It rained today. I stood in the garden and let the soft drops fall on my face....it was marvellous and very rejuvenating, something I needed to feel today.  I don't dwell on sad times, it helps no one.

We didn't get the downpour we'd been promised -  flash floods, Armageddon, it was not. I was hoping for a good drench though in order to re-fill our water butts on the allotment.  That problem has now been solved...more on that later!

I cheered myself by making flapjacks, a recipe I have mastered after many years of brittle, rock hard rubble that I had to chisel out of the baking tray.  However, I did something so stupid, I felt like battering my head on the work surface once I realised.  I lined the flaming tin with parchment...WHY!  I swear my brain goes on vacation and doesn't bother to tell me.

Well, I let it cool too much and couldn't get it off the paper, so put it back in the oven to warm it up. I then tipped it onto a tray and peeled the paper off. As expected, quite a lot of flapjack was stuck to the paper, so I scraped it off, as Mr. came to the rescue, piling the flapjack back in the tin and pressing it down.  We then set to eating all the flapjack off the greased proof paper, like a couple of starving urchins...it was great fun, if a bit sticky.

See, you'd never know!

No, you mustn't look too closely!

I will admit to another disaster this week. I made a cheese and leek quiche, which I knock out fairly regularly throughout the year as everyone loves it.  Made the pastry as per, but realised after I'd put it in the fridge to chill, that the butter was still sitting in the scale pan.  Oh well, I thought, pastry made with just lard will be fine. NOoo, it's just like munching cardboard, well this was anyway, despite the fresh thyme and black pepper seasoning.

Mr is such a gem, and eats almost anything you give him, he actually said it wasn't bad..bless him.  I served it with bulgur wheat salad made with fresh mint from the garden, which was very delicious and fresh.

I gave the  fridge a freshen up and found some sweet potatoes lurking in the salad bin.  A couple had gone over and I knew the rest wouldn't be eaten any time soon, so I prepped them for the freezer. Waste not, want not. Blanched, cooled and dried, then oiled and sprinkled with cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Once they'd frozen on these trays, I popped them into a bag.

I'm not usually wasteful, but we've been eating out of the garden and the salad bin has been neglected.  A few things found their way into the compost bin sadly.

Despite our tender care, some of the crops in the troughs have started to bolt, stress from the intense heat probably. Only the lettuces are affected at the  moment, but they taste fine.

Some crops are fairing better - perky Swiss card (Bright Lights) and perpetual spinach.

The leaves of green vegetables that have been eaten by bugs are actually better for you....this I did not know.  Apparently, the plant puts extra effort in protecting itself, which results in them producing something called phenolic compounds.  These have antiviral and antimicrobial properties and also act as antitumor agents.  So eat those holey greens guys!

We're very fortunate to have a communal water trough on our allotment, but it's not as close to our plot as we'd like.  Also, most people water in the evening, so you can bet it gets busy.  Our plot is the largest and takes an awful lot of watering can trips to water it.  We also have water butts that are fed from our shed when it rains, but we can soon empty them just giving the plot a good soak.  Mr. decided to get one of these to make life easier, as we can connect a pump and hose, drive alongside the plot and water straight from it.

Of course, now we've bought this, it's going to rain EVERY day,  I just know it.  I think we may have kiboshed summer folks...sorry.