Archive for category Homegrown Food

Seasonal Gluts

Sep 1

Posted by bodonnell in Homegrown Food

Visiting a green-fingered friend of mine over the weekend I came away with an armful of her surplus vegetables. It set me thinking what do people do with the seasonal gluts from their gardening?  So I asked around to see what my colleagues here at Suttons are getting up to with their excess produce.

We are obviously all friendly folks here as giving our gluts away to friends, family and neighbours were all popular choices but we have also been busy in the kitchen.

Chutney has been made, particularly popular is Runner Bean or the more unusual Sweet Red Onion & Runner Bean.

Everyone has also been blanching and freezing Runner Beans ready for Christmas dinner – ideal for Broad Beans too.

Pickle shallots ready for Christmas, same for Gherkins and, of course, Onions.

We have plenty of uses for Tomatoes. Freeze them on trays, put into plastic bags and then when making soups and stews just pop them in as they are.  If you want to eat them now, a tomato soup is easy and tasty. Or bring a taste of Italy or Mexico into your life by making copious amounts of Garlic and Tomato Bruschetta and Hot Salsa, a great way of using up Tomato Tumbler.  Making Ratatouille is also popular either to eat straight away or to freeze and eat later.  One person makes Tomato Jam – sounds peculiar but I am assured that it tastes delicious!

Several people have Chilli gluts and are drying them for use later.  One very industrious person made curry paste, but did say it wasn’t really worth the effort!

Plums are being turned into jam, jam and more jam…. And when you have exhausted your jam jars and your friends refuse to take any more, then just leave them on the trees and give the birds a treat!

And finally we are all getting the forgotten juicer from the cupboard and making delicious and healthy drinks.

Thanks to Lis, Brian, Fran, Dawn, Anita, Pam, Rufus, Julie and Glen for all their suggestions.

Tags:

1 Comment

Splitting The A-tom….

Aug 6

Posted by Bea in Homegrown Food

Tomatoes have been having  a wonderful time recently- basking in the sunshine, having the odd shower just to wash off the dust,  plenty of food, care and attention (blimey- I think I’ll come back as a tomato,it sounds fabulousl!).

However, I have noticed that the leaves on my plants have been looking past their best and I thought that they may have got the dreaded blight. I asked our chap Toby who suggested that I take off the leaves and destroy them (do not put on the compost heap!) and if the plant is strong enough it may grow through it, if indeed it has the blight.

Another question I put to Toby was ‘ If the Tomato has blight are the fruits safe to eat?’ The answer, suprisingly was yes if the tomato looks in good condition.This prompted me to ask about ‘splitting’. Some of my tomatoes have been splitting and I wondered what the cause of this could be. It seems that it depends on the water uptake of the plant but it could also be the way in which it is picked.

If you take a close look at the photograph of Tomato Tomatoberry, you will see what looks like an elbow (kalix) coming off the stem of the tomato. Try and pick the fruit from that point, keeping the Kalix intact. this not only helps prevent splitting but also looks better if you were ‘showing ‘ the tomato.

Toby also added a note about some vegetables:

  • Spring planted onions should now be lifted and dried if they are showing any signs of mildew
  • Garlic can be pulled and dried now
  • Runner beans will be ready to crop

Tags:

1 Comment

A top tip when growing Sweetcorn

Jul 15

Posted by fkearn in Homegrown Food, In the Veg Patch

Sweetcorn is fantastic for BBQs and the tastiest sweetcorn you will ever eat is straight from the garden. Here’s a tip from Toby (the Trial Grounds guru) on how to grow sweetcorn…

As you can see from the pic, one row of sweetcorn is planted into the soil, and the other planted into the soil and then covered in mypex (black material or plastic).

The picture is not very clear, however you can see  just how much taller the sweetcorn in mulch is. I think this is proof that mulching with plastic really works. Another advantage of mulching is that it will stop weeds growing and hold moisture under the material, therefore meaning less watering.

I know it doesn’t look very pretty, but black plastic can be easily hidden with bark or gravel. A lot of vegetables really thrive on being mulched and it saves hours of weeding, which gives you more time for BBQs and sweetcorn!!!

Tags: ,

No Comments

BBQ recipes using garlic

Jul 11

Posted by Gardening Diva in Recipes

Ok, as it is that time of year again and the weather is being so phenomenally gorgeous here in Devon I thought I would post a couple of my favourite BBQ recipes using an ingredient or two I am growing or have grown in the garden. I am of course focussing on recipes with garlic in on the back of my previous blog post.

