Topic: witlof, the whole process

[ina]

Growing in the lottie


Harvested the roots in November


Forcing in the dark


Chicon or 'bullet of leaves on a root' (title thanks to EJ)

[tim]

- yes indeed - great camera!

Quite a proficient lottier too?

And who did the arrow? = Tim

[ina]

Thank you Tim.
Arrow with a little help from my partner hahaha. This summer I had not planned to do this witloof series so I don't have a proper picture of the row.

[Hyacinth]

Witlof revisited...!!

Well, it went like this...

Ien, on the Beeb Board 2001/2002?? had raved about witlof - Holland's second obsession??? but what was this?...Eric explained that it was the white torpedo-shaped stuff I was buying at Sainsbury's, 2 to a pack, which I knew as 'chicory'...

Excited, out for an adventure, keen to grow my own,  and with Ien the willing friend to send me seeds of The Proper Stuff, I received my pack of seeds last Spring, with a really helpful translation from Ien attached...so...

late Spring, I sowed 2 rows...'thinly' it said...but I'm pretty heavy handed and they were overcrowded, but healthy! living! healthy! how can one kill and put on the compost heap healthy, growing, I-want-to-live God's creatures?? and I asked Ien if I could transplant..

Well, she said 'no!' that the plantlets would produced forked & distorted roots, but hey! above the surface they look SO good, right? And perked up after transplanting, so that was OK, right??

And it WAS - seemingly. The tops grew and grew and grew and honestly! had all my saladings been as crisp and nice I would have been well-pleased...

So I've got this 2 rows of greenery, right? I'm eating the other stuff I've grown, so what's on with them just sitting there? Strange sort of crop that you don't eat...

And I mailed Ina..."What do I do next??

And Ina mailed me "Nothing till I shout....

And time went on. And I thought she had laryngitis..and this thought was confirmed when BB posted on Lotties that he'd got SO MUCH of the stuff, what was he to do??

And so had I...and Ian was being all quiet..so I dug them up...

Now...you've seen Ien's pix of her home-grown? I knew what Sainsbury's stuff should look like, but...well, I'd grown them, hadn't I?  All-organic, weren't they? So...on the principle that what you've grown's got to be good for you, I harvested them.  After all, they could be eaten during Autumn (why else BBs posting?) and I didn't want to 'force' in the winter ...so..

you've never seen such odd-looking things, ever!..round as a turnip, dark gold/browny in colour, with all the roots wrapped tightly round the crown like some living, obscene, umbilical cord...

weird, these Dutch peeps, or wot?? So brought them in the house & started cutting off the roots..some were reallythick and quite 'meaty'...these I kept. Peeled the 'witlof' and revealed white dense flesh.

Steamed the lot and sauteed with bacon (Ina had said that that was the way to go)...pretty tasteless, really? but heck I was hungry..and I'd grown the damned things...it was about 5.30 and I was ravenous..

That night I was sleeping over at a friend's house..a night at the pub and a stagger back??? Got to my friend's about 7.30 and we were in the pub by 8.00...and I fartedand fartedand fartedand farted all night in the pub...then, at closing time when we were all going for a curry????????? ;D ;D ;D  And the more I laughed, the more I farted...

Still go back to that pub...it's a really nice, friendly, local..and they remember me..... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[ina]

Hey, what's this sauteeed with bacon thing? Did I really say that????????????????? Oh lord, what a disaster hahahaha (I didn't eat the roots so I can safely laugh).

[tim]

Lishka -  never thought I'd hear such utterances from such a lady - REALLY!!

How about artichokes?? = Tim

[Hyacinth]

Fine with artichokes, Tim. A girl knows where ISwith an artichoke...alla Giudea is especially good - trim & stuff the choke with mint & garlic & salt, pack into a pan, cover with 1/3 oil, 2/3 water, cover & steam/boil.

But beware! They just can make you

burp  ;D

[Mrs Ava]

Thats it Ina, Chicory.  I am so happy!  I think I will give them a go for sure.  They were my dads fave salad addition, he got a taste for them when stationed in Germany.

And Lishka, oh Lishka....I laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed.  ;D

[campanula]

ummm well lishka......witloof - what to do?
Had to laugh- my daughter is veggie and a big fan of chicory and she does some room emptiers - such a delicate fragrant looking girl!
suzy