…..is here again. I always remember my Grandma when it comes to cooking, baking and making jams or bottling. She was able to create something out of nothing or almost nothing. A few basic ingredients and she whipped up something delicious. My Granddad was a keen gardener and had a large plot of land outside our town. We didn’t call it an allotment – he got the land between the two world wars with the view to build on it – as they had two daughters who would one day get married and have children, the house would be big enough for all of them. It didn’t happen and I remember the big area as a lovely garden with a large shed that was big enough to sleep in. We had a well with delicious cold water all year round, he kept rabbits and grew a multitude of fruit and vegetables. And here is where my Grandma came into her favourite role. Whatever he grew she used it and made something out of it. Freezers weren’t around as yet – perhaps somewhere in the West they were but not behind the Iron curtain so she bottled or dried fruit and veg, made compote, jams, you name it she made it. I always recall her larder full of jars and since I have been gardening on my allotment I tried to follow her example. I am quite a way behind but I’m getting there.

This finally brings me to my activity today. In the morning I harvested a full box of my cherry tomatoes and decided to oven roast them with some elephant garlic, also harvested today, and bottle them. Much better to use in cooking than buying a tin of tomatoes. There is no sugar or salt added to my tomatoes and the result is delicious.

Courgettes are another vegetable that keeps on giving. My latest is to make pasta sauce using courgettes, mushrooms, sweetcorn, peas, tomatoes and anything else that I have to hand, chop all veg and cook. As it usually gives me a huge pot so I bottle it.

Much tastier than any shop-bought and I know that I didn’t add any sugar or salt.

Next I have to do some research how to best use aubergines, one of the greenhouses on the allotment has about seven plants and they all started producing beautiful shiny fruits.

Watch this space.