12 month Grow your own planting plans

mum_of_4

Yategirl wrote: »

Mumof4 - would the chickpea burgers be good inside pitta bread? they sound yummy and ds1 would love them - just wondering whether they would work for a pack-up lunch?

any more recipes would be gratefully recieved -I am always looking for new ideas for our home-grown veg and like you, we eat more veggie stuff- meat is more of a treat now

Actually the picture shows them in a pitta bread and yes they taste great inside one but I'm rubbish at opening pitta breads and the children complain that they fall apart. Any tips welcome I use buy the 500g dried chickpeas, you have to soak themn overnight but they work out so much cheaper. They increase in size when soaked.

I've not yet tried them cold but I'm sure they will taste just as good. I'm doing the food for my BIL's party and i was thinking about trying out the burgers as balls again any suggestions welcome or maybe just mini burgers, say bite size.

Try the Leek,apple,walnut & stilton pie it was really nice, big hit with the children even my 2 year old asked for more. It was the first time I'd made it, I amde a second pie so I hope that tastes nice when it comes out of the freezer.

I'll have a few recipes that I can list that will use our home grown veg.

In the summer we live off this salad. Chopped tomato,cucumber,red onion and loads of coriandar. Get in packed lunches too. I made this a lot in the summer. Sometimes added mixed beans to it to have with chilli.

I have also made a lot of different quiches. Roasted red pepper risotto is easy and cheap. Roasted tomato & parmesan tarte is nice. Tomato, mascarpone & mozzarella lasagne is a good family meal dish. Tomato & pesto tart looks like you've taken ages to make it but it is so easy.

Basically i've found that if you can make puff pastry you can make endless flans and tartes for hardley any cost.

Yategirl

the pie does sound good... dh isn't keen on cheese but I did bacon and egg pie (so top and bottomed with pastry, we are having egg and bacon quiche tonight as I had enough pastry to make a base and then froze it ) with added stilton last week and even he said it was yum!

pitta breads - i just pop them in the toaster for a couple of mins then very carefully slit them open.. if the filling is too damp.. then they will fall apart easily... maybe use a few leaves of spinach or lettuce (well dried with a towel) to line the pitta before popping the filling in.

I've never made puff pastry... i'll pop it on my to do list and have a go! but any recipes would be much appreciated Oh and ALL egg recipes would be good! we have different quiches or egg and bacon pie or frittata's.. I bake and I have scrambled eggs sometimes for lunch... always nice to hear of good ideas for using them all up!!

is it too late to sow some spinach seeds in the greenhouse or on the windowledge? **YG goes pondering off to find a seed packet or a book** lol!!

mum_of_4

Yategirl wrote: »

is it too late to sow some spinach seeds in the greenhouse or on the windowledge? **YG goes pondering off to find a seed packet or a book** lol!!

Well I've checked my bible and according to Geoff you can sow mid winter when looking at the little planting tim chart,
" the first crop comes from a sowing in the greenhouse or on the windowsill in late winter at a temp of 18c "

I would give it a go. You'll find next year that spinach does stay hardy through winter.

Thanks for the pitta bread tips

Yategirl

thank you think ds and I might pay a trip to the garden centre... i need some compost!!!

owlet

Hi Mum of 4

Thank you so much for the plans. I will look at them properly tonight when hubby gets home. The falafel burgers and spinach pasta sauce sound great too, will definately be giving these a try. Sometimes I get bored with my meals and need new recipes to keep me motivated lol.
We have an organic fruit and veg box each week at the moment and this week I have made orange marmalade & kiwi jam with chutney planned for tomorrow. I used up some blackening bananas in banana cake and some apples in a nutty apple cake (they both freeze well). It uses up the 'left overs' nicely and adds to the store cupboard. I can't wait to do bigger batches from our own produce. I have made chutneys before but these are really my first attempts with jams & marmalades but the results so far are promising thanks to MSers.

Mum of 4 I see you have meatloaf on your menu, do you have the recipe please? I have tried several over the years but haven't found 'the' one yet lol. It would be great to try a recommended recipe!
Thank you in anticipation!

mum_of_4

owlet wrote: »

Hi Mum of 4

I have made chutneys before but these are really my first attempts with jams & marmalades but the results so far are promising thanks to MSers.

Owlet, I hope to make cutneys and jam in 2009 or may give it a go now if I have what's needed.

I love cooking so would love to make a success of making chutneys. As I feel that they help brighten up lunches during the winter.

Do you have any recipes that you could suggest for someone making it for the first time and jams for that matter. All my strawberry plants seem to have taken well so I am banking on getting a good crop for some jam.

Mad_Injun

They are really useful and just the incentive I needed to get going with my plans.

