Consider the aubergine

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

more like a stew

[Nick Armstrong]

Surely it's not a "rash" of threads but a "crop" ???

I'll give you that one, MrGG

[salymap]

'Essential Vegetables' with a guest fertilizer each week?

And the programme introduced by Bunthorne, from G&S' Patience, singing about a 'vegetable love'. which would ertainly not suit him. OMG, they may get ideas from this.

[MrGongGong]

I've worked with these folk
brilliant stuff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M__8TR9Nc0&feature=related

[Anna]

Everyone can do without meat but a life without vegetables is unthinkable (whether musical or not) yet so many people just regard them as a garnish or something to pad out meat.

Frank Zappa sang 'call any vegetable and the chances are good that it'll respond to you'

[Serial_Apologist]

Ever since being given it in a hotel meal as a child, the humble Curly Kale has always been one of my favourite vegetables. Tastier than cabbage, with higher iron content; less strong flavourwise than spinach so more aceptable to children with sensitive taste buds, and less dominating towards other flavours on the plate.

But where to get it - unless from a friend with an allotment who, if you're lucky, grows it - remains the question?

[Anna]

S-A, all supermarkets stock curly kale (even my small local CoOp does) or greengrocers, more difficult to find is cavalo nero (black cabbage) but if you are a kale fan there is a good website with recipes. I love it as well!

http://www.discoverkale.co.uk/

[Nick Armstrong]

S-A, all supermarkets stock curly kale (even my small local CoOp does) or greengrocers, more difficult to find is cavalo nero (black cabbage) but if you are a kale fan there is a good website with recipes. I love it as well!
http://www.discoverkale.co.uk/

Lest we forget the humble hispi: http://www.lg-seeds.co.uk/44-85-large/f1-hispi-.jpg

(Note for non-initiés: Anna enlightened me about this vegetable after I had seen it on a menu a few weeks ago having never ever heard of it before...)

[Osborn]

Ever since being given it in a hotel meal as a child, the humble Curly Kale...

Thought you were wandering off topic but of course Hotel = Auberge in frogland; presumably in olden days you got Auberges for breakfast, lunch & dinner & Curly Kale hadn't been invented.

[vinteuil]

. After not being much of a potato eater I've recently discovered the joy of spuds. As to vegetables I could not do without, I confess the humble cabbage is the one I love the most.

yes - aubergines are all very well, but I don't think they wd be in my list of a top ten. Which, today, I think comprises:

1. cabbage, probably savoy
2. potatoes, ideally jersey royals in season?
3. tomatoes, of an appropriate mediterranean gorgeousness
4. shallots
5. garlic (if that counts as veg: it certainly is essential!)
6. jerusalem artichoke
7. young broad beans
8. french beans
9. salsify
10. lettuce, I s'pose (praps romaine?)

... but the list wd be different tomorrow.

In fact it's different two minutes after compilation - how cd I do without peas? or Stendhal's favourite - spinach?? - and sorrel!!

[MrGongGong]

What no asparagus ????

the whole "jersey royals" thing is a cynical marketing ploy !!!
you can grow the same variety in your garden and they will taste much better

[Bryn]

You can still get most varieties if you grow your own
http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/see...FUtB4Qodtm0BxA

I think these are more what Anna has in mind. I used to get potato crips made from them (bought at the Windsor Farm Shop). Not seen them about much of late:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&sugexp=kjrmc&cp=8&gs_id=25&xhr=t&q=blue+potatoes&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=667&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

[MrGongGong]

I have about half a small sack of these left from this years crop
very tasty indeed

[Bryn]

Here you go, if you want to buy some:

http://www.heritage-potatoes.co.uk/shop.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=34

and for seed potatoes:

http://www.jbaseedpotatoes.co.uk/first-earlies/salad-blue-p219.html

[MrGongGong]

Jeez
Maybe we should sell ours , all off an organic allotment