Celia Hart's blog about what's going on in and around her studio.
Art, printmaking, inspirations, gardening, vegetables, hens, landscapes, wild flowers, East Anglia, adventure, travel.

Tuesday 30 June 2009

Berry shades

Luscious reds, purples and pinks on lips, cushions and frocks

– and in my garden . . .


And there are berry shades wherever you look this year – Sweetpeas,

lovely to keep cutting every day and filling all my favourite pottery jugs


Even the spuds want to be purple – 'Edzell Blue'

That's as spectacular as those spuds get – I was seduced by the colour again. I forgot that a) I'd grown them before and they were rubbish; and b) Rebsie's review wasn't that enthusiastic about their culinary qualities either. I decided to use Fiona's recipe, in the hope some of the colour would remain – it didn't. They took ages to cook, frustratingly delaying our supper; and they didn't even taste like new potatoes :-) If anyone can suggest a recipe for small very floury potatoes, I'd love to hear from you.


And, before I go, there are a few hours left for you to enter the opening of my online gallery prize draw. Just leave a comment in the guestbook (lots of you have already done so – thank you so much) and tomorrow I'll draw a name from the hat to receive a selection pack of my cards.

Entry for the raffle is now closed - the draw will be made shortly, with the help of my glamorous assistants . . .

18 comments:

  1. It would have to be mini roast potatoes with garlic and rosemary for me - fantastic colour on those spuds!

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  2. Do you not have blueberries? It's been so rainy here that the strawberries are mush and have no flavor.

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  3. Freshly picked, perfectly ripe berries ... what a treat. The closest I get to such treasures is a visit to one of our weekly farmers' green markets held around New York. Great produce, but not quite the same as growing and picking them yourself!

    Best wishes.

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  4. Hi Frewen - like your suggestion, I'll give it a try.

    Hi Terry - Blueberries are becoming more popular here in recent years - but you need to grow them in containers in acid compost and keep them well watered. I prefer to grow the fruit that suits our soil and climate - alkaline soil and relatively dry. But Cliff loves Blueberries, so we might give them a try.

    Hi Frances - the red gooseberries are particularly delicious!

    Celia
    x

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  5. such gorgeous berries! do they hens help you pick them?

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  6. My hens help me pick mine! My grand-daughters are berry addicts and the not-quite-one year old managed to massage a quantity of raspberry into my new dress on Sunday! Bless!

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  7. Celia, the sweet peas are astounding. I think you've convinced me to try something new next year. Or maybe in the fall?

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  8. Stunning post Celia - what gorgeous berries and who doesn't love sweet peas? I can smell them from here x

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  9. You can tell the sort of soil I have here - blueberries grow wild where my lawn meets the woods. I'm hoping we'll get some sun so they'll ripen before they fall off the bushes. What a dark and dreary summer!

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  10. I love the red gooseberries! Could you do mini baked potatoes with the skins rubbed with olive oil and salt?

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  11. The potatoes are lovely. I am afraid I too would want to grow them just for that. Hope you find the needed recipee.
    Lovely blog,
    Kat

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  12. I love the way you have photographed the berries, not only are the berries themselves beautiful but so too is your composition, nice enough to frame as a print.

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  13. Hi Petoskystone - they would if they could, but if they did we wouldn't get to taste any!

    Hi Veg Heaven - you need to invest in a berry coloured dress!

    Hi Ed - you do realise that Sweet Peas are purely decorative. Along with roses, they are the quintessential English summer flower, such a gorgeous colour range and heavenly scent.

    Hi Silverpebble - definitely the flavour and scent of summer!

    Hi Terry - looks like we stole your sunshine!

    Hi Gina - I love dessert gooseberries, and the colour is beautiful.

    Hi kat - welcome to PPPs - I just can't resist purple vegies!

    Hi acornmoon - thank you - I've been trained ;-)


    Celia
    x

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  14. Floury potatoes make excellent fat chips, even if they're small ones. I make mine like roast pots but they taste so much better than oven chips. Par boil for about 5 mins then put into a baking tray with hot olive oil in and some salt. Cook for about 45 mins and you get deeeeeelicious chips! Naughty but nice.

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  15. Hi again, re your comment on my blog you remembered correctly, a croquis is a sketch or representation of an idea for a design which has not been fully realised or put into repeat.

    I think your hens would have made great models and I thought of you when I was designing. Fortunately I had lots of reference material to go at.

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  16. Someone has already suggested roasted with herbs and garlic (whole garlic bulb, that is). The only thing to do with rubbish spuds is steam/boil them with other roots and mash 'em! And remind yourself they are not worth the bother. (Mind you, some of the old purple ones are good.See if you can source the old Maori potato;I think we called it Riwi ? Riwa? Dark blue, loses that colour in cooking and has a "nutty" flavour.Well, I'm going back to late 40s so maybe it's different now!)

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  17. A riot of colour! Eyewatering!

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  18. Wow!

    Love the purple spuds. I bought a bag of these from Waitrose a couple of months ago and they were a bit dissapointing.

    Sad to miss the competition :(

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