Autumn 2011 - using autumn vegetables

Using Autumn and winter vegetables

Now it is the end of October and the very start of November (gosh! Where did the summer disappear to? I think the poor, wet summer has misled us all somewhat).

Yes, there have been disappointments – my brassicas and beans have been miserable (I’ve been saying that all season, I am so boring!). My onions were great, I still had too many beans and tomatoes and, let’s face it fruit has been brilliant this year. But every year is going to give us different conditions when some crops will be great and some will be disappointing or a complete failure. We need to look at what is not worth pursuing and what is worth having another try at in, hopefully, different conditions.

This year my new try-outs were West Indian gherkins, outside grown physalis and several different varieties of carrots. The gherkins and physalis were a complete waste of time. Unfortunately, when I grew them in my polytunnel, although they were brilliant and very productive, they also took over the whole tunnel.

I have grown a variety of carrots in a variety of situations. Yet again, I have grown some in a raised box – 1 metre off the ground and in bought-in compost. Yet again, this has not been particularly successful. Both Purple Haze and Flyaway have been attacked by carrot fly by the end of the season for not very productive crops - so much for the myth that carrot root fly can't fly above 30cms!

For carrots - I have grown 2 rows of ‘Blanc a collet vert’ straight into the ground which have given me superb roots, albeit attacked by rootfly. There are still enough of good-enough roots to eat for some-time yet. The best crops, sown March to April were in a raised bed (only 10cms up) of Creme de Lite, Flyaway and Resitafly. The Creme de Lite have been the star of the season – super huge roots, particularly tender and, although not totally resistant to root fly, they have given me a crop I can continue to use – brilliant!

Beetroots have been amazing this year – head-sized roots which are still tender and usable – surprisingly. This year I have only sown one crop and as it did particularly well, I didn’t re-sow. Now I have so many, I feel I must use them before the bitter winter we have been forecast kicks in. I guess, now that we are preparing for it, this amazingly cold winter won’t happen. You know what they say – You hope for the best but, prepare for the worst!

I have only ever used beetroots for pickles, chutneys or soups. This year I have tried them as a vegetable. I have steamed them - unfortunately, for my super large roots, they have taken some time to steam but, what a delicious and colourful vegatable. And, of course, if you are using smaller specimens they won't take so long to cook.

What can we do with these ‘winter’ vegetables? Try the following for nutritious, wholesome and low calorie soups:

Beetroot Soup

Allow ⅓ pint (190ml) approx per portion when served as a starter. When served as a main dish (eg lunch with a chunk of country or homemade bread, increase the quantity)

4 medium to large beetroots                                     1½ pts vegetable stock

2 leeks                                                                     Juice of 1 lemon

2 tomatoes                                                               1 tsp sugar

1 tsp tomato paste                                                    1 apple

fromage frais and chopped chives to garnish               seasoning

Method

·         Peel and grate the beetroots.

·     Trim the leeks and wash well to remove any grit or soil from the vegetable. Chop into fairly small pieces.

·         Peel and chop the tomatoes.

·         Peel and core the apple, then chop into fairly small pieces.

·         Put all the prepared vegetables and apples into a heavy pan that you can cover.

·         Add the stock and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer gently until the beetroot is soft. This will probably take about 1 hour.

·         Add the tomato paste, lemon juice and seasoning (salt and pepper) to taste.

·         Serve with a dollop of fromage frais or cream in the middle and garnish with chopped chives.

Leek, Potato and Cauliflower soup

Ingredients

1 medium cauliflower                                      4 - 5 good sized leeks

½ Kilo ( 1 lb) potatoes (not new)                    3 – 4 cloves of garlic – well chopped or crushed

1 red onion – finely chopped                          1 litre (2pints) vegetable or chicken stock

1 cup white wine                                               Salt – to taste

Freshly crushed black pepper                         Chopped parsley to decorate

½ tsp finely chopped lemon thyme                Double cream to decorate

Method

·         Slice or shred the leeks then wash well to remove any soil or dirt ( personally, I like the green parts of leeks so, I keep in as much of this part of the leeks as possible).

·         Peel the potatoes and cut into fairly small pieces.

·         Cut the cauliflower into small florets and wash well.( make sure there are no hidden slugs)

·         Peel the garlic and chop finely.

·         Peel and slice finely or chop the onion.

·         Add the oil or oil and butter to a large saucepan or soup pan and heat.

