Garden And Meals Since Returning from Holiday

 Came home from holiday on the 23rd August to a very overgrown garden -in just a week - with lots of things finished. I cleared off 8 small aubergines - the biggest about 3 inches long and the last of the runner beans. Just a few tomatoes left now but cucumbers all finished  The aubergines sliced and fried plus cooked pasta and a sauce made simply with tomato puree, boiling water and minced garlic from a jar and then all layered up with grated cheese made me two meals.

There were no more peppers to cut as I'd sliced and frozen all that were there before my holiday but a bowl of small tomatoes were brought indoors before I cleared all but one of the plants out.

Then I popped over to BiL's for some beetroot - I'd given him a packet of beetroot seeds so he could grow a few extra for me - and he gave me a sweetcorn cob (mine are a few weeks behind although I have had one now) and a cucumber as his greenhouse did far better than mine - so I'm blaming the compost.

 I used one large beet for roasting, it was peeled and cut into chunks and went in the oven with potatoes and carrots and  with one sausage made into a toad in the hole. I'd saved and frozen a rolled out  scrap of pastry left from making a quiche a few weeks ago, this was turned into sausage rolls, with another sausage and eaten with the rest of the roast veg. the next day.

Other meals have been my home made batch cooked from the freezer - Thai red fish curry, spinach and ricotta lasagne, aubergine and tomato sauce over pasta and another day I had a warm mackerel pasta salad. 

As a couple of the leeks had run to seed already although still small I thought I'd better start eating them and used two as fritters. Plenty more for later which had recovered from next-door-neighbour's cat trying to dig them up earlier.

Lurking among the courgette leaves were 6 marrows so I put 5 of them out the front with a 'help yourself note' and they soon went. One remaining came into the kitchen to make Marrow, Apricot and Ginger jam. I was going to do the jam last Thursday but forgot to put the apricots in to soak on Wednesday night, so I left them out right ready to soak overnight to use on Friday but forgot again -Duh! Finally got them soaking Friday night and the jam made on Saturday. Six jars made, this jam is a good replacement for marmalade.

Despite being covered and completely protected from birds and butterflies, I came home to find the three kale plants were just skeletons - and I'd put slug pellets inside the cage too. The slugs must have feasted on the kale before dying!

 This is the third year winter 'greens' have been a complete fail - I've learned my lesson - not trying again. At least I have more than one small butternut squash this year. They got going late so I hope we don't get early frosts and have plenty more sun. I'm watering them a lot now to try and fatten up the few small ones. Fingers crossed for fine weather for them to ripen for storage.

There are a few  this size and smaller

Just one proper sized butternut

The raspberries that were here when I moved in are doing their thing - appearing at an odd time of year - late for summer but early for Autumn. They've given me 3 bowls full to eat since I came home.

I was down to just half a loaf of bread in the freezer so the bread maker has been on a few times since returning from holiday for a 50/50 white and wholemeal, a 50/50 white and granary and an all white loaf. They are cut in half and frozen, so I'm re-stocked. Also made a Focaccia loaf which I cut into chunks before freezing.

There are lots of the big plum tomatoes in the freezer - ready skinned -  to make my Red Hot Relish sometime and that will be all I'll do this year. I'm not doing Christmas Hampers for anyone this year so no need to make other things.

I don't seem to have much to write about at the moment so have dropped down to 4 posts a week rather than 6 - so apologies if you look for me everyday!  I'll see how it goes.

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Sue