Happy Friday!
The Derry Girls are right – a boycott won’t change Northern Ireland abortion law.
Brexiters beware: Donald Trump will trample all over our sovereignty. This, so much this…
Want to tackle inequality? Then first change our land ownership laws. I should also note that I know one of the authors of the report talked about here, but that’s not why it’s important.
A Middle East Peace Plan Built on Un-American Principles. It won’t work, not because it’s based on un-American principles but because it won’t address the elephant in the room. Which is that it won’t apply a stick to Israel. They get away with it and they keep getting away with it and so they’ll carry on doing it. It being violating international law, ignoring UN resolutions and putting Palestinians in what is effectively a ghetto. Because that always works well.
Why you want oysters and a salt marsh between you and a hurricane
‘I’m such a big fan of the menstrual cycle!’ – the women asking whether it’s possible to have a better period.. I’m not a huge fan of the menstrual cycle….
Too Many People Want to Travel. Apparently we shouldn’t worry too much and it’ll all work out. Seriously? Look I live in a city inundated with tourists, at the moment we are doing that thing where US schools are out and ours aren’t and then European schools are bringing all their kids over for a school trip. Ealing is currently awash with stylishly dressed but completely obnoxious groups of Italian kids milling about in front of entrances and staircases (I don’t know why they are all Italian, they just are!). Mostly I get it, it’s the price of London, and I love my city and wouldn’t deprive anyone of the chance to see it. But 1 billion flights a year? Come on, London’s pollution is bad enough and I live on a flight path. I know not all 1 billion flights are going to go over my head but that much air travel cannot be good for the planet. And for those keeping up, I last few to Strasbourg in 2015 and all my holidays since Washington have been in the UK, so on this one I am walking the walk….
The Myth That Babies Look More Like Their Dads. I think this is hilarious because no-one ever said that Ben or I looked like Dad. Loads of people say that B looks like our maternal grandfather, but no-one has ever said we look like Dad. To the point that when I was 15 a complete stranger, who knew Ma but had never met me or seen a picture of me, asked me if I was her daughter…
Funnily enough, Ma has always looked like Grandad’s family, I have a picture of my great-grandmother (Grandad’s mum) that people have thought was her but there is also a picture of my Grandma, that really looks like my mum. For B, he has one kid that is the image of Lu but with his colouring (Oli) and one that looks like him but with Lu’s colouring (Joe) and J looks like Ben did when he was a three not like he is now. Genetics are funny. I also have a friend with adopted children and one of them looks like his Grandad, which I really have to try hard not to comment on. Maybe we all begin to look like each other…
It’s that time of the year when I plant all the things out and then worry. After last week’s great planting out, there where some plants that didn’t cope. I’m not sure about some of the cukes, two of the squash definitely aren’t going to make it but much to my surprise all of the summer squash seem to be ok and the celery is really happy!
It was hot on Saturday and I had a funny turn with my breathing. So we watered, picked, pulled up some weeds and put a net over the blueberries.
We’re at that point where all we have to do is water, maintain and wait for the food.
There are more flowers this week, the verbena boneriesis, the lavender, chives and the peas are all flowering along with the ever present california poppies.
Saturday was the Champions League Final. We have a family draw and the family WhatsApp group looked a lot like this. Folks, this is my family and it explains so much.
and I bought a black currant bush
It was a pretty normal week!
This is based on a recipe from River Cottage Veg Every Day, which is one of my favourite cook books for inspiration. The original recipe is spinach and ricotta, but says that you can use goats cheese instead. I find for putting greens in things, chard is better as it doesn’t need to have the water squeezed out of it when it’s cooked. The pastry for this is inspired, it’s stretchy to work with but once baked lovely and tender.
First up say hello to the summer squash! This is on Joe’s plot. Three yellow courgettes, four green courgettes, 3 crookneck squash. Yes, that’s a lot of squash. The first year I had the allotment, I had six courgette plants and one week an amazing 37 courgettes. I’ve never grown as many since and we’ve only ever sown one crookneck squash which has always been sufficient for our needs. So I am aware that we’re going to be swimming in summer squash. However, the plan is that Ma and I will water, feed and weed this area but Joe can take as many as he likes and there is a list of people willing to take on excess courgette, we can give some away for the produce sale and I quite like gluts. I want to make pickle, I can freeze grated squash for cakes and sauces and 
Something we don’t feel that we’ve ever had enough of is cucumbers. This is the cucumber bed five Boothbys Blonde, three Marketmore, the gherkins didn’t make it!
We also sowed the french beans and the sweetcorn and I’ll sow dill, coriander and marigolds next week. Finally I planted out the five surviving celery plants in the bed with the sweet peas
We weeded (obvs), topped up the potatoes cleared the chard bed, picked broad beans and watered loads. Then sat with a glass of wine and admired our little plot. 
So the trick is to freeze a bottle of wine and take the frozen wine to the plot in a rapid ice. By the time you’ve stopped work, you have some really cold defrosted wine. Seriously, best thing ever…
Other good things are that another of lovely my allotment neighbours says that this year she’ll give me a boysenberry plant and some strawberry babies for next year. So my soft fruit empire plans have changed but will grow!
Happy Tuesday! If you have a office job and are in the UK (or the US), you’ve had Monday off work and today is your Monday and it’s a four day week, so it’s the week that should feel shorten but you have to fit all your work into four days AND it’s half term here so the office is a ghost town as lots of parents are on leave to look after their offspring.
Nic Dempsey 