It's that time of year when everything seems to ripen at once. This is the result of the tomato harvest in our garden this weekend, having already used about 3 kg in the previous couple of weeks.
In an attempt to use some up I thought I would make some chilli jam... the perfect accompaniment to fishcakes... although I rather like it in my cheese sandwiches.
Still plenty left, so I made some roasted tomato soup for lunch yesterday, as well as giving away a bagful and finally I seemed to have reduced the supply of tomatoes in the house. That is, until I picked another couple of kilos last night!
There was also another gift of cooking apples.
Which was the perfect excuse to go on a long walk foraging the hedgerows
And then, inspired by
The Great British Bake Off I made two batches of Spiced Apple Muffins (froze one batch and ate the other!
And best of all an apple and blackberry crumble.
I think that using up seasonal gluts is my favourite type of cooking, which is just as well really as I've now got several kilos of plums and damsons (picked while we were looking for blackberries) to deal with today.
In an attempt to use some up I thought I would make some chilli jam... the perfect accompaniment to fishcakes... although I rather like it in my cheese sandwiches.
Still plenty left, so I made some roasted tomato soup for lunch yesterday, as well as giving away a bagful and finally I seemed to have reduced the supply of tomatoes in the house. That is, until I picked another couple of kilos last night!
There was also another gift of cooking apples.
Which was the perfect excuse to go on a long walk foraging the hedgerows
And then, inspired by The Great British Bake Off I made two batches of Spiced Apple Muffins (froze one batch and ate the other!
And best of all an apple and blackberry crumble.
I think that using up seasonal gluts is my favourite type of cooking, which is just as well really as I've now got several kilos of plums and damsons (picked while we were looking for blackberries) to deal with today.
I think autumn is my favourite time of year for food. There is so much choice - we have several hedges full of blackberries, B's dad has been handing out plums to everyone who'll eat them, B.'s been enjoying figs (I don't like them, which is probably for the best as this was the first year crop and there were only 6 or 7!), we have loads of apples and the courgette can't seem to stop growing. Love it!
ReplyDeleteThat all looks so delicious! :)
ReplyDeleteI have so many tomatoes I really need to do something with them!
Vivienne x
I love the bootees in your previous post Gina. so cute. Autumn glut cookery is probably my favourite too and makes me feel very Little Hous-ish. Envying your toms as ours all got the dreaded blight..sigh. Loads of apples though. x
ReplyDeleteJust a thimbleful....
ReplyDeleteOur garden is the same - I was making Bramble Jelly at 10 p.m. last night !....And there is a huge nut harvest again, do you want any nut treets? I pull the seedlings out by the dozen!
I have two words for you - damson gin.
ReplyDeleteYou'll thank me in December.
Yum! We actually had our first big tomato harvest this year--woo hoo--no blight! And I've just started watching the Bake Off on the iplayer. So fab. You could definitely enter those muffins!
ReplyDeleteK x
What a super harvest you have reaped Gina. We had blackberry and apple crumble yesterday - delicious. You will be well stocked up for a very tasty winter.
ReplyDeleteYum! I made apple crumble and apple and blackberry pie yesterday too. With the damsons, I made jam, which is delicious on scones!
ReplyDeletebring on Summer (or even some more Spring) - a slug got into my new seedling tomatoes. back to the drawing board! i have yet to have my big tomato season here . . . waiting waiting :)your chilli jam idea will go on the list with the chutney.
ReplyDeletemy toms were a disaster this year!! yours look lovely and so does the soup! i may be making plum jam this weekend as a friend has promised me some!!
ReplyDeletex
ooh I am rumbling over here! We have the same probs with tomatoes in our house at the moment, never heard of chilli jam but am now looking it up - thanks :-)
ReplyDeleteBoy, the harvest season sure keeps one busy, doesn't it? Looks like you have a ton of tomatoes -- we've had bad luck here the last few years. Some sort of fungus seems to get them as they grow. Looks like you're having a good time in the kitchen!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could come to your house for a visit, I love blackberry crisp or crumble. I'm loving the tomatoes and will hate to see them go.
ReplyDeleteSnorts from this part of the blogosphere: our only ripe tomatoes (all two of them) were eaten by slugs. The rest of them are stubbonly green, and lined up along the kitchen window sill! And just wait until you see my sweetcorn...
ReplyDeleteWhats a glut?
ReplyDeleteYou have a glut you can be a glutton but around here its definitely glut-off.
Even the apples have gone brown on the tree.Mind you, when I should be planting I'm usually sewing. How do you do it?
I wish I lived down the street from you so I could share in this bountiful harvest. Our garden is quite shady and I only harvested enough tomatoes for a salad or two!
ReplyDeletei hope your husband realises how lucky he is! Love the idea of the muffins, I will have to try them at the weekend.
ReplyDeleteIf only you lived next door!! HMMMMMMMMMM Food!
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a good week it is crazy here as usual.
Sam x
Your chilli jam looks particularly delicious! Where did you find the recipe? Lucy xx
ReplyDeleteoh wow it all sounds and looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteOooh what a great harvest - you are making me feel hungry! So satisfying to have grown all these yourself too.
ReplyDeleteI'm suffering from serious harvest envy here! We have ten tomato plants and just one red tomato - the whole summer! Squirrels knocked down all the apples and munched on our strawberries and courgettes...
ReplyDeleteYour pics are mouthwatering, nothing like the taste of homegrown!
x
Save me a jar of chilli jam!!
ReplyDelete