A Treasure Hunt

The chicken pox is back, but Garden Boy is being brave. Yesterday he wanted to be cuddled all the time so I suspected he was about to break out in spots and when he woke at 5am this morning he was covered in them. But the general feeling of being unwell seems to have disappeared with the arrival of the spots so he has been happy playing for most of the day.

Garden Girl, on the other hand, was feeling hard done by this morning. We always visit a local museum on Fridays to paint, do some craft, dress up and take a look around but due to Garden Boy's chicken pox she had to stay at home. As a result we have been sticking and gluing for much of the day, making a sequin bookmark and an alien card with googly eyes.

After we had glued our fingers together and made ourselves look like we had a terrible peeling skin condition, we decided to head outdoors and pick some vegetables for dinner. So far, along with the raspberries and strawberries, we have harvested a few cucumbers and courgettes, but today we had a real treasure hunt and gathered enough booty to make our very first fully homegrown meal (save only for the olive oil and black pepper seasoning).

I boiled the courgette, carrot and beetroot until they were soft. I then roasted these, along with the tomatoes and red onion, tossing them in olive oil seasoned with black pepper and freshly chopped oregano. Meanwhile I boiled the potatoes and runner beans. When cooked, I tossed them in olive oil with finely chopped spring onion. A simple recipe that allowed us to taste the flavour of the vegetables and they were delicious.
So despite the chicken pox, it was a very rewarding and enjoyable day. Garden Boy and Garden Girl enjoyed revealing the carrots and beetroot and picking the tomatoes, (I am surprised we had any left to eat at dinner time) but the most exciting bit for them was searching in the soil for potatoes and then washing all the vegetables for me afterwards.

By the end of the day Garden Girl had forgiven Garden Boy for keeping her at home and they are both looking forward to going on a treasure hunt again tomorrow.