From plot to pot

At this time of year fresh vegetables from the allotment are scarce. I still have some leeks in so I decided to put them together with onions, chickpeas and potatoes harvested earlier in the autumn to make a simple but delicious winter soup.

This recipe is not precise so adjust it to your taste. I sliced up 2 small onions, 7 leeks and 3 medium potatoes and a clove of garlic. The onions and leeks are fried in a heavy duty pot in rapeseed oil until softened, 7-10 minutes.

Add the cubed potatoes and continue to fry for a further 5 minutes.

Then drain a tin of chickpeas and add to the pot. Stir in 1.5 pints of vegetable stock and bring to boil. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes with lid on.

 Season to taste and the soup is then ready to eat.

I prefer to blend half of the soup and then mix it back in. This gives a creamy consistency which is perfect for serving with homemade bread rolls.

More jam!

July is the month when all the hard workcomes to fruition, literally and we end up with masses of produce.
With not much effort at all I have managed to produce 10 lbs of raspberries this year after the local bird population had eaten about 5lbs.

We have made a few summer puddings but the bulk of the berries have gone into raspberry jam. I use the Good Housekeeping Cookbook recipe with one modification - reduced sugar.

1. Wash 12 jars, rinse thoroughly and place in the oven at 100oC
2. Put 7.5 lbs of washed raspberries in a large jampan and bring to boil.
3. Simmer in it's own juice gently for 20 minutes until the fruit is really soft.
4. Add 5lbs of granulated sugar, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved.
5. Bring to the boil and boil for 5-10 minutes until the jam has reached setting point.
6. To determine the setting point place a teaspoon of jam on a cold saucer. When the jam is cold push your finger across it. If the jam wrinkles then the setting point has been attained.
7. Fill the hot jars with jam and seal, leaving a half inch gap at the top.
8. As the jam cools the seal will become secure and the jars are ready for labelling.
9. Jam produced in this way is good for at least 6 months and usually for a lot longer.

It's time for corn - sweet!

Growing in the Yorkshire Dales can be tricky with most veg so it was quite an adventure to try sweetcorn this season. Twelve plants outdoors and eighteen in the polytunnel.

Last time I tried it in the tunnel the plants were pushing at the roof before the cobs had formed. This year I tried an earlier cropping variety and the indoor plants had cobs on them by the middle of July. I waited until this week, the last one of the month and the results so far have been really heartening.

 

The big advantage of home grown is being able to eat them within hours of harvesting. After five minutes in boiling water the cobs are sweet and tender.

Spicy Xmas chutney

Chutney is a great way of using up surplus veg from the plot. In the summer I make tomato and courgette chutney when they are in season. At this time of year carrots onions, beetroot and apples are aplenty so this recipe (with variations) is ideal and the resulting jars of product can be either eaten, stored or given as festive presents.

Recipe:

3 carrots, grated.
3 beetroot diced
3 onions diced
3 apples, peeled and grated
3 oranges - zest and fruit, chopped.
2 tbsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp ground cloves
700ml red wine vinegar
600g sugar
100g sultanas
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 jalapeno pepper, diced.

Add all the ingredients to a large pan.

Bring to boil stirring frequently.

Once the mixture is boiling reduce heat and boil gently for approximately one hour. Stir occasionally and check spice levels. If chutney requires more heat add a teaspoon of ground ginger.

After an hour remove from heat. Check beetroot is tender. Bottle chutney whilst hot into warm sterile jars and close lids tightly.

Do not use chutney until it is at least one month old. This recipe will improve with age and will keep for at least twelve months. Enjoy!

Deja vu.

Once again it is winter on the allotment - time for planning and overwintering those veg which will grow in the polytunnel.

This year I am growing garlic, onions, broad beans and peas in the tunnel through the winter. Last year's onions (Radar) were ready in May and hence were out in time to allow successional cropping.

Outside I still have sprouts and leeks. Other plot holders have good displays of winter brassicas. Kale is very popular on our site as you can see.

This coming season will be a bit of a departure for me as I plan to grow sweet corn in the tunnel. It would probably grow outside but our site is very susceptible to wind damage so the tunnel is a safer bet. I have chosen Earlibird F1.

Our allotment association is a member of the Kings Seeds Scheme. This means that we buy good quality seeds and earn cashback for our funds in the process. Other seeds already earmarked for the tunnel include Tumbler F1 tomatoes, Cobra climbing French beans and Burpless Tasty Green F1 cucumber.

 It is sometimes not much fun having an allotment in the Yorkshire Dales. On a day like today the westerly wind is battering the plot at up to 50 miles per hour. However for a few months each year  life on the allotment is absolute bliss.   Being close to nature and reaping the fruits (and veg) of your labours is one of the best experiences that you can have.

 

Coming not far behind in the experience stakes is taking veg out of the ground and cooking it within a few hours, Home grown, home cooked food is wonderful. I just love converting this:

 

 

Into a warming and nutritious meal - just what we need on a blustery November day! Today's offering:

 

 

 

I counted 11 vegetables went into this stew, 5 of them grown on my plot. My ambition? 11/11 of course! Homemade bread rolls and Spanish wine completed the meal. Oh and the recipe?

 

 

Fry onion leeks and garlic in oil. Chop up whatever veg are available. Add to pan plus lentils and boiling water. Cook long and slow. Season to taste. Et voila!