Hurrah....It's Harvest Time Again
Bringing in the Bounty
8/6/20263 min read
I confess that this summer is a bit of a drag. Week after week of temperatures in the mid to high thirties are not comfortable and need to be carefully managed. The thermometer is even predicted to mount above 40C next week. But it is not all gloom. These warm summer evenings are a delight, as we sit outside in the (slightly) cooler air, and watch the stars appear in the clear midnight blue sky.
Temperatures may be exceptional, and for sure some shrubs and flowers are suffering, but one thing's for sure...the tomatoes are on good form. They are ripening now on the vines. There is nothing...absolutely nothing as delicious as that first bite into a home-grown tomato. Indeed, being able to produce so many in this climate, makes living here worthwhile. They actually seem to be positively thriving in this changing climate. This year we are growing two old favourites: Roma, an Italian variety which is excellent for sauces, and St Pierre, which is delicious in salads . We are also growing a new variety of cherry tomato: Sungold are so good you can eat them like sweeties!
What are we to do? The crop is coming thick and fast and we certainly can't eat them all!
Out comes our trusty Italian passata maker. As I turn the handle, this machine cleverly removes the pips and skins and spits them out. We are left with a rich , sweet tomato sauce which I will use in soups and stews, and, reduced, into a topping for pizzas. Already I have many cartons of passata to store in the freezer . They'll certainly cheer us over the winter months.
But gardening is hard work, and made all the more difficult in this heat. "Isn't it about time you stopped trying to grow so much?" I ask B. Perhaps, next year, that may happen. But one thing's for sure, we'll keep on growing a few staples that can't easily be replaced, such as the sweet onion of Lézignan, new potatoes and, of course, tomatoes. We shall also grow courgettes, not quite so much for the fruit as for the flowers. It is a real treat to pick these giant blooms fresh from the vine in the morning and fry them in a light batter for lunch. Nothing fancy...just a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese over the top ... hold them by the stalk...and ...mmm...délicieux!
