That’s what you call a glut! June 27th 2017

I love it when food comes in gluts as it opens up new ways of cooking in order to use the produce. This year has been a bumper year for strawberries. They have also been earlier than usual due I think to a mild winter. We were picking two colanders per day at the height of production and as there are only so many bowls of strawberries you can eat I had to be inventive.

Fortunately we had lots of rhubarb ready at the same time as the strawberries so I made lots of the base for my strawberry and rhubarb crumble (see latest recipes) which is now down in the freezer ready for winter days. I also made strawberry ice lollies which were very welcome in the hot weather which coincided with our rich pickings. Lastly I made a strawberry and banana smoothie mix which again I froze. I will use it over summer as a topping for my soaked muesli breakfast cereal.

The next glut on the horizon is broad beans and courgettes which tend to arrive together. The recipe for broad bean and courgette soup in my book ‘Easy Tasty Healthy’ is one I invented to use up a glut many years ago. I will be making this delightful soup again, and freezing it ready for winter. It’s lovely then on a cold winter’s day to be reminded of summer on the allotment. I’ve also got a recipe for a cold courgette soup which I want to try, so hopefully the courgettes will produce their usual bumper crop.

These are the rewarding days of having an allotment, as apart from a little weeding and staking, its lots of fun watching the produce grow and of course enjoying the fruits of our labour as we pick and eat.