Tuesday 6 September 2011

Too much of a good thing

It is harvest time. Yes, I know it’s traditional and lovely, but why is it that when the allotment delivers it does it all at once? No, no! I’m not complaining: I’m remembering how lucky I am as I wash yet another 3 lettuces and wonder when exactly we’re going to eat them. Youngest, of course, doesn’t eat vegetables and Eldest seems to have decided that home grown items aren’t up to supermarket cleanliness… I’ve tried explaining about washing in chemicals or washing the stuff herself, but she prefers to go without.

The potatoes are mud caked, but will probably wait to be cleaned when we want to eat them, and store reasonably in the garage. The issue is with the ones now living in a trug in the kitchen ‘because they need eating soon’… this because more than one something has had a go at eating them already…
Then there’s the courgettes arriving at roughly two a day. Three of us eat those, but I can’t keep up as we won’t eat them daily. We’ve had them steamed, marinated, roasted, chopped into casseroles, mince and quiches, at the moment we have a chocolate courgette cake sandwiched with raspberries and cream – two harvested foods in one!
The raspberries come at a rate of a 2L ice-cream tub every day or so. I love them, and they freeze really well, so we don’t have to eat them after every meal.

We can’t anyway because we’re getting an equal quantity of blackberries (they freeze: yay!) and the apples are beginning to mount up… I am pleased to report that I’ve already picked the Conference pears which are in the fridge. Eldest eats most of those as she takes them to school to eat for lunch.
Luckily Sadly there are no beans this year as Husband had no luck with them. They did germinate – twice – but were then eaten by something, rabbits or deer he thinks. They would have provided a welcome change and there’ll be no green bean chutney… Still, there’s chard to offer variety; I’m becoming adept at substituting it whenever the recipe calls for spinach, and it does disappear to a pleasingly small helping even when you’ve picked a huge quantity.
The onions are lifted and drying all over the house because the forecast is for more rain. Again there is a box of ‘dodgy’ ones that ‘need eating’ in the kitchen.
I'm planning to try beetroot muffins next: there's only so much purple lovliness two of us can eat, particularly when they're the size of a football. There are only four ice-cream tubs of roasted beetroot in the freezer so far so I'm sure there's room for more, and I've found a recipe for beetroot chutney that needs apples!



I have ordered vinegar and sugar and Sainsburys will deliver them tomorrow. If you need me I might be making jam or chutney…

5 comments:

janicebotterill said...

thank you for the tea. you are going to be busy!

Sarah said...

Wow, the garden is awash!

I got 10 raspberries this year, up 50% from last year, and I'm getting roughly 4 tomatoes per week. My garden is not awash.

The BBC Good Food website has lots of recipes for the garden food glut as far as I remember. I never look at it because 'glut' and 'garden' are not words that go together chez moi, except for sage. I am awash with sage.

Sounds like you are being kept busy, anyway. Maybe you could prepare stuffed courgettes and then freeze them for a quick dinner in the winter? Or courgette soup? - my favourite way of eating them.

Only Me said...

I hope your freezer is big enough! Sounds like a productive time is being had on the allotment and it all sounds yummy.
Must catch up soon. Sx

libby said...

When can I come to dinner? you have just made my mouth water with your tales of cake and home grown fruit and vegetables..it all sounds glorious! what about selling some? or making my favourite...great big trays of roasted vegetables that we then freeze? or make into soup? Gosh I'm hungry now..........and the word verification is bean!

hausfrau said...

projectforty: as usual I will only be busy if I stop my delaying tactics! Good to see you too.
Sarah: Be careful what you wish for, it's not so long ago we were muttering about our failed summer raspberries and we're now gorging on autumn ones! Unless it's Heinz tomato you will understand that girls don't eat soup, but I ought to freeze in 2 portion quantities... If only I wasn't so lazy!
Only Me: Soon please!
Libby: Welcome! I didn't know I could freeze mixed roasted veg: 3 of us love those so I'd better go for that one. Thank-you!