That was before we were hit with 6 weeks of daily temperatures over 30 and no rain! Now...I expected this when we lived in the South of France but wasn't prepared for it here. The soil was doing a good impression of the sand in the Sahara desert and the plants were just withering under the heat.
No amount of watering was helping they were just frying under the intense heat. The plants to suffer were the potatoes and onions...with the foliage dying the vegetables were just not growing below. They are now all dug up. The onions are only the size of tangerines and what were supposed to be big old potatoes are only the size of new potatoes.
Still...better than nothing.
Of course.that old favourite... the courgette...didn't seem to be affected. Even with only two plants we have had a massive crop. This year I have so far made 12 courgette lasagnes, 12 bacon and courgette gratins and 12 potato and courgette gratins.Thankfully there are a lot of good courgette recipes around...soup, fritters, quiches...you should never be at a loss of how to use them. I work on the principle of filling up the freezer first with winter supplies then use them fresh after.
Of course there is always the courgette that escapes and is hiding under a leaf....and this is what happens
I tried a new recipe this year of courgette potato and cheese bread, Its really easy although you do have to have the time to let it rise. The recipe can be found on bbcgoodfood site. It is delicious..great for cutting up into chunks and sharing.
PLUMS GALORE
We have two plum trees in our garden. One is defunct ...however as it is home to a woodpecker we are leaving it where it is....the other produced about a dozen plums last year.
This year they are arriving in their hundreds. I cannot pick them quick enough and lots have fallen through the night and fed some of the local wildlife!
The plums are the lovely dark blue variety...not sure what they are... our french neighbours just call them blue plums.
So far I have made plum chutney, plum jam and plum sauce.
The plum sauce is to freeze and serve with duck....
It is so easy to make....this is the basic recipe and just multiply it according to the number of plums you have.This amount is enough for two people.
In a pan put the following....
8 washed, destoned and chopped plums, a teaspoon of dried ginger, 2 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoons of soya sauce, a teaspoon of cinnamon and a tablespoon of lime juice. Let it all simmer until thick and serve or let it cool and freeze it.
Our freezer is filling up and I need to start looking at other ways to preserve our produce...watch this space!
Our apples trees are weighed down this year despite the fact we really cut them back in the spring. In fact yesterday a whole branch fell off into the chicken run...causing a lot of squawking and running around in a tizz ( the chickens not us!!!!) We have a lot of fallen apples also as we are unable to take of the excess on the higher branches....in fact I spend about half an hour every morning picking up the fallen apples. Luckily they do not go to waste.........these are our other girls who wait for their breakfast from us every morning.
Before the farmer put up the barbed wire they were actually coming into the garden...it doesn't stop them trying now however!
As we speak the heavens have opened and we have the long awaited downpour! Whoopee! The plants as well as us ar breathing a sigh of relief.
Now then.....we have visitors in a couple of weeks..it would be nice if it went away again by then!
