Back to the Home Land.

This week I took a much needed trip back to the family homestead, to see the Irish Mammy and a few of the assorted aunties and most importantly, the Great Aunt. It was a quick trip home, only getting home after blagging myself off early in work. (Budget Day and going out for dinner, not two things that generally go hand in hand) One of the best things that I find about going home to visit, especially the last few months, has been all of the beautiful food that has been growing in my parents garden. Everything from the biggest courgettes I've ever seen, to a massive chilli pepper plant in the green house, their garden has absolutely flourished this year.



Growing things is something that I loved as a young child. I had begging my parents for years to grow tomatoes, even to get chickens, as my cousins just across the road had a large green house and garden, with chickens, that was put into my care for two weeks of the summer every year. This was back when Irish summers were long, hot and balmy, and some of my fondest memories are of putting the chickens into the coop at dusk and that distinctive smell of tomato plant leaves as I was watering the green house. I think it was these good memories that gave me my love for natural produce, organic and home grown! However, it was a couple of years until my parents actually did go after and convert some of our garden into a kitchen garden. What started out as one box has steadily grown into three planter boxes, a green house, a hedge grow of pea's and bean's and a large row of raspberry bushes. They even had a sunflower that had forty blooms this year! If that's not a record, I'll be very surprised!

After a very severe rain all morning, the sun came out just in time for me to take some pictures! This particular trip home I got the largest courgette I've ever seen, which was used for pickling, some beautiful beetroot's, which will be used for hummus in a later recipe, some chilli peppers, which have gone into the freezer to be made into chilli oil later on, and some apples which actually came from a patient of Irish Mammy who couldn't pick them himself, which were made very successfully into a crumble.





As much as I would love my own garden in Dublin, it just isn't possible. Having very little space is a huge problem, as is not knowing if you will be living in the same house come June! However, for my birthday, the house mates bought me a little magic bean which I have since planted and is growing happily on my window sill. What it will be, I'm not really sure, but for now, I'm just happy to have a little bit of outdoor inside with me!