Friday 19 August 2016

Summer Bounty

Autumn is fast approaching, there are signs everywhere.  Temperatures are dropping in the evening and the nights are closing in getting darker so much earlier.  The farmer at the back of us has started his harvest working long into the night to beat the rain forecast for later in the week.




 
Hay bales are in abundance at the moment and can be seen everywhere, a rich reward for all the hard work.
 

 
This is the view from my dining room window, I spend many a happy hour watching the horses.
 
We too are starting to harvest the garden, a reward for all our hard work.  Mother nature at her finest.  The beetroot has been a huge success.
 
 
It was very quickly cooked and pickled ready for the Winter store cupboard.
 
 
We have also harvested the early leeks, they have such a strong smell I am so looking forward to the first taste of the season.
 
 
Sadly our tomatoes have been a complete disaster this year.   So this morning we promptly set off to a local car boot sale in search of some tomatoes to make chutney.  We didn't have to search hard they were been sold on a lot of stalls.  7Ibs were brought for £2 along with 10 peppers for £1.  Some of the peppers were chopped and bagged for the freezer, the perfect addition for soups and sauces.
 

 
I went on to make a batch of tomato chutney and some tomato and red pepper soup.
 



 
The taste of summer preserved for the long months ahead when the Summer will very quickly become a distant memory.  Have you started preparing for the Autumn yet?
 
See you soon.
 
 
 
 
 
 

30 comments:

  1. Your right I thought the other night how it is getting darker quicker, you have had a great harvest, my peppers are slow but hopefully they will be ready soon, good idea to freeze them.

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  2. You are well prepared for the autumn !!! With delicious food for the cool days.
    Here, we have time...
    Have a lovely weekend !
    Hug
    Anna

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  3. Goodness, you have been busy and what a treat that lovely produce will be in the depth of winter. I love the view from your window.

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  4. I have always wanted to, but I have never managed any canning. There aren't many economy minded farmer's markets around here. I have never frozen my peppers.

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  5. I have been up to my eyes in beans but I have never thought of freezing peppers, great tip. Jo x

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  6. I'm not ready for autumn, I don't feel as if we've had a summer yet. Our garden backed on to farmland too when I lived at home with my parents, we'd know that summer was coming to an end when the combine harvester came out. My tomatoes aren't doing as well as they usually do either, I have enough for my needs but nowhere near as many as other years.

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  7. Although it is getting darker much earlier these days, it's so hot that it still feels like summer will be here forever. I haven't done much of anything to prepare for autumn. I didn't have a garden this year since something ate it all up. Your canning looks so yummy. No one I know out here has had much look with tomatoes this year. I would absolutely love to have the view you do from my windows. I am really tired of close neighbors this year for reasons I won't go into, except to say it seems to be party central every night this summer. Hard when Hubby has to go to work.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  8. I hope your farmer dodged the rain. It's been on and off all day here.
    I nearly bought beetroot from the farm shop yesterday and I really wish I had now having seen your pickled beetroot. It made my mouth water....yum-x-

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  9. Love seeing all these beautiful colors...nothing more rich in color than fresh or canned produce. I was looking for tomatoes this week, too. $3.50 a pound! Quite steep in my opinion. Steep enough for me to leave them behind.

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  10. You've been as busy as a beaver! Your beets look great. I must get some and pickle them too. Mostly I freeze fruit for winter. Just apples are left to go pick. Picking them just seems to be part of Fall traditions.

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  11. I cannot wait til cooler fall weather. Two hot days are too much and thankful for a/c nearly everywhere I go. Went on a walk with hubby at sunset which was ok. My tomatoes are coming on slowly. We enjoy eating them in salads. I look forward to making applesauce. And dehydrayting apples. Happy weekend!

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  12. Cheers for your good harvesting and getting some food prepped for the winter! Our family was given several flats of strawberries today. My job was trimming them, the little girls tossed them into a big bowl and the older girls mashed them, then my daughters made strawberry jam and froze some bags of strawberries. They also are making raspberry jam with several flats of raspberries we were given. Busy fun days!

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  13. I hope your neighbor farmer gets to finish his harvesting before the rain comes. That is a nice view from your room window to see the horses grazing. Such a busy time for you to prepare for autumn. Looks like a lot of work.

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  14. You have an interesting view from your kitchen window with work happening on farmland according to the season. Whilst I've been out of action my husband has been busy growing his vegetables, harvesting, bottling some tomatoes and cooking and using our small crops of produce in our evening meals, bless him. Thank you for leaving kind comments on my blog(infrequent posts at the moment). They're much appreciated and keep me feeling positive. I hope your husband is well and you have a good weekend.

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  15. You have been very busy ! My friend in the South of France told me that the tomatoes hadn't grown like the other years either ! that's strange because the distance between you and her is quite big !

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  16. I never thought of freezing peppers for soups etc, good idea! Enjoy your weekend. x

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  17. I quite often freeze left over peppers here too. I wish there was somewhere locally selling 10 for £1! I'm wandering if everyone's tomatoes have struggled this year, mine are in a greenhouse but they've struggled too. Wishing you a lovely weekend. x

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  18. I freeze peppers all the time, they are so handy to add to recipes. You have a lovely crop this year, and I'm always impressed by how you prepare and store it all. I was given a large bag of plums from my neighbour that I've frozen ready for some hearty plum crumbles when the weather turns colder.

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  19. Our tomatoes were rubbish too, but the peppers have done well, we freeze them and I use them all year. We even had a pepper plant over winter.

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  20. i love to see the harvest being gathered in though its a busy, stressful time for farmers.
    Your own harvest is wonderful and means lots to enjoy in the next weeks!

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  21. You write such a wonderful post! Our tomatoes were a flop too this summer. Hardly any were fit to eat. Your canned goods look pretty and so do the frozen peppers.

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  22. You did so well with your prices, well worth preserving the bounty of others at such a bargain price ! Peppers freeze so well too !

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  23. I love the harvest time. You have some beautiful produce and there is nothing like preserving the goodness in jars!

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  24. I love to see what everyone has grown this time of year. Your blog inspires me to be a better cook.

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  25. Summer Bounty is right! Your peppers look like jewels and I'm sure taste as wonderful as they look. And you have put away good summer tastes to enjoy this winter, too.

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  26. I am so glad to have caught up with all of your harvest and family happenings. I know one little boy here who would have loved to have met up with Marshall!
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  27. What a great bargains you foubd at the car boot sale. I would never think of freezing peppers but will definately be doing so in future. I love the view you have outside your window, quite lovely xx

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  28. Nooooo! It can't be Autumn yet - I'm not done with summer! But I do love the whole harvesting/preserving nature of this post. Well done. x

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  29. Great harvest and all set for the autumn :)

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  30. Our garden is bursting with produce just now. This week I've made plum jam and am trying some plum vinegar, plus frozen green beans, beet pickles, and I'm doing tomato salsa tomorrow. Whew! I enjoy seeing the freezer and basement shelves filled with produce for the winter. Tis the season!

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