Making Chutney

Hello Everyone,

Bob and I hope you are all very well. Good to say that we both are well and I am now back on the team!

Soooo, a little later starting than anticipated, I have been making chutneys, jams and coulis from the summer soft fruits and vegetables we grew here on the farm. This weeks picture shows the makings of a courgette, tomato and chilli chutney. This and other jars of goodies will be on the website soon when they have had a short time to mature and mellow.

Not only will the jars be good as a chutney but they can be used as a sauce for a quick and easy meal. I normally add creme fraiche or cream to the chutney while warming through and adding to pasta or rice. Adding a jar to sausages and making a mashed potato or jacket potato is also a delicious hearty easy meal. Some goodies to look forward to in the coming weeks.

While I was ‘absent from work’, I was not able to walk around the farm, not until the end of last week did I have a wander around. That was over two weeks of not seeing the tunnels, field beds, chickens or even down the lane. I missed seeing everything. The crew have been working really hard and the change in the tunnels is sound proof of that.

The Autumn and Winter crops are now planted into the tunnels. The rocket, chicory, winter lettuce, chard, Chinese cabbage, spring cabbages, cauliflowers, mustards and orientals have all been placed in the newly emptied beds. The onion sets are now also in the tunnels and these beds along with all the beds are brilliant to see. The seasons have moved on and so have the tunnels. Our outside growing areas are all producing lots of goodies…leeks, calabrese, broccoli, cabbages, squash, kales, cavolonero, Jerusalem artichokes, beetroots, salsify etc. We will be planting more onions, brassicas, garlic, shallots etc. now which will all be ready for early next year. We may be having a few days of a warm spell but the harvesting and planting is now in the Winter season. 

The crops we are harvesting are all the crops planted back during the late Spring and early Summer months. These harvested crops are now providing all the hearty meals which can be eaten and enjoyed during the colder months. Even simple meals with a jacket potato can be a reminder of the month we are in. Bob and I had a jacket potato with our meal one night last week and not only did the Local Fresh Organic potatoes taste good, the smell in the kitchen was of autumn and bonfire night, it was very comforting and very tasty.

We are getting organised and thinking hard about all the crops from this year. We are wondering which did really well, where they were planted out, any major issues during the growing, what was a huge success and what was not successful. These thoughts and our records all help us with deciding what and which variety of seeds we will be buying for the coming seasons next year. Seed buying is always very exciting. It is good to see old favourites but it is even better when new crops are available. It is not always possible to buy everything we wish for. Some varieties are not readily available within the organic market. We will see in the coming weeks when we create our huge shopping list of seeds. 

Thank you for all the returned boxes, it is a huge help to us. It reduces our costs, and we are happy knowing that we are reusing before we recycle.

All have a good week,

Ann👩‍🌾