More makes!

I've been a busy bee in the kitchen over the last few weeks, the chillies, tomatoes and apples have been keeping me chained to my stove!

So first up i made sweet chilli jam, there are hundreds upon hundreds of recipes out there but I finally went with this one from the BBC good food website, and I particularly like their description of it looking like 'thick, bubbling lava'.  I'm planning on enjoying this with some cheese, pate and crackers, mmmmm....

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8257/sweet-chilli-jam 

Here are two jars I made, others have been dished out to the family to try. 

So even after the chilli jam I still had chillies to use... now in our house we use lots of dried chilli sprinkles - we sprinkle them on pizzas, cheese on toast, add to stir fries and other recipes. Again I turned to the World Wide Web in search of instructions, I found a really helpful site by the chilli king, here I found really helpful instructions on all sorts of things chilli related!

I fired up my oven to 80 degrees, washed dried and cut all my chillies in half length ways, and put them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, some fried quicker than others, but some took up to 3 hours, you can tell when their done as they crunch up when squeezed.  

Here are mine after a blitz in the food processor - 

2 baking trays of chillies really do shrink after dehydrating!

For more info on anything chilli, visit -

http://www.thechilliking.com  

The third recipe I'd like to share is for a Dorito style salsa dip, my family love this sort of dip with some tortillas - and certainly a favourite on a movie night. 

For this recipe I've been planning since the beginning of the year - growing everything I needed from seeds - my peppers didn't go to plan so ended up buying these. 

All ingredients were chipped added to a pan, simmered for 10 minutes and popped into sterile jars. 

I followed this recipe as s guide but my ingredients varied slightly in that I used small tomatoes, and slightly less chillies but left some seeds in as we like it HOT!

http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipes/zesty-salsa

Lastly I seemed to have a glut of tomatoes, and soup always goes down really well with my little ones, so I made roasted tomatoe and basil soup. 

Pop your freshly picked tomatoes into a baking tray along with 4 cloves of garlic, 2 quartered red onions, and drizzle over a tablespoon of olive oil and another of balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to season, then roast on 180 for 20 minutes. 

Next add your roasted goodies to a pan along with 750mls chicken or vegetable stock, 4 tablespoons tomato purée, 1.5 tablespoon brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of chopped basil. 

Simmer for 15 minutes. 

Cool and liquidise until smooth. 

That's all from me for today, but I am planning on apple pie tomorrow so keep an eye out for my next blog. 

Is there anything better than....

....a Sunday roast? Well actually yes - certainly one where you've grown from seed, nurtured and harvested the veggies for it - and priceless to see your children's smiling faces at every stage of this. I'm also pretty sure that it encourages them to have a healthy appetite for fresh veggies and respect for the wonder that is nature. 

So here's what we picked today from our plot - 

Carrots - my daughters loved pulling these up. 

More delicious runner beans. 

Maris piper potatoes - today's dug by the  hubby. 

All served with roast pork and stuffing - a true family effort. 

Pickings and cookings...

So yesterday I popped down to the plot - just to water the tomatoes, but ended up coming home with bountiful harvest - love that my allotment has fresh organic produce just when I need it, who needs a supermarket?!

Well, 'waste not want not' as the saying goes, so I've made even more sweet chilli sauce (I think I now have enough to keep us going for at least 6 months!), and for lunch today I made carrot and courgette fritters - even my girls (6&8) loved them, which in my book is always fantastic when they're eating veggies and enjoying them. 

'Is there a recipe?' I hear you ask, of course - and here it is...

Carrot and courgette fritters

Ingredients 

1 large courgette - grated

An equal quantity of grated carrot 

2-3 finely sliced spring onions

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons flour (I used gram but you can use any you like)

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian mixed herbs

Coconut oil for frying (you can use other oils including butter)

Method

1. Mix all ingredients apart from the oil in a large bowl. 

2. Heat a frying pan and add oil.

3. Add spoons of the mixture to make inch thick patties and press down. 

4. Fry on each side for 3-4 minutes on quite a high heat - coconut oil is great for using at high temperatures as it doesn't smoke and retains all its nutrients.

5. When ready serve as a light lunch or as a side dish. I had mine as a quick lunch with some home made chilli sauce. 

Now all I need to do is figure out what to do with the rest of the allotments offerings....

