Monthly Archives: January 2011

Bread machine or purist?

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I couldn’t resist sharing the photo of the loaf of bread our trusty old machine churned out this week. Made in exactly the same way as usual, it beats all previous rising records.
We started using a machine to bake our bread about five years ago.  A Panasonic SD-256 had been my on my wish list for a long while having read a review by the Good Housekeeping Institute, but the price tag kept it out of the kitchen cupboard.
Then out of the blue my parents bought me an Argos Cookworks bread machine (no link available) for Christmas and away we went (and wastelines too). The machine came with a handy little recipe book, and we tried them all until we settled down to a few favourite recipes.

Although very basic the Cookworks machine really is a great little workhorse. We lost the paddle for it for a couple of years – it eventually turned up in our son’s bedroom drawer ((??)) – so in the interim we bought a cheap replacement, but that eventually burnt out so back we went to the Cookworks.

So what do we make in the bread machine?

On average we bake about three loaves of  bread a week (every day when we’re snowed in). It also makes the dough to make home made rolls that we eat with bowls of wholesome soup. I love the fact that you can make standard, quick or rapid loaves - handy when we’ve run out of bread and need a loaf for the table in just over an hour.

We also make white, brown or wholemeal loaves, depending upon circumstance.

Homemade pizza is on our menu every fortnight or so - a doubled up portion of dough will make three 45cm (18″) pizzas – great when we have a house full of children as the pizzas can be custom built.

Our recent favourite however is the Focaccia. Mr Greenside Up was cheeky enough to ask me if I’d been to the bakery the first time I put it on the table as “it looks so professional”. 



(apologies for picture quality – taken on phone)

Containing three tablespoons of olive oil it’s a bit on the naughty side (only if you eat the whole loaf on your own I guess) but it’s very adaptable.

The machine makes the dough and we add the toppings.

It could be as simple as pesto spread over the top (as in picture) or a bit more elaborate with sprigs of rosemary, sun dried tomatoes, sea salt and olives. Whichever way we choose, if it’s sitting on the bread board when the children walk in from school,it won’t be there 20 minutes later!

Sometime I roll it into a round pizza shape for equal shares (important for children that nobody gets more than them), or when it’s for adults it tends to be more of an igledy pigledy shape that we tear and share.
Have I convinced any purists? As much as I love the idea of the therapeutic qualities of kneading bread I don’t think I’d ever find the time to make it from scratch. This way we get to eat great tasting loaves without the hassle.
I’d love to hear whether others bake their own and their methods…
… and if anybody wants the recipe for the bread machine Focaccia, just leave a comment below.

Broad beans – a great crop for beginners – hardy with a good success rate

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Broad Beans (Vicia Faba) are not usually available in supermarkets so home grown pods are often the first many of us will ever try.

It’s the beans that are nestled inside the velvety pods that are usually eaten, although young beans that are no thicker than a finger can be cooked in their pods.

Larger beans must be shelled before they’re cooked, and can then be eaten hot or cold.
Big mature beans should be shelled and after they’ve boiled, the tough outer skin removed and the small beanlet inside can be mashed with butter (you’d need the patience of a saint to do that very often!). We usually dish them up with dinner and remove the beanlets ourselves.
We’ve always grow Broad Beans in our garden as three of us love to eat them cooked (I usually steam them) and the two girls love them raw.
They’re a very easy first veg to grow and ideal for beginners. They’re also very hardy and most varieties can be sown outside from October/November or February to April.
They germinate at much lower temperatures than most other vegetables and we tend to sow them here in or around February, depending upon conditions, making them our first legume crop (pea/bean) of the year.

We usually plant the seeds straight into the soil about 2.5 cm (1″) deep but they can be started off in modules in December, ready to plant out in February. It’s also a good idea to place stakes around the perimeter of the crop which will help to prevent the stems snapping in the wind (they’ll support each other).

Broad beans like well-dug, previously manured soil so are an ideal crop to follow potatoes. Once they’ve all been harvested, if they’re disease free chop the stems off at soil level and compost, leaving the nitrogen fixing roots in the soil to benefit the brassica type crops (cabbages etc) that might follow them.


