I succumbed. I couldn’t bear to see all those green tomatoes go to waste so I used one kilo of them to make Maggie Beer’s, Green Tomato Chutney and I am glad I did. It tastes very nice indeed. A little sharp, but sweet. The apple comes through quite strongly so it would be perfect with ham or pork and Maggie recommends teaming it with chicken pie or adding it to curries.
I pulled up my tomato plants today (actually, it took two days) and it was very sad. We had to do it as we will be going on holiday soon and won’t be in a position to look after them.
We are well and truly over tomatoes and, in that sense, were glad to see them go. There are only so many tomatoes one can cope with. But …. it was still very sad. Continue reading
I started off my post on preserving tomatoes, in February, by saying,
It’s nearing the end of summer and still the tomatoes are coming.
I then when on to say,
If, after you have made relish and salsa and have dried, pickled and roasted your tomatoes, you are still picking them by the bucket load, it is time for some serious preserving.
Well… it’s nearly winter and still the tomatoes keep coming. I have preserved so many tomatoes, I seriously doubt my cupboard will ever be free of them. It is time for something different. Continue reading
I know I have been raving all summer about my tomatoes and cucumbers – and yes, they are still producing. We are picking about 20 or so cucumbers a week and I am still bottling tomatoes 2 or 3 times a week. I don’t think there is any way we will be able to eat all the tomatoes in one year. Oh, well ….
If you remember, we did plant other things but, mostly, they have been swallowed up by the tomato plants. I planted everything much too closely. But, notwithstanding that, a couple of the chilli plants have fought their way through the tomato plants and are producing well. We are getting far more chillies than we can eat so I decided to preserve a 500 mil jar.
This recipe is adapted from Barbara Abdeni Massaad’s recipe, from Mouneh, Pickled Bell Peppers . I used jalapeño chillies but you could use any type. BTW, if you like to preserve, I highly recommend this book.
Pickling liquid:
(Make as much as you need)
Processing:
BTW: Does anyone know why my chillies have the little lines on them? They look like stretch marks.
I have been very excited all summer as I have a self-sown honeydew melon growing in my vegie patch. When setting up my vegie patch, I added some compost from Perth. Clearly, a honeydew seed came along for the ride.
I must admit, I am a little bit obsessed with cumquats. It is just that so many people grow them as an ornamental tree and don’t bother to use the fruit. This really upsets me. My philosophy on life is (well, one of them, anyway): the world has limited resources and if you have food at hand, you should eat it rather than going to a supermarket and buying something from half way around the world that costs the earth more than it can afford. Ok, now I will get off my bandwagon and start discussing the delights of cumquats.
If you have cumquats growing on your patio, there is a lot you can do with them. A great idea is to finely slice them crossways, boil them in a sugar syrup and serve them with a dessert, such as Maggie Beer’s buttermilk panna cotta with cumquat syrup. Here is the link to the recipe. It is one of my favourite desserts. Continue reading
In my kitchen:
Are cucumbers and tomatoes. What else? You may well ask.
My vegie patch experience has taught me so much this year.
Number one lesson: 10 cucumber plants will feed, at least, 50 people for the summer. I have never seen so many cucumbers in my whole life – 28 was our record for one day. At last, they are beginning to slow down. We are now picking about 8-10 every second day. I don’t know how many cucumbers I thought two people could eat. Maus has even taken to accosting strangers in the street and offering them cucumbers. On most occasions, they are so amazed at the offer, they take one.
We now know which of our neighbours are big cucumber eaters. I am sure this is useful information that will come in handy one day (a bit like all the things in Maus’ sheds).
Here is a photo of Jules doing the right thing for the cucumber cause. Luckily, my three dogs like cucumbers. They are a great treat for dogs because they are good for them, they love them and they have very few calories. Lily has been known to eat half a cucumber at one sitting. 
Continue reading
It’s nearing the end of summer and still the tomatoes are coming. I don’t know whether it was beginner’s luck but I have had a bumper crop of tomatoes. I am not complaining; tomatoes, unlike cucumbers, are useful.
If, after you have made relish and salsa and have dried, pickled and roasted your tomatoes, you are still picking them by the bucket load, it is time for some serious preserving. Continue reading
I haven’t been able to get the words from Paul Kelly’s song, “Be Careful what you pray for“, out of my head of late. I tried to find a You Tube video of him singing the song for you but there doesn’t appear to be one so you will have to sing it yourself. It is a great song. Here are the words: Continue reading
This post is more a reminder than anything else. Summer is coming to an end (thank goodness!!) and it is time to preserve those herbs you have been growing all season. If you are like me, you would have barely made a dent in them. A litte snip here and a little snip there doesn’t use much.
But drying them is another story. A big bunch will dry down to a small jar which should last you until next summer’s fresh ones are flourishing. Continue reading
