A Patchwork Pallette of Colour

East Lothian is a riot of colour at the moment - especially when the sun shines. The harvest has started and some fields have been combined and baled but because there has been a lot of rain recently, there is still a great deal of work for the farmers to do. They'll be reluctant to bring in any grain that's likely to have a high moisture content due to rain, because it means that they have to dry it. And that costs money. It means that many of the fields really are golden but there's plenty of other crops waiting to be harvested too.

Potatoes of course, one of the most famous East Lothian crops, mostly still have their green shaws. They get removed when they're about to be lifted and some of the early varieties have been already but there's still plenty more to go. There's also lots of cabbages with their dark, bluey green hue which is a striking colour when you drive past the huge fields. Who eats all of these I wonder? Do they stay in Scotland? Or the UK? Or do some get exported to Europe and beyond? I'll have to try to find out because there's thousands and thousands of them in each field and it'll be interesting to find out where they go and who sells them.

Tonight's dinner was something different but very tasty - Quick Soy Glazed Chicken with Carrot and Cucumber Pickle. It's quite easy and comes from a booklet called '£5 Suppers for Two' which came with the BBC Olive magazine this month. Why not give it a go but I should warn you that it was a bit spicier than I expected.

Quick Soy Glazed Chicken with Carrot and Cucumber Pickle

For the marinade:

Half a tablespoon Chinese 5 Spice Powder

3cm piece of ginger - thinly sliced

2 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

 - I also added some finely sliced spring onions coz I had them in the fridge

Put 2 chicken breasts or 4-6 skinless thighs into the marinade for at least 30 minutes

To cook:

Shake the marinade from the chicken and fry in a large frying pan for 4-5 each side or until nearly cooked through.

Add the marinade to the pan and continue to cook for another 5 minutes until the chicken is glazed with the sauce.

Slice the chicken and serve with noodles and the Carrot and Cucumber Pickle

For the pickle:

Heat 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar and add 1 teaspoon of (golden) caster sugar. Stir until the sugar disolves and add half a finely chopped red chilli.

Slice half a small cucumber and a carrot using a tattie peeler and add to the bowl. Toss  the ribbons in the sweet vinegar and keep in the fridge to be served with the chicken.