Eating in February

A few leeks with celery behind, Mar 2019

My food totals for February were pretty slim this year!  It's not a busy time for gardening certainly, though we have still been eating our own food albeit from our stores of preserves.  There's still dried chard and dried herbs--we just finished the homemade, homegrown (basil and garlic anyway) frozen pesto, we've cracked open the salsa which tastes more like chutney;  I've been drinking the cider (the husband says it's too sour--what does he know!), and the son has been going through the jars of applesauce and dried apple chips.  And our fresh salads have been enlivened by the pickled beetroot, used sparingly (to make it last, of course).

Egg production did pick up for February, and we've doubled the flock with six new rescues--they are not laying an egg a day unfortunately, but we're getting two or three from them.  I have a feeling they may be older than the usual rescue age of 18 months, as these birds lay huge eggs.  They get a pass, however, as they need to build up their strength and regrow those feathers too.

As for fresh food, it's mainly celery and salad greens now, though the chard is putting out some last minute growth in preparation for flowering.  Rest assured I'll be harvesting it all, and will again dry what we don't eat fresh.  The purple sprouting broccoli and spring cabbages are getting there, but probably need another month;  there are two big heads of cabbage regrowth however which might be ready in a few weeks.  The leeks are still small, as is the kale, and there are maybe two more meals from the Brussels sprouts (including the tops).  I think I need to focus more on my brassicas for next winter;  now that I've got the allotment I'll have more room for them.