Green Tomato Chutney
The tomato harvest was really excellent this year. Consequently we had a huge amount of green tomatoes left on the plants as the weather began to turn wet and cold.
So, green tomato chutney was to be on the menu this autumn.
We started by stripping off bowlful after bowlful of fruit and here is the green tomato chutney recipe we used.
Ingredients
Green Tomatoes – 2.5 kg
Onions – 500 g
Malt Vinegar – 1 litre
Light Brown Sugar – 500 g
Sultanas – 250 g
Salt – 4 teaspoons
White Pepper – 3 teaspoons
How to Make
1. Wash the tomatoes and cut into fine slices.
2. Do the same with the onions.
3. Place the tomato and onion slices in a large bowl and add the salt.
4. Give it all a good mix together and cover.
5. Leave overnight, which allows the juices in the tomatoes to be drawn out, which enhances flavour and reduces cooking time.
The following day:
6. Place the vinegar to a large pan and add the brown sugar.
7. Put the pan on a medium heat and stir constantly, so that the sugar dissolves fully in vinegar.
8. When the mixture boils, add the chopped sultanas and leave it to boil a little.
9. Drain the juices from the chopped tomatoes and onions, that were left overnight.
10. Add the tomato and onion slices to the boiling vinegar and sugar solution.
11. Add two or three teaspoons of white pepper and mix together.
12. Allow the mixture to boil gently for around two hours. This helps in making the tomatoes and onions softer and thickens the entire mixture. Do ensure your stir the contents occasionally.
When finished, the chutney will be a golden brown colour and will have a nice thick consistency.
Now, turn off the heat and pour the chutney in jars.
Ensure you use sterilized jars for storing your green tomato chutney.
You can sterilise your jars by washing them in hot water and then placing them in the oven, which is preheated to around 280° F.
Once the bottles are sterilised, fill them with chutney. Gently tap the jars, so as to get rid of any air bubbles. When you have filled your jars, use a food wrap to cover the top of the jar. Trim off any excess wrap and place the lids on the jars.
Label jars, so you don’t forget what it is and when you made it.
Next. Enjoy with meat, cheese or just about anything else you can think of.
Tomatoes & Peppers
Today we harvested the remainder of our tomatoes and peppers. This is just one of the many bowls full of lovely fruit we removed from the plants.
The plan is to make some chutney to enjoy through the coming months.
Gherkin Harvest
You may remember my post in May about Growing Gherkins. Well they certainly grew well. I kept the plant in the greenhouse all summer. It was planted in a terracotta pot on the floor. It grew up to the roof and all the way down the greenhouse, and then some.
The overall harvest of gherkins was truly impressive, so we now have around 20 large jars of pickled gherkins of varying sizes. We have also used a variety of pickling methods, vinegars and spices, so hopefully we will be able to choose a favourite.
Charlotte Potatoes
Despite all the rain we have had this year, this is one of the best crops of second early potatoes we have ever had.
These Charlottes, which are one of my personal favourite second early potatoes, came out large, in great quantity and have fantastic flavour.
My favoured recipe for charlotte potatoes is just to wash lightly, chop into smallish pieces, spray lightly with olive oil, season to taste and pop in the oven. Enjoy.
Sunflower (Helianthus annuu)
There may not have been a great deal of sunshine this summer, but we did manage one really good sunflower this year. In fact, we only planted one. My son planted it as part of a school biology lesson.
It is now about 10 foot tall.
The bees have been thoroughly enjoying the enormous sunflower head whilst the sun shone, however, it won’t be long before we remove and dry the head to save the sunflower seeds for the hamsters and the birds during the winter months. We will hold a few seeds back to plant again next year too.
Climbing Beans and Runner Beans
Having just returned from a few days away, it was wonderful to harvest a respectable crop of runner beans, climbing beans and a few French dwarf beans too.
The first of these bean plants were just starting to flower in early July. It looks like we are going to have a great crop running well through into autumn.
I guess it’s time to get the freezer ready for the influx.
Wet Bedding Plants
It looks like most of the bedding plants won’t need much watering this summer, despite the earlier hosepipe bans.
The hanging baskets and pots around the house have barely been dry for over 2 months.
Lavender (Lavandula) Hedge
The lavender hedge looked radiant this morning. When the sun popped out between the grey clouds, it looked like a mid-summer dream.
..and whilst the sun shone, the bees, presumably from our neighbours’ 5 or 6 bee hives, collected their nectar for what should be some wonderful lavender flavoured honey.
Whilst, I write these words, only 10 minutes after the photo, the heavens have opened once more and the bees have taken shelter.
Climbing Bean Flowers
Despite the non-stop rain and the lack of sunshine, the beans in the garden are doing pretty well.
I planted a mixture or runner beans, climbing beans and dwarf beans earlier on in the year. Germination was mixed, with only about 70% germinating, however, we ended up with enough for this year.
Runner Bean Flowers (Phaseolus Coccineus)
After an initial slug attack or two, which was thwarted through the use of crushed egg shells, all the beans are now doing well. Most of the runner beans are at the top of the 8 foot canes, the climbing beans are nearly there and the dwarf beans about a third the way up.
As you can see, there are plenty of flowers, so am hopeful of a good crop later on in the year.
Crushed eggshells to prevent slug attack
Try using crushed eggshells to prevent snail or slug attack. This method seems to work as hungry gastropods don’t seem to like slithering over the sharp edges.
Collect used eggshells over a period of time. Let them air dry for a day or so. Crush them up fairly time, I find a pestle and mortar does the trick best.
Put a layer of the crushed eggshell around the base of any plants that are susceptible to slug or snail attack. Don’t forget to put some around the support canes too.
Top up the layer of shell after a few days of watering.
Peas in a pod
You can almost taste how sweet these peas are from the picture.
There is nothing better than popping down to the veg beds, picking a couple of peas in their pods, opening them up with your finger nail and popping them straight in your mouth. No tins, no freezing, no bags, just sweet freshness.
My boys love to pick a couple of pea pods whenever they are in the garden. What could be better for them.
These are the Pea Kelvedon Wonder I planted in March.