This first one is a real favourite, using fresh basil from the garden and home grown garlic also. I have used smaller prawns and it still tastes good but if you buy them when they are on special offer, tiger prawns are worth the extra pennies.

BBQ garlic prawns

  • 12 large tiger prawns
  • 2 tblsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 oz melted butter
  • 3 garlic cloves finely chopped or crushed
  • 2 tblsp olive or sunflower oil
  • Juice from a large lemon
  • 1 tblsp freshly chopped sage
  • salt and ground black pepper

Place the olive oil, melted butter, garlic, lemon juice, basil, mustard and salt and pepper  in a shallow dish or Tupperware style bowl and mix until well blended.

Peel and de-vein the prawns. Add to the marinade and toss thoroughly. Cover the dish and refrigerate for an hour.

Remove the prawns from the dish and thread onto dampened wooden skewers. Let the hot coals cool down a little and cook over a medium temp BBQ for two to three mins, less for smaller prawns, basting with the remaining marinade a couple of times.

Eat immediately with crusty white bread..

 

Garlic Soy Chicken

Probably the simplest recipe possible, but it tastes realllly good! If you are nervous about cooking chicken on the BBQ then probably best to cook it in the microwave first and just finish off over the coals.

  • 8 free range chicken drumsticks
  • 4 finely chopped or crushed garlic cloves
  • 4 floz (120 mls) Soy Sauce

Place the garlic and soy sauce in a deep bowl and mix well. Add the drumsticks and turn a few times to coat thoroughly. Cover the bowl and marinate in the fridge for a minimum of an hour – longer if you have time.

Cook over medium coals for 20 to 30 mins, turning occasionally and basting with the remaining marinade. Check the chicken is cooked well before serving. Best served hot.

Enjoy!!

Diva.x

Tags: , , , , , ,

1 Comment

In love with garlic!

Jul 10

Posted by Gardening Diva in Homegrown Food, In Your Garden Now, In the Veg Patch, Vegetable growing

The ancient Egyptians credited it with magical medicinal powers, and Roman legionnaires attributed their strength and stamina to the “stinking rose.” Garlic is one of my favourite garden crops.. quick to plant and very easy to grow, it stays buried  in the ground just waiting to be pulled, dried and cooked with!

I grew garlic for the first time last year and it is one of the easiest crops I know of! I have several troughs about 3 ft long and put 7 or 8 cloves of garlic in each in around October and basically just ignore them for the next 8 or 9 months! They sit in their little homes all green and lush looking and are seemingly indestructible! It was a horrible winter last year and I lost several plants in my garden, but the garlic just kept going.

We all know how great it tastes either as a flavouring or roasted whole as an accompaniment but it is also very good for us providing allyl sulfur compounds which some scientists believe have an ability to slow or prevent the growth of some cancerous cells.

It’s worth mentioning that the smaller you chop your garlic, the stronger the flavour and the more pungent it becomes. Garlic cloves which are cooked whole are generally quite mild so can be eaten whole, whereas garlic which has been pushed through a garlic press is 10 times stronger than garlic which has been chopped with a knife! Crushing also bruises the garlic so if you want a purer flavour, chopping is by far the best option. Therefore, if you want a milder tasting dish, either add whole cloves or lightly crush with the flat of a knife. I am adding some great garlic recipes shortly as I am in the process of drying my first crop of garlic, harvested about a week ago so ready to cook with next month.

I have to say I also love the whole process of pulling the garlic and drying it.. There is something really special about garlic bulbs hung up with the long leaves just draped and drying.. the faint garlicky smell permeating the room/shed. I have learnt this year how to make a garlic plait and it’s not as hard as it sounds if you take it step by step, and is really satisfying!

Tags: ,

5 Comments

Storing Herbs

Jul 1

Posted by CYeoh in Homegrown Food

Isn’t it great at this time of the year to be able to go out to your herb patch and pick some fresh to go with your meal, either to add during cooking or to add that finishing touch: Mint and new potatoes, sorrel omelette for a light summer meal, oregano for Italian dishes, while basil, parsley, chives & dill all add highlights to a salad.

But with all this herb abundance around have you ever wondered how to store them for the lean winter months?  The answer is easy: depending on the type of herb you can either freeze, dry or add them to oils & vinegars to keep the flavours long after the summer has passed.

For both drying and freezing, pick the herbs just before they flower selecting the topmost, most tender new stalks. Picking before they flower ensures the leaves contain the most oil – this oil produces the most taste and aroma to flavour your dishes.

