First published Thursday, 10 August 2017
I always end up with a glut of courgettes and tomatoes. I know it's going to happen, and yet every single year, it still catches me out! The tomatoes are not such a problem as they take up a relatively small space in the fridge, but the courgettes....well that is a whole different matter. To begin with I will pick a few smallish fruit for cooking and all is well. Then next time I will notice a few slightly larger ones that I somehow managed to miss before, but pick them anyway and put them in the fridge for another day. Then almost immediately, more will sprout (and at such an alarming rate), that I find it hard to keep up. Before I know it, I will have a fridge full and believe me some can be huge!
Now at times like this, I need to have some idea of what I'm going to do with all this produce, otherwise all my efforts could just go to waste. So my quickest solution will always be soup! It is easy to make and freezes well.
So today was a soup day......
Courgette, potato and leek soup.
Ingredients, large knob of butter 2 garlic cloves1 chilli6 new potatoes, halved2 medium courgettes, thickly sliced2 leeks, thickly sliced2 veg stock cubes, dissolved in a pint boiling waterherbs of your choice and seasoning Method In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat and add leeks to sweat for a few minutes. Add the potatoes, courgettes, garlic, chilli and herbs of your choice for a further two minutes. Dissolve stock cubes in boiling water and add to pan stirring to free anything that may have stuck to the bottom. Cover and simmer for up to 15 minutes. Leave the soup to cool a little (to prevent any splashes scalding you) and blitz. Adjust seasoning to taste.Freezes well Tomato and red pepper soup
Ingredients, large knob of butter1 medium onion, chopped into large chunks 2 garlic cloves1 chilliSelection of tomatoes, halved (I used about 15 in total of  Gardeners Delight and Alicante)2 large red peppers, remove seeds and chopped into large chunks400g tin of chopped tomatoessalt and peppercouple mint leaves and some dried basil (I didn't have any fresh, but this would have been much better) Method In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat and add onion to sweat for a few minutes. Add the garlic, chilli, fresh tomatoes, peppers and herbs to the pan for a further two minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Pour in tin tomatoes (and a little water if there is not enough liquid to cover all the ingredients). Cover and simmer for at least 15 minutes. Leave the soup to cool a little (to prevent any splashes scalding you) and blitz. Adjust seasoning to taste.Freezes well These recipes are really just a guide, as you can add as little or as much of whatever you have to hand. Often I will just chuck in anything that takes my fancy and it usually turns out fine....so just experiment and enjoy! Talking of experimenting.....I have a new toy!
I am now the proud owner of a food dehydrator. I did attempt to dry some of my chillies in my own oven, but they took over two and a half hours at 100c, which meant I couldn't use the oven for anything else while they were in there. Unfortunately, when they were 'done' they were more cooked than dried! I had read about these dehydrators and the endless possibilities. One thing I really wanted to make was my own 'sun dried' style tomatoes. Traditionally, these would be sliced and spread out on trays and left in the hot sun for days until they were fully dried. Well that was out of the question here in Cambridgeshire with all the torrents of rain we have had lately (and then what about the flies?). One article I read even suggested leaving trays of sliced tomatoes in a hot car. That's all very well until you have to brake suddenly!!!  ...anyway I am currently drying two racks of tomatoes, one rack of chillies and two of mint... so watch this space! PS: Re my previous blog Cauliflower Vs Mrs White Cabbage Butterfly, War so far..... Annie 1,  Caterpillars 0Â