Picking our Veg for our Christmas Feast!

This year for our Christmas Feast we decided to use as many vegetables as we could from Helen's Bay Community Garden. Not only were they free, except for the work and effort we put into them, but they also taste that much better because they are so incredibly fresh and were grown in a mineral rich soil. 

On the first few pictures you can see that we're in the polytunnel, harvesting the remains of our fennel crop, some swiss chard and one tiny turnip! 

Now most of the crop had been picked beforehand and there wasn't much left in the polytunnel for christmas, but we will try to be better organized next year and have more things growing in the winter, especially winter greens like spinach and rocket. But at least we had some lovely fennel and swiss chard for our Christmas Duck. And one turnip...

However, in the fields the situation was quite different as there were many brussels sprouts to pick. Brussels Sprouts are incredibly important to us, not just for Christmas and because it's tradition, but more because they're such an amazing vegetable. They're easier to grow than regular cabbages and we find them a lot more versatile to cook with. It's always such a great feeling to pick the fat and glorious sprouts which look like green gems growing on a miniature tree. 

And then at the top of the cane, as the sprouts get smaller, you get these tiny little sprouts which we use like peas and are just so sweet and tasty and look beautiful in every dish. Finally, on the top of the plant you get the crown, a small cabbage or a big brussels sprout, depending on your point of view! We cook this part like cabbage, often slow cooked and with bacon and onions. Hmmm, so good! You can see AC in the picture below holding one of the tops.

Anyway, we think that brussels sprouts should be eaten not only for Christmas, but during the whole period from November to January when they're in season. We always find them such a versatile ingredient, as we use them in curries, ramen soups, Italian pasta dishes....the list could go on and on. They're a very healthy veg too and contain many minerals, and they are great in soups for those health conscious readers among you!

Picking our own veg for our Christmas feast was a real joy, a break from buying presents and seeing relatives, just enjoying ourselves in nature and foraging the fruits of our labour. What more could you want!? And I think we all learned that we should grow more and eat more brussels sprouts, in many different ways, and appreciate them for the great little veggies that they are.