Growing my own food is one of the biggest pleasures in life. I love the aspect of knowing that there are no pesticides or additives and that the produce travels from garden to table within minutes rather than days. My friends often comment on my green fingers and their own lack there of, but really I think this is the overstatement of the year. I have no more green fingers or magical touch with plants than the next person, but I do enjoy the process.

I planted the potatoes in late May this year, as soon as the new kitchen garden was finished. The soil is a bit too sandy for their liking as it is mostly new and has not built up enough humus through mulching, so consequently I needed to water the plants more than during normal rainy summers. The heat wave we had this year was extraordinary! Potatoes are a great beginners plant, as all you do is chuck them in the ground, cover with soil and add mulch as they start to grow, water and wait. Voila!

The potatoes are ready for harvest once they have finished flowering. Simply dig out the tubers and give them a proper scrub. The peel sits loosely when the potatoes are fresh, and as you scrub it just falls off.

This is one of the few jobs I really dislike, so quite often we play a game of croquet about who has to do it. My very kind friend Sonja has taken to loosing on purpose I think, as she has ended up with this chore for most of the summer! We sort the potatoes according to size so that they can be cooked the appropriate amount of time.

My blue potatoes become a ghostly white once the peel is of. They have small blemishes and are far from perfect, but I don't mind as I know they taste heavenly! When cooking the water turns a poison colour of green and the potatoes look like zombies at this stage, but this is entirely normal. No worries! When they are ready they have returned to their original beautiful purple colour.

Meanwhile, I whip together the sauce:

1 Vegan Oatly Fraise

1 tbs dijon mustard

1 small jar of capers

2 chopped spring onions or 1/2 leek

2 tbs chopped fresh basil

Salt & Pepper & Tabasco to taste

I make a very simple dressing with Oatly Fraishe (vegan creme fresh), mustard, capers, chopped green onions, fresh basil, salt, pepper and a hint of good old fashioned Tabasco. It only takes a minute to whip together, and as I invariably tend to overcook the potatoes the result is the most comforting of comfort food - instant mushy potatoes salad! Bon apetit!