Grow your meal

[tipperary]

I'm having tomatoes again today for lunch, the last of the roasted ones. I didn't realise they were lower than broccoli as all the books suggest eating in moderation but I suppose it's possibly easier to eat too many tomatoes than too much broccoli especially in a sauce or soup as you tend to concentrate them.

 

[tipperary]

I have a day of today and my plan is to get out to the polytunnel and put manners on the tomatoes and courgettes. They have become so overgrown that I can hardly get in the door. First I have to fight my way to the door. We have a ice glut of tomatoes now so I think I will make some soup. It will be frozen and become part of Christmas dinner. I also need to check how the pumpkins in the garden are doing. I know we have 2 big ones hiding under the leaves.

 

[Cavegirl21]

I'm getting fed up with tomatoes now. They seem to be all ripening at the same time.
How do you tell the difference between a Pumpkin and an ornamental Squash? The leaves are dying off.
My sweetcorn are nearly ready.

 

[tipperary]

I thought all squash are edible. Ive never heard of purely ornamental ones. The leaves on my pumpkins areuch larger than those on the squash.
Ive the polytunnel just over half tamed and most of the tomatoes trimmed and left ready to ripen. But ive a lot of green tomatoes that fell or cut from dying plants to use now. I dont really want to make chutney as i still have a lot from last year lefy, any suggestions to use them up?

 

[AliGal]

Oranmental ones are just squash grown for pretty colours and odd shapes, not the relablity and taste.

Still no ripe toms - lots of green fruit set. So we may be eating green tomato chutney all winter!

 

[tipperary]

I will have lots of green tomatoes too and a fridge full of last year's green tomato chutney so looking for a different way to use them.

 

[AliGal]

Fried green tomatoes - keto stylee? https://kicking-carbs.com/keto-fried-green-tomatoes/

Other ideas - not keto-ified https://www.thespruceeats.com/recipes-using-green-tomatoes-3057091

 

[tipperary]

Thanks so much @AliGal . I had read the second one already and might try the cake. I plan on trying the fried green tomatoes but just haven't got around to it. I'm taking a basket of tomatoes to work today. I picked lots last night and baked a whole lot of baby ones and cooked he bigger ones and slight burst or squashed ones in the pressure cooker and will use as a soup base. Or with the addition of coconut milk would make a good base for a creamy curry, maybe pumpkin and spinach.

 

[AliGal]

Sounds delish. Bakng them intensifies the flavour in a way l love. Feelng jealous!

 

[tipperary]

They were delicious

 

[tipperary]

I made soup with the red tomatoes, it was like a traditional cream of tomato soup. A little bit of onions, peppers and carrot sweated in some oil. Added a small amount of curry powder, added the tomatoes I had cooked in the pressure cooker (raw would have been fine but I had cooked them as they were going to mush) and then a tin of coconut milk. Blitzed it all when cooked. It didn't taste of coconut or curry, just creamy tomato. I haven't been eating any tomatoes while on keto ( occasionally if in a sauce ) so may have gone overboard this week. That could explain why I'm not losing this week, they are very sweet. My digestion has certainly noticed it, all that fibre

 

[tipperary]

For the first time in weeks I popped out to the polytunnel, it needs a good clearing out. The only thing left are the herbs and some beetroot. And lots of weeds. It will have to wait until next weekend. I think I need to make the Christmas stuffing now though while we still have fresh herbs

 

[julony09]

This is my dream to grow fruit, vegetables and herbs in the garden but I do not have enough time for gardening. I'm planning to change my lifestyle completely and then I'd start doing it. When I was a kid, I helped my grandma with her gardening work using this greenhouse. She had tomatoes, broccoli, cucumbers and others, also she growed herbs. I believe that the process of growing food would give me an understanding of food value, and I wouldn't like to eat fastfood ever again

 

[tipperary]

I haven't had time this year to grow anything, work just takes up too much of my time. But I did clear out the polytunnel and plant lots of herbs in it.

 

[Cavegirl21]

I wish I done it again this year. I just couldn't be bothered with it.