Down on the Allotment

Matron grows vegetables and fruit in a Hampshire garden. I've been growing veggies since I was knee high to a grasshopper. Some traditional varieties and old favourites as well as new ideas. I share my garden with my allotment assistant Daisy the Labrador. On Twitter as @MatronsVeggies

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Seattle's Best Coffee!

Americans have laws against driving your car whilst speaking on a handheld mobile phone (quite right!) but they have no law against drinking a boiling hot coffee! All over the state you have drive-thru coffee huts. Actually, in Seattle you cannot just order 'May I have a cup of coffee please?'.. No!... that will be a 'Latte Grande, two shots, Columbian beans, 2% milk, with vanilla syrup and a biscotti to go please' Whilst in Washington State I had the pleasure of furthering my studies by visiting Wolf Haven - a rescue and study center for Grey Wolves and a breeding programme for the rare Mexican Wolves and Red Wolves. The staff informed us that they might be a little sad when we visited last Saturday as one of their oldest wolves had just that night passed away at the old age of fifteen. We had only been in the grounds for 5 minutes when all 50 of these wolves began to HOWL! I was treated to a full 5 minutes of the most musical and heart-wrenching experience!
Meanwhile back at home my purple podded peas have made good progress growing in their loo rolls (I know how the SAGBUTTS love it when I call them that!) they will be ready to plant out soon.
The shallots Pikant which I saved from last year are doing really well in their modules. They have been hardening off outside for a couple of weeks and are ready to plant out now.
Today I uncovered my blanched rhubarb. Part of this patch have been covered with a black dustbin to exclude light, and the resulting stalks are sweet and tasty. The stems now are becoming a lighter colour and much thinner so I will leave them to grow on naturally now. Compare them to the crown on the right of the picture which has grown uncovered.
Here, just picked, washed and then chopped and cooked in the microwave with a spoon of sugar. Garden to tummy in 10 minutes!
Sweet, tender and delicious!

8 Comments:

At 8:56 PM, Blogger Dan said...

That is one beautiful coffee house structure. We mainly have Tim Hortons here for drive-thru coffee. I've pretty much gone off store coffee in place of homemade because I am cheap but have been one of the dummies waiting in a drive-thru line for 15 minutes or more previously.

Your shallots look amazing. I just started some shallots from the grocery store and they have just started to sprout. The rhubarb looks really tasty, I am just going to head out now and cover mine. Looks like a worth while experiment.

 
At 12:12 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Heh heh, you did see some funny stuff here. Yes, we are ridiculous with our coffee rituals. Not ever really having started to drink it until recently, I am equally bewildered by the ordering process. How many ounces of coffee do I need? Not very many, but you can't just order "a small." Not everywhere over here has the cell phone rule, but it seems like a good one to expand. Love the loo rolls, you are right about that! And congrats on your "babies" surviving your absence. Was your dog happy to see you (duh)? That's really something about the wolves!

 
At 6:30 AM, Blogger Gardeness said...

Ahh, how we do love our coffee. Hard to believe it all started in a basement somewhere. It was so lovely to meet your. It looks like you had a full visit during your stay. Those wolves are gorgeous. It must be great being home ... and returning to all those goodies.

 
At 6:36 AM, Blogger Carrie said...

Wow, boiling hot coffee on one's lap just couldn't make for good driving!

That choir of Wolves must have been some experience. One you'll never forget I'mm sure.

Your plants behaved themselves very well in your absence. The rhurbarb has been a particular success. Enjoy x

 
At 9:59 AM, Blogger Green thumb said...

Quite interesting! May be the logic is that engaging your Ears and Brains in a Cell Phone conversation is a more distracting activity than is the divine indulgence of the taste buds with a cuppa hot coffee.
A word of caution though: Drinking Hot Coffee while on drive can be injurious for you lap!

 
At 4:36 PM, Blogger Kath said...

Your peas are looking good. I've just planted out my first 2 lots of tall peas. (Actually, one lot is my F1 hybrids so they might even turn out not-so-tall!)

 
At 4:45 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

sounds like the trip went well. We are a bit crazy about our coffee over here. The northwest is really nuts about it.

 
At 5:56 AM, Anonymous kitsapfg said...

Another pacific northwest Washingtonian here... coffee is definitely a part of our culture here.

The blanched rhubarb looks right tasty!

 

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