Wednesday, 15 September 2010

Mamma Mia here we go again !!

I don't know about anyone else but I am so fed up with looking at bowls of tomatoes taking over my kitchen, hasn't it been a great year for them ?? trouble is I grew too many. So here I go again making more batches of Italian style tomato, garlic and chili pasta sauce. I have frozen about five pots already and used some to cook with and it was delicious. So here are all the ingredients and all grown on my plot I might add !! ready to make another big batch of the sauce. I am scared to look out in the garden in case I see more ripe tomatoes !!

What has everyone been doing with their tomatoes ?? I would love to know, so any tips please pass them on.

This is another veg that I have had in abundance, cute little 'munchkin squashes' and as sweet as they look I am running out of ideas to cook them apart from adding them to soups and stews, and baking them. Does anyone else grow these ?

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I won a giveaway prize from Damien at 'Two chances veg plot blog' it arrived this morning and is a 'Lands End' gift voucher for £25 to spend on something from their range of clothing. Also enclosed was three packets of nasturtium seeds, lovely ! so thank you Damien and also to your little girl for picking my name out of the hat.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

All those wonderful tomatoes this year. Even our neighbours are looking for new recipes to use them up.
P x

Carole said...

I grow lots of little pumpkins because I got fed up growing huge ones that went mouldy before I could finish them. I find that they store well, so there is not rush to use them up. The best recipe was halve (don't peel) brush with oil, add chopped shallots, garlic, tomatoes, and feta or goats cheese and bake til tender. Works with butternut squash too.

Maureen said...

Hi PAM, Yes they are wonderful I agree but I wish I hadn't grown so many. I have given lots away too.

Hi CAROLE,unfortunately these little 'munchkins' don't store well they start going off after a couple of weeks. I will definitely try the way you do yours with the feta or goats cheese, so thanks for the tip. YUM !

cottage garden farmer said...

It has indeed been a bumper year for tomatoes, I've made enough sauce to last us all winter. Have a huge bowl of ratatouille in the fridge, and there's still loads out there. Still makes up for all the years when it rains and the crop fails!

Damo said...

Thanks Maureen and glad they arrived safely. I'm not very creative on the tomato front and, like you, have loads this year. So it's pasta sauce all round which is so easy to make and the girls love it. Now down to one basket full in the kitchen! And we have lots of squash too. Thanks again for the seeds you sent me, the Dahlias are still going strong and the pumpkins are almost ready, can't wait!

Carole said...

I grow Hooligan and Winter Festival which store well.

Anonymous said...

Hi Maureen,
Meant to say one of my favourite ways of using tomatoes is chopped with avocado, spring onions, lime juice and a shake of green tabasco sauce. Leave covered for a little while - boil up some pasta and stir through the tomatoes. Very little cooking, fast and so yummy. Sometimes add a little coriander too.
Take care,
Pam x

Matron said...

Sometimes the great piles of ripe tomatoes in the kitchen are a bit tiresome, but then I think about the horrid supermarket tomatoes we have to bear for the other 6 months of the year and I appreciate them a lot more!

Prospero said...

Doc,

your vegetables look wonderful. You make me so jealous. We had a terrible year for vegetables. First we had a record drought. The farmers are just recovering from that disaster .. and have planted their fall crops. There has been a reasonable amount of rain, but now, the island is faced with the prospects of hurricane Igor destroying everything. It is a very powerful storm (500 km wide!) and will obliterate everything in its path. Luckily, I haven't planted my fall garden yet. I will do so in the aftermath. I hope all is well with you.

Pam's English Garden said...

Dear Maureen, Your harvest is very impressive! Mine is puny in comparison. I freeze my left-over tomatoes to use in sauces over the winter. But I'm not going to have much left over this year.

Have a lovely weekend! Love, Pam x

Shiny New Allotment Holder said...

I'm starting to get a bit tired of toms too... blight caught a lot of ours, so have made bucket-loads of green tomato chutney. The ripe ones, I think I'm going to bake slowly all day tomorrow & make into sundried tomatoes, stored in olive oil. And for the rest, I found a great recipe for green tomato cake, on http://www.grouprecipes.com/98071/green-tomato-cake.html

Kathleen said...

Wish I had this problem. I must not plant enough. I have two plants and they just give me a couple tomatoes at a time. Never enough to worry what I'll do or even share. :-(

Maureen said...

Thank you everyone for the comments and for visiting my blog. I have to apologise for not answering some of your comments. I find if I don't do it at once I forget and then feel bad, Sorry !!!