February Blues

Well, it seems as thought the first of February has popped up it's little head and said hello to the world (well this part of it anyway - I know that the people living in the western hemisphere are still going through Sunday). It's actually a bit of a concern because I can't remember what happened to January all that well. It was a busy month, but it went faster than expected. As such I'm a little freaked out by the whole change-of-the-month situation.

I have decided to put up some pictures of the veg in the garden to show you that I am actually growing things. I may even throw a recipe at the bottom of this post. Who knows...



The first photo is of a Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus Tuberosus) flower. Jerusalem Artichokes originate from South America, and are grow for their tubers (which are prepared and eaten like potatoes). They are supposedly good for diabetics because they contain inulin instead of starch. This inlulin can however cause flatulence to occur in some people.
The second photo is of our resident bantam hen and her latest clutch of chickens, looking for food in one of the more wilder parts of the garden where the perrenials live.


This happy-snap is of a Long-Cayenne chilli plant, showing the nearly ripe fruit. The heat of this chilli isn't anything like the Pain caused by Habaneros, but is less juicy compared to Jalapenos.















One of the best crops of Golden Nugget pumpkins that we've had. This type of pumpkin is special because it is a bush variety - many varieties are trailing and can easily take over a small back yard. The Golden Nugget is a nice compact bush, and produces piles of small tasty pumpkins that will last for a very long time.






Flowers of the Purple King runner bean. This variety is odd in that it produces dark-purple pods. These then turn green when you cook them (which is why they are sometimes known as 'magic beans'). Growing climbing varieties of peas and beans is easy to do, and also means that you can have piles of free veg (apart from the cost of the seeds which is very small) in very small areas.




Today's recipe is a classic way of keeping tomatoes that are abundant this time of the year for use in the cold months ahead.

Tomato Sauce
This is brilliant for putting into pasta sauces, stews and any other dish that needs tomato in it

You Will Need:
- Tomatoes (as many as you have. The riper they are, the nicer their flavour)
- Garlic (The amount depends on how much you like it, but baking removes the harsh garlicky taste and makes it sweet and lovely)
- Herbs (namely Thyme and Rosemary. Oregano and Basil will also work, but add them near the end of the cooking process)

Method:
- In a ceramic dish, place a single layer of tomatoes (if they are big, you can slice them in half, otherwise just leave them whole).
- Add whole, unpeeled cloved on the top of this, along with some sprigs of your chosen herbs and plenty of salt and freshly cracked pepper (plus a tiny amount of olive oil).
- Place into a moderate (180°C) oven, and leave it alone until the tomatoes have opened up from the heat and the garlic has gone slightly brown.
- Grab all the cloves of garlic and peel from the skins. Squash the garlic and tomatoes with a fork/potato masher etc etc.
- You can now go one step further and remove the skins by either straining or putting the mix through a pulper/ricer, but we usually just put the mix into freezer bags or chinese food containers and put into the freezer.
- Et Voila! You have a stock of summer in the freezer, waiting to get used in the depths of winter.

Have Fun, and play in the garden and kitchen (trust me, it will taste better).