Things to watch out for ……. if you plant broad beans in the Spring, one day you may wander into your garden and find that the tops of them are covered in blackfly, who adore their sweet flavour. Sometimes just spraying them hard with the hose is enough to remove them, or pinching off the tops of the plants as soon as you notice the little black aphids.  A garlic spray works wonders on them too but will have to be repeated regularly.

We try to encourage beneficial insects into our garden that will prey on the predatory aphids, but hoverfly and ladybird larvae never seem to be around at this time of year when we need them!

Chocolate spot …… this is a disease that’s particular to broad beans and one we’ve suffered on every crop grown here. It is what it says … chocolate coloured spots that appear on the leaves, and then spread to the stems, flowers and pods, potentially leading to the plant’s death.

It’s caused by a fungus (Botrytis fabae) that thrives in damp, humid air and can overwinter on the remains of previously infected plants. For this reason it’s a good idea to get rid of old, infected plants rather than composting them. The good news is that it usually affects the pods last of all so whilst they remain unaffected (or infected), they’re still fine to eat.

Spacing the plants well -about 25cm between each plant – will help with air circulation and may prevent or delay infection.

So why not give Broad Beans a chance? They’re a great crop for grow your own newbies as their success rate is high, which all helps in raising the confidence levels.

KLCK – a ‘real life’ bloggers network group

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Kildare, Laois, Carlow Kilkenny Bloggers Network

I love to write about growing vegetables, cooking them and anything else that pops into my head come to that, but even more so since I’ve been attending the KLCK Bloggers Network meetings.

Set up in 2010 by Lorna Sixsmith of Garrendennylane Lane, an online home, gift and lifestyle store and Amanda Webb of Spiderworking.com, social media business expert, (both pictured below) the group has been growing in number from month to month.

On the first Monday of each month a bunch of enthusiasts meet up in a hotel somewhere in Kildare, Laois, Carlow or Kilkenny to discuss and hear advice on various blogging related topics. 

Whether it’s video, photo or written work, WordPress, Blogger or Flickr, all subjects are (or will be) covered. It doesn’t matter either whether you’re a complete novice or an expert, everybody is there to help each other.

Sadly I missed the December meet up at The Seven Oaks in Carlow due to the snow, but luckily Hedgehog Productions were filming (so Mr Greenside Up can now see for himself that we’re not all sitting around drinking cups of tea).

So if you’re living in the vacinity, keep an eye on the meeting dates and come along and join us. The next meet up is in Portlaoise on the 7th February from 7.00 till 9.00pm.

We might all be a bit shy to start (some of us may be more familiar with our keypads than people), but it’s a great way of meeting our online friends and colleagues and putting faces to names, and of course, sharing a cup of tea when we’re finished.

Growing Vegetables in Containers – a great way to start the year

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Not all of us are blessed (depending upon your point of view) with lots of land to grow vegetables at home, and there may not be an allotment near by.

The UK has a great scheme called Landshare created in 2009 by River Cottage, now with over 57,000 members, and it’s starting to catch on here Landshare in Ireland.

However, many who have the space, may not feel they have the time to grow their own, particularly when veg can be picked up reasonably cheaply in supermarkets.



We all have reasons for not growing our own food but if it’s something you’ve been thinking of having a go at this year, (like Marie Ennis-O’Connor) there may be a solution …

almost all vegetables can be grown in containers – as few or as many as suits your lifestyle.


In fact if you’re new to growing veg, having planters around your door or balcony might be just what you need to get you started. Once you’ve experienced the pleasures of harvesting your own food and eating it, who knows what’ll happen next!

So how do you go about it?


1. Start with reliable, quick growing veg that you like to eat…..

  • Not essential but when looking through seed packets, look for varieties of vegetables that have been specifically bred to be grown in containers.
  • choose what you like to eat: rocket, radish or mixed lettuce, cherry tomatoes or baby carrots, peas or salad potatoes can easily be grown outside a sunny door.
  • Bamboo or hazel canes can be decoratively tied in your container for growing mangetout, peas or runner beans.
  • If you’re pushed for time, buy some ready grown plants from a garden centre and plant them straight into your containers for instant gratification!
  • Look out for the label CCU (Cut and Come Again), more common with varieties of lettuce. This means you can take a few leaves off each plant when you need them rather than harvesting the whole plant.



