Tuesday 17 April 2012

Some buys from Wilkos

Good old Wilkos. Picked up some garden stuff. Leah spotted the last redcurrant cane, which we snapped up. I've mostly stayed away from their plants as they usually look quite ropey but this was a good looking plant with quite a bit of growth on it. I don't get it that you go into shops and they don't look after the plants, they must have someone working there who is a gardener and can spot when plants need watering. It's like when I go in Hobbycraft, alot of the staff don't really know much about the stuff they are selling, how can they advise you on what to buy if they have no crafting knowledge. Anyway, I digress. I like Wilkos for their gardening stuff, got some extra pots and a few trays for the young plants that are residing in the kitchen and various rooms in the house.

Also got a cloche which is a bit long for my beds but I'm improvising. Leah and I planted out her 3 largest corn babies that have been living in the growhouse for the past week, we also planted her mexican hat seedlings and sowed some nastursium seeds and then put them to bed under the cloche. I'm hoping I haven't got ahead of myself, fingers crossed they will be fine (held back 4 little corn just in case, not wanting to put all our eggs in one basket).

Have now sown a few pots of herbs. I never used to be a big fan of herbs. I've had a rosemary bush for a couple of years now, goes great with garlic in my signature bread (what my friends call "Maggie bread"). Last year I bought a thyme plant which gets well used, never been that enamoured with other herbs, until..... The other week, when we went to Wahacca, Dave had a meal with green rice which was amazing. Tried to find the recipe online but no joy. Happened to find the recipe in Thomasina Miers book (Mexican food made simple) and bought the book, though I'd promised myself not to buy anymore books for a while as I have so many. Cooked it today, it is amazing and fills the house with the most delicious smell. I'm going to share the recipe here

Green Rice

400g basmati rice
1 small clove of garlic
1 small onion
2 large handfuls of coriander
a large bunch of parsley
4 tablespoons of olive oil
600ml chicken or veg stock
salt and pepper

Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear.
Whiz the garlic, onion and greens in a food processor with a splash of water and half the oil until you have a thick green puree. Heat the remaining oil in a saucepan and when hot, add the puree and fry gently for 5 mins stirring so as not to burn.
Add the rice and stil well to combine. Pour in the stock and simmer for about 15mins until most of the liquid has been absorbed. I used a saucepan that can be put in the oven and just put foil over the top them put the lid on so it was tight and put in the oven (120o/gas 1) for 30mins to finish cooking.
Season to taste.

This was a huge hit with all but Leah (not a rice fan) and have now sown coriander and parsley

1 comment:

  1. You can't beat Wilko's for value - I buy quite a lot of stuff from there - some looks a bit worse for wear sometimes - but with a little TLC is comes good in the end. That dish you made sounds yum.

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