In praise of green…

Ireland is famous for it’s greenness…there is even an old song that mentions Ireland’s 40 shades of green. We may complain about our weather…all that rain can be wearing…but it is that very rain that makes Ireland the lush, green place it is.

Green is such an important colour…it is the colour most often accociated with Nature and being in the countryside. It is the colour of the heart chakra and is in the middle of the colour spectrum. It holds the balance between the red, hot end of the colour spectrum, and blue, the cold end of the colour spectrum.

Green is soothing and helps to reduce feelings of turmoil and negativity. Everyone feels better after a walk in a cool green forest.

Tourists are drawn to Ireland because of the slow pace of life here, away from the city anyway, maybe it is the predominance of green that helps people to chill out and have time to stop and chew the fat (chat). 

What can be more soothing to a person’s soul than gazing into the green canopy of a beautiful tree…even if the sky behind is grey!

Green food is full of vitamins and minerals which help to keep our bodies in balance. “One of the causes of heart disease is a diet low in the antioxidant vitamins C and E and beta-carotene. Green leafy vegetables are a particularly rich source of these.” Secrets of Colour Healing by Stephanie Norris.

The old adage “Eat your greens” was very sensible advice indeed…

Beetroot Mania!

 

Since reading up on the benefits of Beetroot we have decided to juice some and have a shot of it every day for the next week. Interesting that it’s so good for the blood and  being the same colour too. I listed all the vitamins and minerals in the previous post if you’re interested. Looks a bit like a bloodbath when you’re juicing it plus my juicer has developed a leak too so twas a bit messy. Luckily I have another juicer so this one is going to the recycling centre.

 

 

Andy mixed his shot with some Grapefruit juice. I mixed mine with a Banana, Strawberries and soya milk to make a smoothie. Delicious…kept me going for the day. I’m working up to drinking it neat!

Being in a beetrooty frame of mind I decided to make the Beetroot and Chocolate Cake I mentioned in my last post.

To make it you need: 8ozs self-raising flour, 1 oz cocoa powder, pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 4 ozs caster sugar, 4 ozs raw beetroot, peeled and grated, 3 ozs dark chocolate, melted, 3 ozs butter, melted, 2 eggs, beaten.

Set the oven to Gas 4, 180 c. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Stir in the sugar, beetroot, melted chocolate and melted butter. Turn into tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

 

 

After I had started to mix the cake I realised did’nt have any chocolate…I went ahead anyway and used an extra egg and a bit more butter which worked fine.

 

It’s amazing how someone always turns up when you’ve baked a cake. This one was cooling when our neighbours called in. Kettle on…tea and coffee…chat…and a freshly baked cake. It was still slightly warm but it was devoured anyway. No one could guess the secret ingredient…even with knowing it was hard to tell the cake contained beetroot. There’s still lots more Beetroot in the polytunnel  so I’m off to seek out a few more recipes!  

 

Sunday Ramblings from Prospect Cottage.

View from the back door.

 The weather this month has been extraordinary. Fluctuating between wet and dry weather but always so mild…springlike actually. The pic above was taken yesterday…very low cloud on Corry Mountain making the wind turbines invisible. I spent 2 hours in the garden…weeding and tidying up. It was too warm for a coat!

Japenese Anemones.

 Japenese Anemones continue to produce flowers. Be careful where you plant these as they are impossible to remove and spread like crazy. I thought I had dug them all up from this corner of one of the veg beds…but no…they came back with a vengeance again this year. Any little bit of root produces a new plant…a bit like Bindweed.

In the polytunnel the Peach tree has dropped most of it’s leaves…making a bright splash of yellow for a short time. I will enjoy this colour for a little while before collecting the leaves for the compost.

The Grapevine too will soon be bare. In the kitchen above the stove the last of the grapes are bubbling away… hopefully a nice wine will result.

There is still lots of Beetroot to be harvested in the polytunnel. I have made lots of Beetroot Chutney and tried Borscht for the first time earlier this week…delicious. Beetroot is said to have health enhancing properties and contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, C, E, K plus calcium, mangenese, potassium, iron, copper, phosphorus, sodium, zinc and selenium. It does’nt have to be eaten from a bath of cheap vinerar only. It is delicious roasted…can be grated over salads…makes great soup…and can even be used in cakes. I have a recipe for Chocolate and Beetroot Cake which I intend to make this week. I’m also going to juice some…I’ve had Beetroot juice in the past…it’s very sweet. Beetroot is said to provide more oxygen to the blood. So there you go…the humble easy to grow Beetroot is really a superfood.

Finally a look at where I do my blogging from…the front porch looks out onto our front field and beyond that to Sliabh an Iriann (the Iron Mountain)which is shrouded in heavy mist today. A comfy chair…bookshelves to my right…I like to check info before I put it out there. Laptop on desk in front of radiator…cushy. Looking out on our little world whilst communicating with the big wide world out there. Lovin it!