It's the end of April, which isn't exactly peak harvest season. However I'm already being able to enjoy at least some of the harvest from the garden. First off there's things like herbs - the rosemary finally found a space it seems to like and is thriving. Freshly cut rosemary goes well with so many things and the you really cannot compare fresh herbs with their dry cousins. … [Read more...] about Enjoying the Harvest From my Garden Already
cooking
Making my own Cucumber Pickle
It's been 3 years since I got my greenhouse. The first couple of seasons had their ups and downs, but by and large I was quite pleased with the crop of tomatoes I got. I was able to use the tomatoes for daily cooking, as well as making plenty of preserves like chutney for the off season. Sadly this year the tomatoes simply have not thrived. Whereas previous years I had a glut … [Read more...] about Making my own Cucumber Pickle
Jam and Chutney Season
It's coming towards the end of August, so we're now into what I like to call "jam and chutney season". Admittedly you can start making jam much earlier in the year if you want to and of course the same is true of chutneys. However, being a little more traditional, I associate this time of year with tomatoes, apples and blackberries. Last year I made a variety of different … [Read more...] about Jam and Chutney Season
So Much Chutney and Other Preserves
Back in August I made my first attempts at making chutney. At the time I was trying to use up ripe fruit as I knew I'd be away for several days on a business trip. Fast forward to now and I've essentially ended up with shelves and boxes covered in jars of various chutneys and vegetable based jams. So what happened? Well the tomato crop was good. It was way better … [Read more...] about So Much Chutney and Other Preserves
Preserving Fruit as Chutney
I've always liked chutney. When I was a child my mother used to make a "no cook" apple chutney from the apples in the orchard. We always had way more apples than we knew what to do with, so she'd make lots of different things with them during the season. The "no cook" chutney was a big hit, though, as it was just so simple. Unfortunately she's misplaced the recipe. I've … [Read more...] about Preserving Fruit as Chutney