Mint

 

Mint

 Last evening, as I was cutting mint for our supper’s new potatoes, I discovered a caterpillar. It was quite large and fairly unprepossessing but when I identified it I discovered it was the caterpillar of the mint moth (Pyrausta aurata). Mint moths are very pretty little day-flying moths that feed on various culinary herbs.

If the caterpillar survives long enough to pupate, it will join other second generation mint moths and fly in late July (I think – it’s quite difficult to find a detailed life history of a mint moth!)

 Mint moth

This particular caterpillar was feeding on the underside of an apple mint leaf.

 

Apple mint

 I love mint. I know some gardeners regard it as a garden thug, but I’m not a proper gardener and am pathetically grateful for anything, no, not anything, but many things that deign to grow in our ground.

 I don’t think we’ve ever had couch grass – actually, at some points in the year we don’t have any grass. Reseeding is not merely annual, it is ongoing. The plant that pops up everywhere just to irritate me is a sedge.

 Spearmint

Anyway, mint grows beautifully in our garden. Apart from apple mint, we have spearmint, black peppermint, grapefruit, pineapple and eau de cologne.

 Pineapple mint, just emerging. 

I hope the grapefruit mint will put in an appearance, too.

 Eau de cologne mint

I wondered how eau de cologne mint could be used. It’s quite strongly scented. I found that it can be used in pot pourri, mint teas, herb vinegar, fruit salads and jellies. The leaves make an excellent addition to a relaxing bath and crushed leaves rubbed over arms and legs are a good insect repellent.

It is also reputed to be the best mint for making mint julep, for which there are many recipes online but I grow it simply because I like it.

I shan’t be adding it to salad or new potatoes, though!

Coming in out of the cold

Coming in out of the cold

It’s not cold outside during the day but the nights are still relatively chilly. Is this why we are seeing outdoor beasties indoors?

A couple of evenings ago Winston Ocicat was sitting staring fixedly at the garage door (the door that leads from the house to the integral garage)  I followed his gaze to find a caterpillar making its way carefully down the door frame. 

It was not yet low enough for Winston to attempt an attack, or, as he would put it, to play with it, but he was observing closely. Obviously he was planning his strategy.

Winston is not often left to entertain himself on his own. As soon as he begins to leap about he is joined by a couple of enthusiastic Labradors who jump on him and rough him up in the nicest possible way. Eventually Winston turns on his back and bats the dogs with his closed velvety paws. He has never had cause to unsheathe his claws and use them in anger . . . yet.

On this occasion, late at night, he had little more than a passing interest in vagrant wildlife – a comfortable bed (ours!) was calling. 

It cast a fine shadow

He watched as I took photographs of the intruder which seemed not to like the close attention and swerved away from its downward route and wavered off to the side.

I have looked in various books and at online sites but I cannot identify the caterpillar from the rather muddy photographs I took. The only ones I think it resembles turn out to be the produce of rare visitors to these shores so not very likely. It disappeared soon afterwards so I didn’t have another opportunity to study it and take further shots.

This morning, as I opened the door to receive a parcel, I noticed a small beetle. 

Obligingly, it allowed itself to be photographed. I have discovered it to be a Vine Weevil (Otiorhyncus sulcatus) a common garden pest! 

The adult beetles eat the leaves and shoots of many plants but it is their offspring that do the greater damage. The larvae destroy the roots of pot plants and do much damage to greenhouse crops. It looks such an inoffensive little creature – how could it be so evil?

Unlocking the Lock and Lock . . .

I have a number of 'Lock and Lock' containers. They're useful for all manner of things in the house -  cereals, rice, dried fruit, plugs, remote controls . . . As the label informs, they are 'stackable and 100% absolutely airtight, liquid tight, dishwasher and microwave safe'.


Impressed by the first ones I bought,  I have purchased several more in different shapes, sizes and capacities in the last few years. My latest acquisition was a neat set of three nesting bowls - the Three Bears to my Goldilocks. I like things that look tidy.(Pity that hasn't extended to my home!)


The other day I was searching for a container for the frozen peas I was about to zap in the microwave. Having just yielded to an atypical urge to spring clean (I know it's autumn but autumn clean doesn't have the same ring) my kitchen cupboards were in spanking good order but of course I couldn't find anything and the sweet little nesting bowls seemed to call to me, 'We're here, we can help' so I gave in to their entreaties, selected one and plonked the peas in it (all my so-called cooking is characterised by 'plonking', 'shoving' , 'flinging' and the all-time favourite, 'caramelising' which means 'burning')


With the peas safely ensconced in the Baby Bear bowl I turned what little attention I could muster to the rest of the magnificent banquet I was preparing for the Lord and Master that evening - new potatoes with the last of the mint from the garden, frozen breaded haddock and a mélange (I can talk the talk if needs be) of stir-fried red pepper, (bell pepper) courgette, (zucchini) and red onion.


All was going swimmingly - that is to say that I hadn't forgotten any of the ingredients and the oven was at the correct temperature for a change. I cannot rid myself of the notion that turning the thermostat up to its highest will heat the oven quicker.Barry keeps telling me I am mistaken but I still have to give in to the urge. The trouble is that I sometimes occasionally always forget to reduce the temperature. We have become accustomed to meat that is black on the outside, one third cooked, one third rare and raw in the middle. I jest - but only just!


The first hitch occurred when I drained the potatoes. There, bleached and blanched at the bottom of the pan, lay a caterpillar. I couldn't tell what it might have developed into though guessed it was probably a Cabbage  or Large White (Pieris brassicae) I was briefly tempted to scoop it out and try and forget about it but decided I couldn't. I asked Barry what he thought and we agreed that we would prefer our meal without potatoes that night. It's foolish in the extreme since around three quarters of the world's population regularly dines on insects of varying dimensions, many of them still wriggling around. 


Following that I removed the bowl of peas from the microwave.

Oh dear! The peas now appeared to be vacuum packed. I could have sworn I had left the lid open. 

Clearly I had not! Then, too late, I noticed the final instruction on the lid - 'Only re-heatable, not for cooking.' 
Unlocking the Baby Bear bowl used muscles I didn't know I had. I was conscious that steam might well escape and scald me but it is difficult  impossible to tussle with a firmly stuck lid at arm's length. Eventually, I managed to prise the lid off the newly remodelled bowl.

The peas were still edible, not exactly 'al dente' but not mushy either. I rather over-optimistically hoped that the bowl would return to its original shape but sadly this was not to be. 


What have I learnt from this experience?


1:  Wash all garden produce thoroughly - make sure there's plenty of light to detect small unwanted visitors.


2:  Read all instructions carefully even if I'm sure I know what to do.


3:  Encourage Barry to cook more often - he's a much better cook than me, though that wouldn't be difficult. I mean, he tastes his dishes as he cooks and he's imaginative. For me food is just fuel and I cannot bear the orgasmic groans and sighs of delight that some folks utter when eating and the identification of ingredients as they sample each apparently delicious forkful. I'm just a philistine, really! (*wink*)