2. Use large containers – the bigger the better.

They’ll hold water for longer and therefore the compost will not dry out as quickly.

If you’re on a tight budget and can’t afford to buy new containers, keep your eyes peeled for items that can be recycled.

Old tyres, baths, toilets and sinks have all been used to grow plants in. Thick plastic ‘laundry bags’ are great for growing potatoes, or brush up on your woodwork skills and have a go at making your own window boxes and planters (you don’t need expensive power tools highlighted in this clip, a hand saw will do).

3. Drainage. Lack of drainage can cause as many problems as lack of water

Water must be able to escape from the container so its important to ensure there’s adequate drainage. Most shop bought containers already have holes in them, or marks where you can punch the holes out. If you’re making do you may need to make holes in your bag or container near the base (a masonry drill set at slow speed will work on earthenware, place tape on the surface before drilling).


Once you have holes in your container you can add ‘crocks’ to the base. We save all our broken cups, mugs and plates for this purpose, and are often reminded of old favourites when we clean them out again.

If you haven’t got anything broken to hand, a layer of washed gravel or chippings works well. Placing crocks over the holes will stop the compost from blocking the hole, and if you’re lucky enough to have some zinc mesh, cut to size this can be placed over the holes and then the crocks added, which will help to prevent critters burrowing back into your pots.


4. Potting mix

I’ve successfully grown vegetables in multipurpose compost and grow bags but being ‘soiless’ and peat based they dry out quickly and as highlighted by Gardeners World, contribute significantly to global warming. Peat free organic alternatives are now a readily available alternative but are generally more expensive.


Many gardeners swear by potting mixes that are John Innes based. These have been devised at the The John Innes Centre and each have different component mixes. They’re loam (soil) based with different quantities of loam, limestone and peat, depending upon their usage. So, for example, John Innes Seed Compost is for growing seedlings, and John Innes No 1 more suitable for slow growing plants or tiny spring seedlings. No 2 is the general multi-purpose compost but No 3, a stronger mix, would be ideal for strong growers such as tomatoes, or sweet peas.


Whichever potting mix you choose, or is available to you, it’s important that its fresh and disease free. Buy your compost from a supplier that has a fast turnover and when you get it home, once opened it’s recommended to store it in a plastic bag in a frost free place. Always use fresh compost for seedlings, or they can suffer a disease called damping off (where they just flop over and die).


Why use compost rather than garden soil?

Garden soil will vary in it’s pH (acidity/alkalinity), is likely to contain weed seeds, may container disease spores and will vary in its nutrient levels.


Finally on this point, and just to take any confusion away, the compost created on a heap in your garden is different from the compost that you buy in a bag.


5. Watering 

Container plants will require regular watering, and if it’s a particularly hot summer that could mean up to twice a day.

There are a few things you can do to ease this burden.

  • Set up an irrigation system. Simple drip feed irrigation kits are now readily available, and getting cheaper every year.
  • Look out for window boxes that contain built in reservoirs.
  • Stand plants on trays lined with capillary mats or wet sand.

6. Feeding.

Generally, potting mixture contains enough nutrients to last a few months. However if you notice a check in growth, or you’ve planted particularly ‘hungry’ feeders in your containers, liquid seaweed is full of nutrients and trace elements and can be watered into the soil in the containers.

Anything else to watch out for?

We have a cat who LOVES to sleep in containers full of lovely, warm compost, not caring a hoot whether it has tiny little carrot seedlings growing in it!

(This post was inspired by Marie Ennis O’Connor mentioned above who tweeted @JBBC that she’d love to grow veg but was worried about the time constraints… Hopefully it will help anyone with similar concerns.)

Winning Ticket!

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I’m just sending a big THANK YOU to Nessa who has a great blog over at Nessa’s Family Kitchen.

Nessa shares lots of well written family recipes with lovely photo’s and runs occasional competitions too. 

Today her boys pulled my name out of the hat and I’m now eagerly awaiting delivery of Rachel Allen’s Entertaining at Home Cookbook….. so look out neighbours and friends, you know who you are….!