Seeing as I’d picked a glorious sunny day to do a whole load of preserving, I thought I’d do the preparation outside. In an inevitable consequence of the wet weather we’ve had this summer, both my tomatoes in the polytunnel at the allotment and outside at home got blight so I had no choice but to strip the plants and make green tomato chutney. Mr Greedy Gardener is currently emptying the pots and cleaning them.
Last year, I did even more preserving than ever. I bought a huge pressure cooker and bottled loads of sieved tomatoes and apple puree which meant we ate homegrown tomato sauce for dinner and apples on our breakfast all through the winter. This year will be a bit a lean; there are few apples on my tree and even fewer ripe tomatoes. I’ve begun foraging for some hedgerow fruits but these are also a bit thin on the ground. I did manage to pick several pounds of blackberries and made a batch of bramble jelly today as well as the chutney. Recipes for both to follow shortly.
