Garden week of 4th July

Garden has gone crazy with all the sunshine and rain this past couple of weeks! I can barely believe the plants I have now are the same little seedlings that I photographed 1 month ago!

Currently maturing are turnips, fennel, kale, cauliflower,

broccoli, spinach, lettuce, broad beans, mange tout and cucumbers!

Have had to set seed beds up behind the greenhouse to try and grow more plants to fill in the gaps where I am harvesting from!

Fingers crossed there are no signs of the butterflies yet and the c

age seems to be keeping them out!

Beetroot, fennel, turnip and feta salad

• 1 packet feta cheese
• 3-4 small raw (unpickled) beetroot
• 1 fennel bulb
• 1 small turnip
• 1 bulb garlic
• assorted salad leaves
• cucumber and spring onion if desired

Peel the garlic bulbs and leave whole. Chop up beetroot into small wedges (about 8 from each root), and chop turnip up into same size wedges, cut fennel longway down centre and then peel each leaf off bit by bit until you get to the heart. Put all in a foil tray and drizzle with oil and balsamic vinegar. Put in an oven about 180C for 1hr until soft or cook on a hot BBQ.

Put assorted leaves into a bowl and pour hot roasted veg and all juices over. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and serve.

Lime and ginger cheesecake with a bitter chocolate top

For biscuit base

• 1 packet ginger biscuits
• 1 packet hob nobs
• 4 tablespoons melted butter

For cheesecake

• 900g cream cheese (full fat versions)
• 340g caster sugar (1.5 cups)
• 37g cornflour (1/4 cup)
• 3 limes (zested and squeezed)
• 1 knob ginger grated
• 2 large eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 120ml double cream

For chocolate top

• 100g dark chocolate (70% or above)
• 1 knob of ginger, grated
• 25g unsalted butter
• 120ml double cream

Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Put a tray or pan of water in the bottom of the oven.

Get a 9inch springform cake tin and grease bottom and all round sides.

Crush biscuits with a rolling pin or in a food processor and add butter. Pour into cake tin and smooth out and press down by patting to make a solid base.

In a mixing bowl mix cream cheese and sugar together beat for about 3 minutes until smooth, add cornflour and mix again till smooth. Add lime zest, lime juice, grated ginger, eggs and egg whites slowly and keep beating throughout until smooth. Add the cream and beat just enough until smooth and fluffy, do not overbeat at this point. Pour batter into springform pan and bake for 60-70 mins until golden on top.

Remove from oven and leave to cool (it will sink, do not panic!!)

Once cooled, if you want a nice tidy top, use a very sharp knife and cut of the raised edge to make the top flat.

Then make up the chocolate top. Heat the cream and butter gently in a pan (do not boil) and add the chocolate and ginger. Stir until combined. Then spread across top of cheesecake for form a good thick top layer (the butter stops the chocolate from setting solid so can still be cut).