I just got carried away!

Well I went to the plot this afternoon with 2 jobs in mind - water the greenhouse tomatoes and dig up some spuds. 

Firstly I watered the tomatoes - tick! 

Secondly I pulled up the bolted lettuce and dug over the bed, then as I was getting dirty decided to put new edging around it. Then I spotted the untidy corner that annoys me every time I look at it - waterbutts and compost bins, it is now a weed free neat and easily accessible corner - nice. 

As the wheelbarrow was on the path I though I'd make use of it and weeded around my chillies, peppers, out door toms, pulled up the last of my red spring onions and dug that bed over... 2 wheel barrows of weeds!!! Isn't if amazing how fast things grow when we've had a drop of rain?

I stood back and admired my work and realised how much the grass on the edge of the paths had grown, and since my strimmer is out of string I used the hand shears to chop down the foot high grass.

My cape gooseberries which I didn't expect to grow seem to have taken off, I've never grown these before so it will be interesting watching them develop - they have a few flowers at the moment and quite unusual ones at that. 

After all that I decided to pack up, leaving the allotment without digging a single spud! There's always tomorrow I guess.

 

Not so sloe gin...

When we took on our new allotment at the beginning of the year we were thrilled to see so many fruit bushes, one of which was a red currant. Now I will admit I've never really liked red currants, so went in search of recipes to use them in. 

Amongst the usual jams, jellies and tarts I found a recipe for red currant gin. I've been making Sloe gin for years, but it's always a race between me, the frost and the birds to get the berries.  So would my sloe gin recipe work with red currants? I couldn't see why not so gave it try - if you don't try you won't know, nothing to loose as they say. 

So at the end of May I picked the red currants and used them as per my sloe gin recipe. Last night I sampled a drop of the bright pink liquor and wow, this is surely what red currants were made for?! So this morning I have strained and bottled, this will definitely be in my list of allotment makes for next year. 

Is there a recipe I hear you ask? Well yes, of course - here it is....

Sarah's very pink red currant gin

Ingredients

1 litre of gin (any cheap gin will do) plus a spare bottle

Red currants

White Sugar

Method 

Empty the gin in to a jug

Wash the red currants and remove all stalks/leafs as these will make it bitter. 

Fill each bottle approx 1/4 full with red currants. 

Add sugar until just under half way. 

Top up the bottles with gin until full. 

Screw lids on tight and gently tip up and down a few times, do this every day for the first week, then once a week for the next 12 weeks. Store bottles in a cool dark place. 

Once 12 weeks have passed, pass through a sieve to remove berries, then bottle your pink gin and label. 

Can be served neat with ice or with lemonade - enjoy!

First job of the day - Thai sweet chilli sauce

Now I don't know about anyone else but this sweet, sticky, spicy sauce goes down a storm in my house, even my 8 year old likes it! 

My plans for this started way back at the beginning of the year when I planted chilli seeds, they grew, they flowered, they fruited - hoorah!

Thai sweet chilli dipping sauce is delicious to dip your prawn crackers in, poured over spring rolls, or even a yummy salad - my hubby likes it over a king prawn salad, I like it slathered over a chicken and tomato salad - it turns what could be a boring salad into something to look forward to. 

So after a little research with my friend Google I've come up with my own version, which even if I say so my self is very tasty, here's what I did - i'd love any comments if you try this yourself. 

Sarah's dippy-chilli sauce

Ingredients 

6 cloves of garlic

4 chillies (heat level of your choice, I like them hot, but you can make it milder by removing the seeds)

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1teaspoon salt

2" root ginger

2 tablespoons corn flour

4 tablespoons of water 

Method

Firstly add all ingredients apart from the last two to a food processor and process until everything is small enough for your sauce. 

Transfer the blitzed up sauce to a pan and bring to the boil. 

Keep stirring and simmer for 5 mins to soften all the ingredients. 

Mix together the last 2 ingredients - then add the water/cornflour mixture slowly whilst stirring, simmer for another 30secs. 

Remove from heat and pour in to sterilised jars - this makes enough for just over 500g jar. 

Enjoy! 

Perfect weather for...

....snails! So it would seem!

