Sunday 11 August 2013

DEALING WITH THE GLUT......

I don't know about you, but we are fairly new to bulk veggie growing. Our plot though very reasonable has been more leisure planned than aimed at growing our own. Somehow when we were working full time sitting in the summerhouse with a cold glass of wine had more appeal in the little leisure time we had than grafting in a veggie plot.
However now that DH is fully retired gardening has taken on a whole new aspect here, with mini greenhouses squeezing into any available space and I must say some very inventive gardening! Courgettes grown in planters on the wall, tomatoes in hanging baskets...OK!....but it works......


So as a result unlike the usual glut of just tomatoes which I can easily deal with, we now have runner beans, cucumbers, courgettes, french beans with tomatoes, peppers and pumpkins swelling nicely.


So what do you do with your excess? How do you make sure that all the work is not wasted and along with it the lovely fruits of your labour.
Well I turned to my MILs method to salt some of the beans, as I'm not personally keen on them frozen......




Made a lot of stuffed courgette boats.....


.......Yes I know one or two of the little devils hid themselves among the foliage and were a bit large for harvesting, still they made super courgette liners instead of boats, and they still tasted yummy!.....


 others were used in stir fries along with the french beans and some were roasted with Mediterranean veg.



So come on you wonderful self sufficient army, share a few of your top tips for preserving your glut. I for one will be very interested and would appreciate any idea that will make us proud of what we have produced and able to enjoy it in the cold months to come.

Off to make cucumber sandwiches (crusts off of course) for my tea.....

TTFN
Jenny xx

5 comments:

  1. You have done so well! Sadly I don't have any top tips - living in a top floor apartment means I can't have a vegetable patch! :)

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    Replies
    1. We are lucky and we appreciate it.We just don't want to waste anything!

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  2. Hello Jenny - what a fabulous crop (vegies, not that other one known as the Herb Superb!) you guys are enjoying. Corn is always good to grow, I quickly blanch the excess, pack then in freezer bags & snap freeze. It's lovely to have fresh corn to cook in the middle of a cold winter. Just be warned though, the entire crop will need picking all on the same day, it's amazing how Nature times that!

    Love all those zucchini, I think you Poms call them courgettes? We often make a evening meal from them - zucchini fritters studded with some cubes of feta cheese, lashings of bacon & a hot tomato salsa on the side - yum!
    Millie xx

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  3. Sadly we've no veggie garden here, but my mother makes and freezes a lot of vegetable soups ... tomato and courgette are favourites ... they last them right through the winter.

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  4. Wow...you really are blessed to have so much yummy goodness. Love those beans of yours..thanks for visiting me and happy eating xo

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