Thanks again...:T

owlet

KIWI JAM

1lb kiwi (after it has been peeled)
1lb jam sugar
1 tablesp water

1) Chop fruit finely, retaining as much of the juice as possible.
2) put in a pan with the juice.
3) simmer gently on a low heat for 5 mins or until the fruit is nice and soft.
4) add the sugar and stir until it is dissolved (don't boil)
5) boil briskly until setting point is reached then remove from heat.
6) leave to stand for 10 mins then put into warm sterilized jars and seal
immediately.

MARMALADE (a very easy James Martin recipe)

6-8 small oranges (about 550g)
juiceof 1 lemon
1.4 litres of water
1.1 kg sugar

makes about 1.5 kg

1) slice oranges in half. Scoop out the flesh and juice into a bowl - no pith. Keep the shells.
2) Put flesh, juice and pips into a food processor, and blend until smooth.
3) push the puree through a sieve into a saucepan.
4) Scoop as much as the pith out of the shells as possible and slice the rind into very thin matchsticks. Add to the pan.
5) pour in the lemon juice and water, bring to the boil, simmer for 1 - 1 1/2
hours until the rind is very soft and the mixture has reduced by half.
6) over a low heat add the sugar and stir until it has dissolved.
7) boil for about 10 mins and test for set.
8) if necessary, cook for another 5-10 mins and test again.
9) allow to cool slightly and pour into sterilized jars.

This turned out quite well for a first attempt. The set was very soft but I didn't have any pips in my oranges! I think I might try the next batch with jam sugar if this is the case again. If there are pips, a friend has said to put the pips and pith into a tied muslin square and put it in the saucepan while the mixture is simmering.

ONION CHUTNEY

1.25kg onions
3 tab sp salt
1 kg sugar
500ml red wine vinegar
2 tsp caraway seeds

1) chop onions, cover with salt and leave for an hour. Rinse well and pat dry.
2) Put sugar, vinegar and seeds in a saucepan and boil for 5 mins.
3) add onions cook for approx 2 hours on low heat until thick.
4) put into sterilized jars

Haven't tried this one yet, tomorrows job!


ANY FRUIT CHUTNEY (this came from a thread on MSE - thanks to original
poster)

3lb of any fruit/veg
3/4 - 1 pint water
1/2 lb chopped onions
1 tsp grated orange/lemon peel
1 dessert sp each of ginger, mild curry powder and mixed spice
1/4 lb sultanas
1 lb sugar

1) peel & chop fruit/veg and simmer with the vinegar, onions and peel until fruit is tender. Stir occasionally.
2) Add sultanas & sugar and cook, stirring occasionally until thick.
3) pour into hot jars & seal.

Again, haven't ried this one yet - Thursdays job lol.

Looking at the various threads on here and on the internet there seems to be various ways of sterilizing the jars! I put mine in the oven then let the oven heat up to 150 C and leave for about 20 mins. Another method is to put them through the dishwasher, which reaches the desired temperature. They can also be put into a pan of cold water (stand them on a cloth or something so they don't touch the bottom of the pan) and brought up to the boil for 10-15 mins.

With regard to sealing, the general pattern seems to be:
If you use jars with metal lids and seal immediately while the jam is still hot, there is no need to use wax discs.
If you use the cellophane covers instead of lids then use the wax discs.

Apparently,one 'must' is that the jam must be sealed:
1) while it is still hot or
2) when it completely cold
3) fill the jars to within a few millimeters of the top (no air gap for bacteria).

Anything inbetween is a breeding ground for bacteria. Sealing while it is hot gives a good seal because it creates a vaccuum as it cools.

When sealing pickles, you mustn't use a metal lid (unless it has been specified for this) because it reacts with the vinegar. Does anyone know if this rule applies to chutney as well??

Many hours spent on the internet and MSE lol.

I have got a fab tried and tested recipe for green tomato chutney and some other jam recipes. I'll post the jam ones later mum of 4, I've got to pop out for a while. Sorry this has been a long post!! I'm not hi jacking your thread - honest :eek:

Sylvan

You can also sterilise the jars by rinsing them (making sure every inch gets wet) and then putting them (all together) into the microwave, on high, for 5 minutes.

I boil the lids in a saucepan for 10 minutes at the same time. It's a lot easier than boiling the whole jars.

mum_of_4

Owlet that's absolutely brilliant, i'm licking my lips just reading your recipes them.

Thanks for the advice on sterilising the jars and it's good to know about using the microwave, thanks Sylvan.

Now as you can imagine I don't buy much stuff in jars but I do have honey jars, so they have metal lids so if i've understood correctly, I won't need the discs.


School update, my dd came home today and she has been moved from keyword sheet 4 to sheet 12 and moved up two reading groups. So things seem to be happening now. I'm still going to keep up with the school work at home
but at least DD might start to be happier about going to school.