but we all definitely preferred the wholemeal ones. I you see I was just in time to make a picture before they were gone!

My friend brought some fresh asparagus which I served with a vinaigrette dressing and scrambled eggs. I always make those with cream instead of milk as it makes them so much more silky and fluffy! Mmm!

To round up this scrumptious meal I had a New York cheesecake and a soothing cup of tea.

I could celebrate Easter every Sunday morning, without any problem!