It's the time of year when everything seems to come in a rush, and the only way to cope is to preserve. The tomatoes are just beginning to over-produce, the aubergines are plentiful, the peppers dripping from their plants, and courgettes are just everywhere. It's time to make Ratatouille.
I don't bother with recipes. I simply take equal amounts of the above mentioned vegetables, cut them into cubes, and cook until of the right consistency. Depending on my mood, I add olive oil, red wine, salt, pepper, dried herbs, garlic, basil, chilli, etc. Then I sterilise for 45 mins and leave the bottles to cool in the sterilising pan.
We still have a few 500 gm jars from last year, so those are being used up as quickly as possible. When the tomatoes become really troublesome, I shall also be doing aubergines in tomato sauce; a wonderful standby for stews, curries, and casseroles throughout the winter. All I need now are a few 36 hr days.
Oh, those summer vegies would go down well here. I put thinly sliced courgette with homemade tomatoe sauce on my pizza. Delicious. All of those vegies would be wonderful though.
ReplyDeleteI'm just trying to keep up with everything... not too successfully.
ReplyDeleteMother Nature is a wickedly fast woman...I'm not sure what sounds more delicious Cro, the process or the end product.
ReplyDeleteOne of my visions of Heaven, is a steamy hot kitchen, filled with friends filling jars.
Hope I can join the club. I come with my own jars too.
ReplyDeleteLooks wonderful, Cro. The only thing you need is a nice crusty loaf of bread, some cheese, and a nice bottle of wine.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, Cro - your garden's looking good. I like Ratatouille - going to give that recipe a try. Like Amy said - nice crusty bread, cheese and a good bottle of wine - can we all come around to another family cyber party and enjoy the harvest goodies?
ReplyDeleteGreat veg patch Cro - I totally dig your garden.. I mean, not literally.. But you have a cool garden.. I always admire people who take the time to cultivate their own crops. You must have a lotta patience.. Do you find this an enriching pursuit, I hear it's good for the soul?
ReplyDeleteEnriching? Not so sure. Personally I do it because I like to have unadulterated vegs at the bottom of the garden. We have the space, we have the weather, and luckily my back is still holding out!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I won't buy any vegs until April/May.