Fruit and Veg to Spare. 18th Aug 2017

We are at the height of production on the allotment with more vegetables and fruit arriving than we can possibly eat. I’m not keen on freezing excess down unless it’s in the form of soup or stewed fruit, the exception being raspberries which freeze exceptionally well and are useful in winter. We have lots of courgette and broad bean soup frozen as well as stewed rhubarb with strawberries. Both will be very welcome in winter. Everything else I prefer to eat fresh and in season so our friends and neighbours have been benefitting with parcels of courgettes, beetroot, beans and rhubarb arriving on their doorsteps.

The French beans which we have been growing up the sweetcorn (see photo) have been very productive and the sweetcorn is not far off being ready. We tried one this week but felt that another week was necessary for them to fill out completely. It was still delicious and sweet though.

The beetroot have been prolific and large. I love to serve them just grated and tossed with a salad dressing. We also have them boiled and occasionally I make beetroot soup. They make a good addition to fermented vegetables which I always keep in stock. They help you to see when the vegetables have finished fermenting as everything turns a beautiful beetroot red colour.

We are about to pick our first swede, probably to go with a roast this Sunday and we have had masses of chard which is a vegetable I really love plus it’s so easy to grow. I cut the stalks from the leaves and chop them finely and steam these for a few minutes before adding the chopped leaves. Once everything is cooked I toss it in a little butter and season with salt and pepper. My mouth is already watering looking forward to Sunday lunch with all these fresh vegetables.