It's come to
that joyous time of year at the allotment that we are overrun with
produce. After a mass weeding session on Saturday morning we trooped
off home with broad beans, courgettes, raspberries, the last of the
strawberries, early apples, over 3 kilos of rhubarb and 4 kilos of
blackcurrants. The question is what are we going to do with all of
this stuff? Of course I have developed a range of recipes of my own
over the years but for some fresh ideas I've enlisted the help of
some fellow bloggers and this is what they are suggesting.
I'm a big fan of pesto as it makes such an easy meal when served with some pasta. When we have had a whole tray of rocket I have made rocket pesto but in order to make pesto you don't need to sow a single seed. Sarah at Boo Roo and Tigger Too tells us how to make pesto from those pesky nettles. Far more productive than just trampling them down as I seem to be doing at the moment!
Now let's
talk courgettes. Once one is ready to pick the rest just keep coming
for weeks. I chop them up and throw them into anything I can add some
vegetables to such as pasta sauces and cheesy oven bakes. Yet still
they keep growing! To make best use of them you can use them as a
base for a whole dish such as courgette fritter with lime and chilli
mayonnaise from Wendy at Daisy
and Pie.
On my daily
walks I have noticed the abundance of blackberry blossom turning into
little green fruits. Within a few weeks these will be ready to pick
and the good news is you don't need an allotment or garden to get
hold of these delightful soft fruit. Parks, pathways and scrublands
are the favoured spots of brambles so fill your tubs and preserve
some by making blackberry and apple jam from Michelle at The
Purple Pumpkin Blog.
We have a
giant patch of sage at the allotment and in front of my kitchen
window I have a selection of herbs in pots. Only a few of the herbs
keep going throughout the year before they reappear in spring. To
have a ready supply at hand to flavour winter stews Katy at
Katykicker.com®
shows us how to freeze herbs.
We
haven't weighed how much rhubarb we have picked this year in total
but each batch we do bring back weighs between 2-3kgs. The main uses
we have for is cordial and crumbles which can then be frozen. My Mum
makes rhubarb and ginger chutney while the sticks that have been
given to my friend is made into jam and used in cakes. Once you have
an established patch of rhubarb then from around March to the end of
July you can just keep picking. If you need fresh inspiration for
your rhubarb glut then the Keeper
of the Kitchen, Luschka has 30 recipes for you including ice
cream, crisps and curd.
Inside
our greenhouse we are eagerly awaiting the ripening of our tomatoes.
For anyone wanting to start off with growing fruit and vegetables at
home then tomatoes are a great place to start. If you find you
haven't scoffed the lot as soon as you have picked them off the vine
then Lauren at The
Helpful Hiker has a selection of ideas for you. These also ways
to use those other greenhouse favourites of peppers.
We're
trying out a new method of growing onions this year and at the moment
it looks like we're going to have some whoppers! Not only do we grow
brown onions but also red and white varieties. I'm not keen on raw
red onion but I know they go great in preserves. To make your onion
crop last throughout the winter months Kerry at Blissful
Domestication shares her Red Onion and Balsamic Chutney recipe.
When
we arrived at the allotment on Saturday morning there was a table
outside laden with bunches of beetroot for sale. Some of the usual
ways of using beetroot is to boil, roast or pickle it. I like to bake
it in a cake
and it goes particularly well with chocolate. For vegan version Midge
at The
Peachicks' Bakery has come up with Beetroot and Ginger Chocolate
Cake.
What
glut of fruit and vegetables do you have? How do you use up all your
produce?
Thank you for the inclusion! I will be sure to try some of the other recipes!
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