Day one!

Really busy day of vegetable cutting. It began with the preparation of the vegetables for the Picalilli. This pickle is a throwback to the Raj and in that way has a particularly interesting set of ingredients and flavours. I reckon that five or six different vegetables are required to give the level of interest required. This morning I chopped 400gms of runner beans (from a neighbour whilst they are on holiday) 400gms of courgettes, turning to marrows (another gift from a neighbor) 400gms of cauliflower, 400gms of onions, 200gms of butternut squash (found in a car park!) and 200gms of tomatoes from the massive box I purchased in Thame market yesterday for just £4. I then set about cutting everything up and mixing them. To this I added salt and it is, at present, sitting in a cold corner to lose a little liquid and keep everything crisp.

Raw Picalilli

Next I started work on a Tomato and Courgette chutney. With all these preserves there are a plethora of recipes on line. I have taken a 'pick and mix' approach to this recipe. I chopped 400gms of courhete and the same amount of tomatoes. I also chopped 6 small onions and 5 small apples.

To this I added 150gms of raisons and 150gms of dried currants. I disolved 400gms of dark soft sugar Iin 500ml of white wine vinegar. To this I added a stick of cinnamon stick and a finely chopped finger of root ginger. I also threw in a tablespoon of mixed spice. When all was disolved I added the vegetables and brought the whole lot to the boil. This was then simmered for nearly three hours. It wasthen bottled Iin the normal way.

Raw Chtney

Chutney at the start of the cooking process

Spring is here (we hope!)

My garden (which is the size of a postage stamp) has gone bonkers in the last few days. My tomatoes have surfaced as have my chillies, The raspberries have leaves and the gooseberry has flowers. At the weekend I planted potatoes in bags made by the Beautiful Wife (The variety is pink fir apple). We planted some in September for Christmas eating. It appeared that they had died in the pre Christmas frosts but when I finally emptied the bags in January there were enough little spuds for three or four meals and they were delicious. I have been watching "Lambing Live" on BBC all this week. This should be compulsory viewing for all people who wish to eat meat. The care, attention and kindness shown to the animals on a well run farm is a perfect demonstration of what I tend to rave about on here. I'm not sure about the Organic certification or the Paper ethics of the featured farm but it is plain to anyone watching that the animals in that glorious location are well managed and cared for. Even more than this, there is Kate Humble for the men and Adam Hensen for the ladies.

The great tomato crisis of 2010

My tomatoes have been a joy this year. I have a tiny garden but do manage to grow the odd plant and I started the year by planting far to many tomato seeds - I ended up giving away over 50 plants in the spring. I kept 12 Golden Sunrise and 3 Hundreds and Thousands. The Beautiful Wife and I have not needed to buy a tomato since mid July and have often faced a glut. Last weekend I "took down" the garden for autumn. This meant dismantling the 12 plants that had been wrapping themselves around each other on the wall of the house. This left me with about 5lbs (2.5 Kg) of ripe tomatoes and about 6lbs (3 KG) of green toms.
Talking to colleagues at school, it appears that everyone has had a good year with their tomatoes apart from those few unlucky people whose caught some blight. For those who now have a mass of toms and don't really know what to do with them here are a couple of recipes. I will write more about chutneys later.

Green tomato chutney

3lb (1.3kg) green tomatoes
1.5lb (675gms) cooking apples
1.5lb (675gms) onions
2tbsp salt
12oz (350gms) sugar
2tsp ground mixed spice
8oz (225gms) Sultanas
1pint (575gms) malt vinegar

Chop or mince onions, apples and toms finely. Place in a large bowl, cover and leave overnight.
Pour off the liquid that has been drawn from the fruit and veg. Transfer the three ingredients to a large pan. Add the vinegar and bring to the boil. Add the spice, dried fruit and sugar.
Bring back to the boil and simmer until everything is pulpy and soft. This can take up
to 90 minutes. Spoon into sterilised jars and allow to mature for a couple of months.Serve with cold cuts salads, bangers and mash or just in sandwiches.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ripe tomatoes (any type)
Olive oil
Salt

Cut the tomatoes in half through the middle so that one end has the whole of the stalk point. Lay the on a baking sheet which has been lightly oiled. Sprinkle over a little salt (quality is important here) and put in an oven at a low heat and leave then for about an hour or until the are still holding shape but very gooey and jelly like.
Place then in a sieve over a bowl and force the pulp through the sieve into the bowl. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom of the sieve when all you have left is a dry pulp of skin and seeds left. Jar up the sauce and use over pasta or to enrich a minestrone.
With my yellow, Golden Sunrise tomatoes this sauce is an amazing colour.

I'm Back!

So here we are then. I've probably been the worst blogger in living memory but I have been inspired to write again. My inspiration has come from two places: The passionate yet full grounded food genius who is Nigel Slater has published the second part of "Tender" and it is wonderful. Also I'm now getting a weekly organic fruit and veg' box from Abel and Cole.
I am no longer taking school dinners and appear to have developed a habit of making soup which I am thoroughly enjoying for lunch.
My tomato crop this year has been fantastic - it started by me planting far too many seeds and having more than fifty plants to give away. I kept 12 Golden Sunrise and 4 Hundreds and Thousands. In short we haven't bought a tomato since the end of July. I have made sauces and tarts and soups and used them in any number of ways. So imagine my joy when my veg box contained half a dozen beautiful tomatoes! They do call September "the fat month" after all.
I do love this time of year - great fruit and veg at a very reasonable price.
A couple of weeks ago the box from Abel and Cole contained a glorious red cabbage about the size of a football. I braised the whole thing in a giant casserole (see below) and served it as part of a wonderful roast rib of beef from Newitts. The rest has been frozen in readiness for lamb shanks or pot roast belly of pork.

Braised Red Cabbage.
This is one of those recipes which have no real volumes, just educated guesses!

One large red cabbage.
A couple of small onions (red or white wine vinegar would be good).
A couple of apples.
1 large glass of red wine.
Serious glug of red wine vinegar.
A little oil.

Slice the cabbage into small slices about 3-5 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Cut onion into small pieces. Peel and core the apples and cut into small pieces. Place a large casserole on the hob and crank it up to a medium high heat, add oil then onion and apple. Stir for about three minutes then add the cabbage and stir for a further two. Add the wet ingredients and stir. Pop the lid on the pan and put the casserole into the oven at a medium high heat for ninety minutes.
Serve with any red meat, game and pork.

Today's veg box contained broccoli, spinach and an onion squash amongst other thins so it should be an interesting week. More later.