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UNLIKE HARDIER ROOTS like parsnips, I don’t leave my beetroot in the soil for the winter.
This week I lifted the whole lot of them for storage in a box of sand. I harvested 60 or so in all, which were from the third sowing - sown in July and planted out about a month later.
Before putting the roots in to sand, they need a little cleaning up. Having twisted off the foliage on the beetroot, leaving a two-inch crown of stalks, I give the roots a good spray down with a hose to clean off all the muck.
I then leave them to dry off for a day or two.
At that stage, I grade them – only the best ones should be stored so any that have holes in them go straight to the kitchen to be used up.
I use horticultural sand which you can buy cheaply, in garden centres, but be mindful that you may need to dry it out before use, particularly if it has been stored outside.
Mine felt wet when I got it home, so I simply emptied the bags out on the bench in the potting shed to leave it dry out for a few days.
When ready, place the roots between layers of sand in a box, making sure they are not touching each other. Store the box in a dark, frost-free shed. Using three roots a week, this stash should last us about five months.
The Basics – Picking Brussels sprouts
Early maturing sprout varieties are now cropping. Pick sprouts as soon as they are ready to eat, while still hard and firm and before they open out.
Pick the sprouts from the bottom of the stem first and then move upwards. To harvest a sprout simply snap off by pulling downwards. The leaves at the top of the stems can be cooked like spring greens – very tasty they are too.
Do not ‘Irish mammy’ the sprouts by boiling the divil out of them for 20 minutes – apologies to all Irish Mammies.
Blanch them in boiling water for just a few minutes and then fry them in some oil with a sliced clove of garlic and some almond flakes.
Season well and add some olive oil before serving.
Recipe of the Week – Celery and Apple Soup
If you have a large amount of surplus celery you could do worse than to make batches of this delicious celery soup for the freezer.
Ingredients:
For garnish:
Directions:
Gently fry the onions and garlic in butter until soft. Separate the stalks of celery so that you can save the inner leaves. Chop stalks finely and set aside inner leaves.
Peel and chop the potatoes and apples.
Add the celery, potatoes and apples to the onions.
Season well and fry gently with the lid on for about 15 minutes or until ingredients are very nearly cooked.
Add the hot stock, bring to the boil and simmer covered for about 10-15 minutes more. Liquidise.
Add lemon juice and nutmeg and adjust seasoning if necessary. To garnish each bowl first swirl in a teaspoon of cream and sprinkle celery leaves and bacon on top.
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The current strategy isn’t working. It may seem like compassion, but the rest of us have rights too.
Its not fair to the rest of society that in Dublin the board walk along the Liffey and the O’Connell Street area are dangerous during the day and virtually no go areas at night.
@Fiasco99: If you think that part of town is dangerous, bring your Mommy next time.
@Fiasco99: no go areas? Slight overreaction there surely?
@Val Miggin: honestly, have you been in these areas? Particularly late on a week night when there are few pub goers and especially if it’s a dry night as many of the users choose not to go to a hostel.
It’s not a good place to be. I would not like a family member to be there.
The Gardai choose not to carry out policing here, I assume because it’s pointless bringing the drug users to court for yet another suspended sentence.
Methadone is just a park and containment strategy effectively giving addicts a free heroin substitute. It does nothing to address addiction. It’s obviously been adopted as policy as it is relatively inexpensive and somewhat effective in achieving its limited goals but it offers no real hope to those afflicted most of whom will be on it for the remainder of their shortened lives.
Methadone makes too much money for the health professionals and big pharma , it is the golden cow. It is ten times more addictive than heroin, they do not want to rock the boat.
@Mr Jerry Curtin: Twit.
methadone….I always feel it’s a bit like a cigarette smoker switching to just pipe / or cigar smoking-
@Frank Dubogovik: More like switching from Major to Silk Cut.
Far better to have mandatory residential centres to assist drug addicts get off their addiction
@Stephen Kearon: are you serious !?
@Cathal: sounds like a winner to me.
@Stephen Kearon:
I see your advertising your British poppy again Stephen, any chance Micheal Martin or any one in FF is going to be seen dead wearing one?
I think we need to work on the homeless situation and the issues with the health service . If people really wanted to get of drugs they would .
And trust me I know .
@Greg: really? Is there a magic pill or potion. Utter BS
I was employed as a counsellor for many years in a large methadone clinic in Dublin. Its not true that service users are excluded from a treatment plan . I personally know Doctors ,Counsellors , Nurses, Pharmacists and General assistants who put in many hours encouraging users to take part in treatment programmes. Doctors are very willing to reduce and end Methadone treatment. If the Service users are willing to take an active part in reduction programme’s ,which are available to all Service users. Lynn’s article is not correct in many respects . In order for Doctors or Pharmacists to dispense Methadone they have to carry out specialist intensive training . And the majority of community based Doctors do not have any inclination to do this training , as they do not want to work with those who are abusing drugs. Over the years that I worked in the clinic I saw Gran parents , Parents Daughters and Son’s all from the same family attending for Methadone treatment. For many , addiction passes down through the generations. There are very few programmes or interventions for Young Children to stop them going down the same road as their Parents and Gran Parents. I have also known many S.U who having come off all drugs including Methadone . Relapse because they have to go back and live on the streets or into Hostels that are nothing more than drug den’s with a bed for the night . I think Lynn Ruane would be better employed trying to do something about homelessness and lack of service’s for the Children I mention here. Rather than taking a cheap shot at the Staff in the clinics who are doing their best to provide a good service, under what are often very difficult circumstances.
“service users” watch out for that one.its what they’re calling prisoners now too.
It seems to me methadone sacrifices the individual drug user and their family. It is given to reduce offending and theft etc in cheapest way regardless of if it consigns the drug user into another dependency stupor. Individuals and their children etc deserve the chance to be drug free. Ultimately this will benefit society with functioning individuals and families who can contribute to society. Invest the money into counselling and residential services aimed at getting people drug free not invest in maintenance programmes that lock people into addiction substituting one drug for another
The central issue you highlight is the conceit of doctors, the so called ‘experts’ and how the political establishment is in thrall to their ‘expertise’. Methadone can be a life saver and is for many but many doctors believe that the best that can be achieved is to turn drug users into professional patients but above all also is their belief that they know best when in truth many have minimal understanding of drug users and addiction.
@Liam Hunter: Utter nonsense. You clearly dont know how this operates with individual clients. Maybe ask a GP in a practice that prescribes it.
@Margate: you have no idea how much I know about this..way back before even the protocols… As for ‘utter nonsense’…some of us have profound understanding of this issue going back as far as the eighties…where does yours emanate from ?
Short termism and quick fixes is what our political system and can kicking… the methadone programme is a case and point.
It’s a good time to raise the question Lynn, you may need to take this further in your position as Senator so that the policy is reviewed and recommendations dealt with before another 20 years passes. Good work but more steps are required other than an article in the Journal.
The major issues are policing of clinics , addict goes in to try come off hard drugs and are met on the way out by dealers peddling drugs/tablets . The fact that the clinical staff will not entertain addicts looking to reduce their dose isn’t a surprise when you see the monetary incentive to keep addicts on their books.
It’s a cash cow for doctors administering methadone to addicts.
I look forward to your night in Donore Youth Centrethis coming month. As someone who was involved in Treatment service development in the 90′s in Dublin. It sickening me to my stomach that successive govs pay millions for mrthadone. There’s no stomach by this gov or agencies to setup up a programme that take users of Heroin of methadone to a completely drug free lifestyle….just keep the merry go round spinning for big pharma.
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