I just popped down to the plot - yes in the pouring rain to water my green house tomatoes (I may have eaten a few while I was there), oh how I love that tomatoey greenhouse smell... anyway... While I was getting soaked I decided on a walk around the plot to check the other crops, well, why not? after all I was in my flip flops and my feet were soaked to the bone by this point anyway!

So I casually wandered up to the runner beans determined there wouldn't be MORE after the Avalanche that was tumbling down a few days ago, and hoorah! No beans! BUT there was a whole army of snail, army? What is the correct term for them? A gathering? A herd? A slime of snails maybe?

I picked off by my reckoning about 50 of the slithering suckers!! Why are they determined to munch my bean stalks to the ground?! Horrible little things!!

Here's a pic of a few, they've now been dispatched over the hedge, no doubt only to return another day.....

Excited!

I subscribed to kitchen garden magazine and just got my free gift in the post - 20 packs of seeds whoop! I can't wait to get busy planting these :o)

More? Again?!!!

I bet you think I'm talking about courgettes right? But although it is very true that I'm inundated with them, I also have an avalanche of runner beans! Although they had a very very shaky start, they've grown and blossomed into a beautiful row of red and green loveliness. But as fast as I can pick them, they're growing even more! 

I love them steamed with freshly ground black pepper and a knob of real butter, yummy!

I have also found that if cut, they also freeze really well - guess I should get chopping and freezing, I think I'll have enough to keep me in runners until next season 😆🌱🌱

Snap shots... 11 August 2015

Before I go to work, here are a few pics of this mornings pickings, aren't they beautiful colours? I just need to figure out what to do with the giant courgette now!

 

Pickle-liscious!!

Well, the gherkins grew and I had to find something to do with them, so after trawling through many recipes on line I finally came up with my ow version...

Sarah's spicy pickles gherkins

Wash and slice gherkins

Sprinkle with salt and leave for a few hours. 

Rinse thoroughly. 

Pack in to sterilised jars. 

In a pan add white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar (I've done a batch of each and will report back!), bring to the boil. 

Add:

2 while garlic cloves

1 teaspoon pepper corns

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon oregano

1 chilli halved (or 1/2 tsp dried chilli)

2 tablespoons white sugar

Simmer all of the above for a few minutes. 

Divide chilli and garlic between 2 jars

Pour liquid over gherkins and seal jars.  

I couldn't wait to try these so opened a jar the following day and wow, amazing, pickle with a kick! These will be fantastic in salad or in a burger at your summer BBQ. 

Love love love!!

I just love this time of year when things are bursting in to flower. 

On the plot we took over this year there are quite a few fruit bushes and trees, I'm not 100% sure what they all are, but the blossom is beautiful and it'll be a lovely surprise when they fruit, I'm planning crumble, jams and fruit tarts, so the search for recipes to try starts now. 

I love to cook, and love to grow, combined they are one big love that makes me smile. 

The bane of my allotment life!

It's unbelievable just how fast bind weed grows! Today I've noticed the horrible weed twisting its way up my raspberry canes - the utter cheek of it!!

So I think the plan will be to just keep pulling it up this year, and at the end of the season I'm going to dig up the raspberry canes and dig out the bindweed - it's the only way!!!

Ooooo look what I've found!

Yesterday I was out for a little walk with the dog and found lots of blossom....guess what I'm thinking... Yes! Sloe gin! Recipes to follow when they're ripe for picking :o)

Seedlings sunning it up in the conservatory!

A few photos from last week...

Found this little guy sleeping in a hedge :o)

Some strawberry flowers out already - so pretty!

 

Peas growing around a wigwam

Rhubarb - I can smell the crumble already! :-D

Hi! And a little about me...

Hi! I've decided to share our adventures at the allotment with a blog - I hope you enjoy reading!  I will try to update regularly with photos, videos and blogs.
We took on our current allotment at the end of February when we moved from our smaller plot which we'd had for a year.
I have helpers - my 2 little girls and my lovely hubby.
We have lots and lots of seedlings growing in the greenhouse aka the conservatory (I've temporarily taken it over! :D )
And I have lots of crops started at the lottie - onions, garlic, potatoes, swiss chard, parsnips, carrots, peas, sugar snap peas, French dwarf beans, runner beans, lettuce, sweet peas and marigolds.
I'll upload some photos shortly, and I hope you enjoy my updates and please join in, growing and gardening is great fun!
Happy growing, Sarahx