·         Add the prepared vegetables and sweat (cook gently without browning).

·         Add the wine and stock and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat until it is just simmering, until all the vegetables are soft - about 40 mins.

·         If you are going to add herbs, use with discretion. This soup has a fairly delicate flavour which can be overpowered with too many herbs. I like a little lemon thyme.

·         Add the salt and pepper.

·         Put through a food processor if you have one – a hand held processor is excellent for this job. If you don’t have one, sieve the soup through a coarse sieve.

·         Return to the heat and correct the seasoning to taste ( salt and pepper)

·         Serve with chopped parsley and a swirl of cream – personally, I don’t add cream or more fat where it is not necessary.

This is a simple, wholesome and cheap soup. I have added lots of ingredients which enhance the flavour but, are not necessary. Leek and potato soup is excellent – just make sure the seasoning is right.

Serve with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and a hunk of wholemeal bread. Enjoy!

Autumn harvesting

I have just returned from a reasonably long holiday in Andalucia (southern Spain) well! It was long for me anyway, I’m not usually away for more than a couple of days. I returned in the middle of the night to a cat in tears as he had been mauled by (apparently) another cat and was desperately in need of a vet. Although not injured, my other cats were equally upset. They so put the guilt trip on me! Really I hadn’t left them unattended. My cat carer is very competent and kind, just not the person they wanted.

It is autumn. When I visited my plot I was dismayed by how overgrown it was. Grass paths are rampant, weeds have taken over, caulis have overgrown, cucumbers are overripe, runner beans are too mature, tomatoes are too, too many.

I have collected several buckets full of several varieties of tomatoes and have found homes for most of them, not least, several more tubs of frozen tomato pulp for use in the winter. I’ve noticed that the runner-bean poles on the plots of many of my neighbours have fallen over. Mine would have too if I hadn’t propped them up but, in any case, the beans are not worth harvesting – too mature, too stringy, too hard. No worries, I will dismantle the canes and compost the rest of the crop. I have already harvested and dried my Borlotto beans. They are good, though I think I will look for a climbing variety next year – so much easier to dry for winter use. I see that my Yinyang (Orca) beans are almost ready. I worry that the weather might be too damp for successful drying. I have not seen climbing varieties of these beans but, when they lie on the ground in damp weather they are more likely to go mouldy.

There is a load of stuff to deal with now. I have harvested most of my squashes and pumpkins. Really I’m not interested in the huge varieties for competitions, nor the large pretty ones for Hallowe’en lanterns. I am looking for the small fruits which will store easily for use as a winter vegetable. My favourites are butternut squashes. This year the germination rate was not good and from a couple of plants I have ended up with only 4 squashes. If you do have a good crop you mean to store, make sure they are dry and store in a frost free environment out of direct sunlight. Check them regularly for rot and don’t store in direct sunlight, on a wooden or on a carpeted surface. If they do break down they will destroy those surfaces. I intend to store mine in a dark attic room on top of cardboard. I do hope they will last for the winter as they are staple vegetable for winter.

Talking about staples for winter, I have now lifted all my potatoes including my Sarpo Mira and Sarpo Axona which are both late maincrops. When lifting them, separate the damaged ones – slug damaged or by digging implement - and use these immediately as they will not keep and will damage your stored potatoes. Make sure they are dry before you store them in hessian or paper sacks and store in cool, dark frost free conditions. Mine are going into my attic room. Gosh, it is going to be packed when I have finished. Hopefully they will keep well into the new year, unless I have eaten them all first.

For the first time, this year, I have enough carrots to store. Goodness, this has never happened to me before. I do have some damage from carrot root-fly but, I have been harvesting Purple Haze from my raised carrot bed with little damage. Although not huge roots, they have excellent texture and flavour. My Resistafly and Flyaway have been good, although, obviously I hadn’t prepared the bed well enough as the carrots, although excellent flavour and strong roots are really very forked.

My carrots – Creme de Lite (F1 from Dobies) planted straight into a well prepared bed on the flat ground have been excellent. There has been some carrot root fly damage but the carrots have been huge, flavoursome and tender. I do recommend them. I will leave them in the ground as long as I can manage. I’m not yet sure how I will store them. If the winter is going to be as bad as has been predicted then I don’t think that a sand-pit or my shed will suffice. They might also have to go in bags in my attic room.