Freezing Herbs - Most herbs are easiest to freeze complete on the stalk, just gather a bunch and place in a plastic bag.  When you need to use some, just snip the required amount off the bunch. Another convenient way to store herbs for soups or sauces is to finely chop prior to putting in an ice cube tray and covering with a little water. Basil tends to lose its colour when frozen so puree in a blender with just a little olive oil before transferring to the ice cube tray. Herbs most suitable for freezing: Basil, Chives, Parsley and Coriander

Drying herbs - Slow air drying is the best way to preserve the flavour and aroma of herbs, the slow natural evaporation of the moisture means that the optimum amount of oil is left. Take a bunch of your favourite herbs, wash, drain and blot well. Make sure they are as dry as possible as wet herbs will go mouldy before they dry out.  Tie the stems together and leave in a cool, shady area for about 2 weeks or until the herbs are thoroughly dried. If you don’t have a suitable area for drying then try putting them in a paper bag, with a few holes in it for ventilation.  Herbs most suited for drying: Thyme, Rosemary, Bay, Sage and Tarragon.

1 Comment

A funny thing happend on the way to the shed…..

May 12

Posted by Bea in Homegrown Food

I was watering my plants the other day, checking on them like a mother hen does, and I sort of thought – something’s going on with my garlic crop! I counted the crop, making a mental note of how many were there. The next day sure enough a garlic thief had whipped out one of my garlic bulbs! Now I know slugs will eat anything but you can usually see thier slimy little butt trails all over the place and it didn’t look like they’d been having a hoe down on the compost, but if it wasn’t those little critters who was it? Do mice like garlic? Anyone have any suggestions? My resident vampire is completely blameless and will challenge anyone who dares say any different to a duel. Obviously not at dawn but arrangements can be made to suit.

Seriously though, I was delighted that my first attempt at growing garlic has gone so well. I planted them out on a very cold day in late February I think and they have come on a treat since then and I can’t wait to begin harvesting them between August – September. I’m going to leave them to get as big as possible, harvesting them (that’s if my thief dosen’t get there first!) when the leaves have gone brown. It is possible to pull them up before hand while the leaves are still green(technically known as wet garlic) however I really want to have a go at plaitting them all together. (I had three boys.) To do this you have to pull the garlic when ready and leave them to dry in the sun for about three days so that the plait dosen’t rot. Tie three garlic bulbs together at the base and start plaitting adding more bulbs  as you go (think French plait).

 The variety that I used was Solent white, a British bred variety that adapts well to the British climate (and it’s certainly had to work hard this year!) giving  a good crop (hopefully!) of large tasty cloves.

Did anyone see where I put the watering can……..

Tags: ,

1 Comment

Fenix Chilli recipe

Mar 22

Posted by Suttons in Recipes

The next ingredient from our Pepper and Chilli Around The World Collection to get its own recipe is Fenix Chilli a brilliant sweet Italian pepper. It’s a slightly unusual chilli recipe as it includes sausage meat so may not be to everyone’s taste. If you’re vegetarian you can try replacing both mince & sausage meat with a vegetarian mince such as Quorn. Give it a go and let us know how you get on with it.

Ingredients (serves 6 so makes quite a lot!)
500g minced beef
250g sausage meat
1 can chopped tomatoes
A generous dollop of tomato puree
1 large onion
2 Fenix chillies & 1 large Worldbeater pepper (from your collection)
200ml water
1 stick celery
300ml hot beef stock
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can kidney beans
4-5 mushrooms
2 Courgettes
Fresh parsley

Directions
Chop all the vegetables & herbs.

Cook beef and sausage meat in a large pan or wok over a medium heat. In another pan, combine the rest of the ingredients except kidney beans, mushrooms, courgettes and parsley. Drain the meat and add to the rest of the mixture. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until vegetables are tender. Add the kidney beans, mushrooms, courgette and parsley. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Serve and enjoy!

Tags: , ,

No Comments

Fatalii Paella recipe

Mar 3

Posted by Suttons in Homegrown Food, Peppers, Recipes

The next ingredient from our Pepper and Chilli Around The World Collection to get its own recipe is Chilli Fatalii, a pepper with a vibrant orange colour. This spicy Paella recipe is a favourite of Fiona’s who receommends it highly!

