Spiritual eating

There is a place in Glastonbury that is extraordinary for me, and there is a place in the place that is just my absolute favourite building. It is the Kitchen in the Glastonbury Abbey. It is such a fantastic place, it is one big square chimney where in every corner, they cooked something different, one corner was for baking, one for meats, one for fish and one for veggies, incredible. This place is such an inspiration because it shows me that creativity and spirituality can be found in many fields. The monks at the abbey, had the great church for their spirituality, of course but they also had the food from this kitchen (one of four(!)) they had the blossoms and later the fruits from the orchards.

In the Abbey kitchen, next to the door is a prayer which reads:

Give me a good digestion, Lord

And also something to digest

Give me a healthy body, Lord

With sense to keep it at its best

Give me a healthy mind, O Lord

To keep the good and pure in sight

Which seeing wrong is not appalled

But finds a way to put it right

Give me a mind that is not bored

That does not whimper,

                                Whine or sigh

Don’t let me worry overmuch

About that fussy thing called I

Give me a sense of humour, Lord

Give me the grace to see a joke

To get some happiness from life

And pass it on to other folk

That is a prayer, for everyday and for every home! And for everyone

To keep calm and carry on

For the first time, since I’ve started with this blog, I’ve been unsure what to write about. For the first time I’ve had an actual audience for what I’ve written and it, the audience, you,  has been very kind to me. I’ve actually met people who’ve read this blog and now I do not want to let them down. What can I write to make them read this blog more and more. I realise, of course, that this is the wrong question to ask. I cannot write to suit everybody and the question is whether anybody (apart from myself) expects me to?  I have to retrace my steps . . . I started this blog to show (and to remind myself of) that one’s creativity can get its expression in the smallest of things. You do not have to make super huge block buster films to satisfy your need as a creative film director. You do not have to write the big novel  that reveals the truth about life and death to be a writer. And you do not have to exhibit in national galleries to be a painter. You can do all the above in your everyday life, in the kitchen, in the garden or on family walks in the fields. What you mustn’t do is ever, ever give up and “don’t do”. I have done this terrible dead of “not doing” for too long and as long as they will be selling small note books in Tesco, or cheap digi cameras in Argos (found one that looks like it is built in Lego, so sweet,  I just need to have it! ), there is now way I will be giving up again . . .No matter who much you ask me to ; )

Let's Nigella the garden!

The branches are becoming bare, and the smell of slow rottening leafes is spreading. My veggies are coming to a culmination, tomatoes hangs so heavy that I need to prop them up with sticks. It is harvest time. This year I planted a couple of Artichoke plants (they were on sale and it felt like a little bit of extra luxury). I planted them all but forgot to read the label that came with them, and I didn’t realise that they grow to a height of ca 1m 40cm and they need a lot of space (I planted them next to the very productive tomato plants) so only one survived. But thanks god for that, there is only so much artichoke one can eat. This one little enormous plant is a monster of 5 heads! But they are so yummy !!  And it really is such a romantic luxury, I cooked one in just salted water and a little bit of lemon juice and my husband and I shared the leaves and dipped them in some homemade mayonnaise. To that a glass of chilled white wine, and suddenly all stressed from the day is gone, like magic.

So my plan for next year is to devote my raised beds to lovely, yummy, romantic, luxurious veggies, like the artichoke, like the plump red tomatoes, like maybe some courgettes? I want to plant them not only in my raised beds but also in my flower beds, an artichoke is a spectacular, structural plant as is the brussel sprouts (my has turned into a mutant size!), they could add a lot of interest to my flower beds that tend to be too restrained. I need something more wild in there, something that would reflect who owns the garden, that it isn't a nice old lady called Hilda. I think my mutant veggies are just the thing.

This year I also tried to grow root veggies from pots and it went very well, just needed to add some ash from our fireplace to the soil and the carrots really loved it. They won’t grow big but they will be sweet and tender and yes, luxurious.

I do not run a farm or a big commercial veggie field, I have a small kitchen garden and since my cooking for me is a creative outlet, my garden should be too, and it should look like one aswell, and contain things that inspire me. Make it romantic, passionate and sensual. Yes that’s right, let’s all Nigella the garden !