- two padron chillies - these will be gently fried in olive oil and dashed with sea salt this evening for a tiny starter. Oh how I wish there were 20! My padron plant tries to give me more but each time the flower forms, the heat wave gears up and I guess the plant decided that survival is better than fruiting.
- small pickings of broad yellow ripple currant tomatoes and even fewer brown berries. This is today's picking but I have had similar pickings every two days. The yellow toms are very small, but actually really delicious.
- 4 cucumbers - yay! These were picked today and will go into a cucumber, pomegranate and feta salad.
One of them is quite wonky.
- Red chillies - I have picked many over the last few weeks. They are being stashed in the freezer for year round use,
and from now on I am stringing some up on my trusty linen substitute to make dried chillies.
- I have also been picking lots of radishes - this is today's pick, meagre compared to other days.
Other things I've been picking that I haven't photographed.
- lots of rocket - somehow this survived all the heat thrown at it. It wilts but revives each day!
- spring onions
- herbs - basil, parsley and oregano
While pickings are slim, it feels great to be picking something.
Hope your gardens are surviving the heat (in Australia) and the cold in the other hemisphere!
You'll find much more produce to admire at Daphne's.
Dont't you love stashing things in the freezer? I really ought to do that with my next batch of chillies instead of halfheartedly drying them out on strings (chillie-sensitive boyfriend's nightmare). It's snowing here so no chillies but today I still managed to stash some fresh pasta and leftover wine for another day.
ReplyDeleteI love storing food any way - I have been making lots of jams and sauces recently, even from gleaned fruit and it feels great. I love stashing chillies in the freezer.I usually grow enough chillies to make a batch of chilli jam and a batch of my 'rocket fuel' every second year ( I'd make it every year but it takes me two years to eat. The rest ( more or less goers in the freezer to use thru the year. Nice one stashing fresh pasta! My lad is the pasta master - perhaps I should ask him to make a little extra next time to store.
DeleteYum pomegranate, feta and cucumber salad sounds terrific. Why is the cucumber white is it meant to be one of those round cucumbers with all the seeds? Not a bad harvest really.
ReplyDeleteIt was a really yummy salad. Cucumber, feta and pomegranate with a dressing of lemon juice, oil and pomegranate molasses. It will be made again. The 'white' wonky cucumber was the same variety as the others - a Space Master, but it seemed to develop strangely off the stem and is kind of hollow (but still delicious and crunchy). Wonky but good!
DeleteHave you grown padrons before? I'm intrigued by them. Where did you get your seed?
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love growing chillies but realistically, I grow too much! I still have a couple of containers of chopped chilli 'ice blocks' in the freezer from last year and this season's crop looks like it will be prolific. I might have to make rocket fuel, too!
Is that your wonky cucumber I see, all grown up? I bet he's delicious!
This is the first time I have tried to grow padrons but fell in love with them from visiting Spain. They are addictive. Seeds from The Italian Gardener (www.the italiangardener.com.au). I have found that they need a lot of heat to raise. I am sure I will have more next year just this year has been a bit of a trial. Have you eaten them? Is the Thompson Dam fire calming down?
DeleteThat's him! Wonky cucumber was nice and crunchy!