Beautiful Jerusalem Artichokes

 Yesterday I made a simple tray bake lunch with some belly pork, onions, garlic and Jerusalem artichokes which were fresh picked from the tub in the garden. I didn't take my camera out into the garden but when I tipped the tub of artichokes out I was delighted to see that they were absolutely jam packed into the tub.  I simply pulled off the ones I wanted and put everything else back into the tub to which I had added a bit more compost. That one tub will feed us for several weeks and I have ten more to work my way through this winter.

I picked just enough for two people

I cut the belly pork into squares and added it to the roasting pan

                                       

It was seasoned well with salt and pepper and roasted  for ten minutes before adding the onions, garlic and Jerusalem artichokes.  The lovely pork fat that was rendered out made the whole dish really tasty and crispy

Quick, simple and utterly delicious but be warned... Jerusalem Artichokes are not known as fartichokes for nothing.

Tony's been off work for the past few weeks and I have really not spent as much time in the garden as I would have liked to so this morning I am taking myself in hand and getting back to normal.

I've just prepared the salad boxes for the next few days and I'm delighted to see how many lovely leafy green veggies I have to add to the salads. I've chopped a couple of apples and added them to the boxes and they add a lovely hint of sweetness.  There's  sprout leaves, Tuscan kale, Florence fennel stalks,  kohl rabbi leaves, stalks and bulbs, radish and their leaves,rainbow chard leaves and stalks, tomatoes from my store and spring onions. I also chopped up some pickled onions that have been languishing in my cupboard and chucked them into the salad.  I intend to add some fresh picked gladioli flowers, celery, mayo and a protein element each day just before serving.  It's nice to get back on track again and lovely wandering around the garden choosing what to add. A couple of weeks ago I planted some peas for shoots and they are just starting to show through the compost. It's going to be a week or two before they are big enough to pick but will make a nice addition to salad boxes.