A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. CONFUCIUS

Saturday 12 October 2013

Harvest


Harvesting the last of the summer fruit before the first frosts. In the jars are pickled beetroot, dried chillies and plum jam. But what on earth am I going to do with all those fresh chillies? I picked another bumper crop yesterday. And there are already lots in the freezer and hanging up to dry. I made a chilli cheese omelette last night, but that only used two. Still, if an overabundance of chillies were the only problem in life . . .

8 comments:

The Weaver of Grass said...

What I want to know is did those potatoes come up out of the ground like that or have they been scrubbed?
We have stopped growing potatoes because we get them so slug-ridden.
Impressive harvest though Robert. Not so sure about the chillies.

The Solitary Walker said...

Scrubbed, Pat! Shame about your potatoes. Have you tried growing them in a prepared, raised bed? Then using eggshells or gravel round the edge if there's still a problem.

I fancy making some strong chilli and garlic-based soups to counteract the autumnal chills.

Ruth said...

We dry the red ones, of course, but I don't know what to tell you about the green ones.

Well, here are instructions for roasting then freezing them. A bit of work, but it would be awfully nice to pull these out for soup or chili in the winter.

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-roast-and-freeze-green-chiles-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193168

Howellsey said...

The Jamie Oliver pickled chilli recipe with mint and vinegar is awesome!

The Solitary Walker said...

Thanks for the link, Ruth. Growing chillies was new to me — all a little exotic for the UK! The green ones didn't seem to want to turn red on the bush, so I picked them green, and they are fine. The ones I'm drying naturally turn red over the weeks.

I'll check out that recipe, Howellsey. Thanks!

Grace said...

Looks like you had a fruitful garden this year. I'd love to see a picture of your garden.

Goat said...

Very impressive. Damn, that cauliflower looks good, as do the pears.

The Solitary Walker said...

Nice to see you, Grace. I've put a few pictures of my garden on the blog this year, but generally close-ups of smaller areas or flowers etc. as the more panoramic shots don't seem to work out as well.

Made a cauliflower cheese pasta bake with the cauliflower, Goat. I must say it was delicious! Like much homegrown veg, the cauliflower was firmer, yet softened more quickly when cooked, and had a stronger, fresher taste.