Ingredients:
50ml/2fl oz olive oil
150g/5oz chorizo, cut into small chunks
1 onion, finely chopped
1 Worldbeater pepper (from your collection), roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 Fatalii chillies (from your collection), finely chopped
½ tsp smoked hot paprika
½ tsp smoked sweet paprika
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
500g/1lb 2oz paella rice, such as Calasparra
175ml/6fl oz dry white wine
1.5 litres/2½ pints hot fish stock
1 tsp saffron threads
4 large tomatoes, seeds removed, chopped
12 raw king prawns, shells on
300g/11oz raw tiger prawns, peeled and cleaned
150g/5oz baby squid, cleaned, trimmed and cut in half
400g/14oz mussels, cleaned and debearded (discard any that don’t close when gently tapped)
300g/11oz clams (discard any that don’t close when gently tapped)
110g/4oz frozen peas, defrosted
1 lemon, juice only
salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large paella pan or frying pan until hot and add the chorizo. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the chorizo starts to release its oils.
2. Add the onion and pepper and cook for 1-2 minutes until just beginning to soften. Add the garlic, chilli flakes, hot and sweet paprika and thyme and fry for one minute.
3. Add the paella rice and fry for two minutes until coated in oil.
4. Add the white wine and simmer until reduced by half.
5. Add the fish stock, saffron and tomatoes and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid nearly absorbed.
6. Add all the seafood and cook for 3-4 minutes until cooked through.
7. Add the peas and lemon juice and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
8. To serve, stir in the flatleaf parsley and drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil.

Tags: , , ,

2 Comments

Red Demon Chicken recipe

Feb 26

Posted by Suttons in Peppers, Recipes

Chilli Red Demon

We’ve launched a new Pepper and Chilli Around The World Collection so thought we’d celebrate by adding some recipes for the varieties included. We’re starting with a recipe for Red Demon Chicken which uses Red Demon Chilli which is part of the collection.

Red Demon Chicken
Ingredients

For the jerk chicken
2 tbsp mild jerk seasoning
1 tbsp soy sauce
2-3 tbsp tomato ketchup (or barbecue sauce)
1 tbsp runny honey
2 boneless chicken breasts, skin on
2 tbsn vegetable oil

For the plantain
30g/1½ oz butter
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large ripe plantain, skin removed, cut on the diagonal into slices 2cm/¾ in thick

For the salsa
2 red demon chillies,(from your collection) finely chopped
½ small ripe pineapple, peeled and finely chopped
½ lime, juice only
2.5cm/1in piece fresh ginger, grated (optional)
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

For the rice and peas
25g/1oz butter
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
100ml/3½ fl oz light coconut milk
100g/3½ oz basmati rice
½ x 410g/14oz can kidney beans (do not drain)
1 sprig fresh thyme
½ tsp salt
310ml/11 fl oz boiling water
1 green bird’s-eye chilli (or ½ Scotch bonnet pepper)

Step -by-step

1. For the rice and peas, heat the butter in a saucepan and gently fry the spring onions and garlic. Don’t allow them to brown.

2. Add the coconut milk and bring to the boil.

3. Stir in the rice, the kidney beans (along with the liquid in the tin), the thyme, salt and boiling water. Add the chilli, then stir, cover with a lid and bring back to the boil.

4. Once it’s come to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until all the liquids absorbed and the rice is tender. Fluff lightly with a fork to separate the grains, cover and leave to stand.

5. For the jerk chicken, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Place the jerk seasoning, soy sauce, tomato ketchup (or barbecue sauce) and honey into a bowl and mix to a paste.

6. Use a sharp knife to make four or five deep cuts at an angle across the skin-side of the chicken breasts.

7. Brush half the jerk paste over the chicken with a pastry brush.

8. Brush a baking sheet with half the vegetable oil. Place the chicken breasts onto the baking sheet and drizzle with the remaining oil. Transfer to the oven and roast for 25 minutes. Brush with the remaining jerk paste during cooking.

9. For the last five minutes of cooking, place the baking tray at the top of the oven, where the temperature’s hottest, to brown the chicken. Check the chicken’s cooked through – there should be no pink when you cut into it

10. For the plantain, heat the butter and oil in a pan over a medium heat, add the plantain and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden-brown. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.

11. For the salsa, place the onion, chilli, pineapple, lime juice, sugar and ginger, if using, into a pan and heat gently for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool, and then stir in the coriander and mint.

12. To serve, place the chicken onto serving plates with some rice and peas, a few slices of plantain and a spoonful of salsa.

Tags: , ,

2 Comments