Fresh Produce From the Garden!

It’s the beginning of August, so it’s a real bumper time in the garden.

I’m already onto my 3rd round of carrots, which I’m hoping will be ready in the next couple of weeks.

The lettuce, which I planted in one of the raised beds, have gone a little wild, but are still edible.

At the moment the tomatoes are ripening, as are the peppers and chillis. So in practical terms you can really go to town in the kitchen on food that comes mostly from the garden.

This evening I hope to make a simple Caprese salad with some Irish mozzarella. The other ingredients come from my greenhouse, where I’ve got both tomatoes (the nice big beef ones) as well as basil. I’ve got a good variety of olive oils and other seasoning already, so putting together a lovely refreshing salad won’t be hard.

I’m hoping that I’ll get enough tomatoes to be able to do a few sauces and other things, but even if I don’t I’ve been able to make salads for lunch with a simple combination of tomato, cucumber, lettuce and some Irish tuna. (Yes, there is Irish tuna and it’s really good!)

I’ve still got some garlic and potatoes which I harvested a few weeks ago, so there are “options”. And of course I have a pretty good selection of fresh herbs. Cooking with freshly cut thyme is great – such a strong aroma compared to the dry version.

The main problem I’m facing is that the tomato plants are growing very vigorously and if left alone for a couple of days they tend to get out of control (see photo above). I’ve had to get quite aggressive with the pruning, as they’re at risk of collapsing under their own weight if they’re not kept under control.

But whatever problems I might encounter it’s still totally worth it when you get the satisfaction of cooking a meal which is almost entirely sourced from your own garden!