It’s all kicking off in my new veg patch at the moment. After a slow and uncertain start, everything seems to have had a burst of energy and become very productive. Which is great as there’s something amazing about picking your own veggies then eating them still full of vitality and flavour.
A new veg patch is always a steep learning curve. Old faithfuls from previous gardens may not flourish in different soils, areas and (in our case) countries. My new raised beds were built at the end of last year by my long suffering husband who has now created me four veggie growing areas in four different homes! Yet another reason I have declared we are not moving again for another 20 years…..We used a mix of materials to fill them and bought a lot of peat-free compost from the local garden centre. Whilst much better for the environment, this type of compost does dry out quite quickly, creating a hard crust on the surface. This seems to make it harder for seedlings to pop through. And requires more watering. Which is not so good for the environment either.
We now have six compost bins so hopefully next year we will be able to incorporate our own compost into the mix that will help reduce the drying out. In the meantime I’ve been mulching with cut grass. A light layer seems to do the trick, adding extra nitrogen into the soil as it breaks down. And if there’s one thing we have a lot of, it’s cut grass!
It seems the grass mulch is what’s kick-started the abundant growth – particularly with the sugar snap peas and mange tout. And taught me an important lesson in succession planting. I planted the seeds out at the same time, unsure of how well they’d sprout. Too well 😉 We are over run with pods and beans all ready for picking at the same time. Next year I will leave a gap for sure. This glut has also meant I’ve needed to create some new recipes. Which I’m very happy about as I’d lost my mojo for a little while. These green goodies have definitely helped bring it back to life.
Super fresh sugar snap peas and mange tout are so sweet and crisp, they are wonderful raw in salads. They need little preparation – maybe a trim at the ends and removal of a stringy bit if rather large. But that’s about all. If you are buying yours in the supermarket they may not be as fresh; the older they are, the more stringy and tough they become. So you may need to give them a quick steam for a couple of minutes just to help make them more palatable. Make sure you cool them in cold running water once steamed to stop them cooking any further and to keep their vibrant green hue.
I shared another gorgeous salad featuring sugar snap peas the other day. Today’s recipe is just as tasty but includes some extra plant protein using flageolet beans. And a powerhouse of nutrients in the form of baby kale leaves. Because it’s not just the peas that have gone wild in the veg patch, my kale has too! The smaller leaves are delicious raw as they don’t have a strong sulphur flavour and are not as tough as larger leaves. Much nicer to eat raw that’s for sure.
I’ve often waxed lyrical about the nutrient awesomeness of cruciferous vegetables like kale. To get the best out of them, wash and tear or chop leaves 30 minutes before you want to eat them. This enables to the enzymes that release the nutrients to be released. This makes the beneficial nutrients and phytochemicals bioavailable – ie: ready to absorb. Gorgeous and healthful. The perfect combo!
I’ve used gorgeously creamy avocado mayo to top off this bowl of tastiness. Do remember you need to eat the mayo straight after eating, it oxidises if left hanging around. You could alternatively use lemon herby dressing, elderflower dressing or even watercress pesto for a shock of green.
I hope you enjoy this easy, tasty and super healthy salad. Feel free to sub the veggies with whatever you have to hand. And don’t forget to let me know how you get on.
Baby kale and pea pod salad
Ingredients
Method
- Wash the kale leaves and roughly chop or tear into pieces. Leave to rest for 30 minutes if you can to let the enzymes out to play.
- Wash and dry the other salad leaves and roughly chop or tear.
- Trim the sugar snap peas or mange tout as needed but leave whole or cut in half if too huge.
- Layer up the kale and salad leaves, chopped tomatoes, peas and flageolet beans.
- Prepare the avocado mayo as per recipe. Dollop the mayo over the salad and serve immediately.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
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