We Grow Our OwnWhat we grow, what we cook, what we eat …

As you’ll know by now, two of the things I love doing is growing vegetables and fruit at my allotment, and cooking with whatever is in season.

A few days ago, my better half and I thought why not combine the two, and make it into a monthly competition. Even better, the winner of the competition each month will win some fabulous food related prizes that have kindly been donated.

The idea is not only for someone to win some lovely goodies each month, but to encourage people to cook with seasonal fruit and veg, and hopefully go onto grow it themselves.

So here are the rules. Each month around this time, I will pick four or five vegetables or fruit that are in season, and you then have to devise a dish that uses at least one of those ingredients.

There are no restrictions on the style of cooking, so it can be a recipe plucked from anywhere in the world.

However, each entry has to include:

• A picture of the vegetables or fruit that you are using in the recipe. This has to be ones that you use in the recipe, and not some random picture from Google! Extra points will be awarded when I shortlist the entries if you have grown it yourself.
• A copy of the recipe
• A picture of the finished dish that you have cooked yourself

You can upload your entries by going to the contact form of my blog on this page

I’ll then shortlist the best five, and then publish those on my blog. I’ll then open it up to the public vote, who will choose the winner each month, who will be the recipient of some very nice prizes

So, for April, the vegetables or fruit that you can choose from are:

• Rhubarb
• Asparagus
• Spring Onions
• Swiss Chard
• Purple Sprouting Broccoli

You have until 12 noon on 19th April to get your entries to me, and I’ll be publishing the five finalists that night, together with details of the prizes and the kind people who have donated them.

Voting will then close at 12 noon on 26th April, and the winner will be announced later that night!

This will be a monthly competition, so don’t get downhearted if your recipe doesn’t get shortlisted, as there will be many more chances to win. In the meantime though, get your thinking caps on, and get those entries in!