At the weekend I harvested these:-
Most of my readers will be bored of hearing about Runner Beans by now, since mine have produced such a good crop, but the fact is they are still going strong. This batch was 600g, comfortably enough for two 2-person servings.
I also harvested 10 nice beetroot - quite small ones, but still very tender despite having been in the ground for absolutely ages. And another handful of chillis of various sorts.
I'm particularly proud of that huge green one. Its an "Amando".
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| Amando (top), Fuego (centre), and Turkey (bottom) |
I have cut down almost all my chilli plants now, after picking all the remaining fruits - red, green or whatever colour. The only ones left are the two "Turkey" ones, which have now gone into the garage, which fortunately has a side window which will allow them to get enough light to survive for another couple of months. They are absolutely laden with fruit but most of it is still green. They are way behind the other types in terms of maturity.
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On a different theme - My brother went down to Cornwall for a few days holiday last week and he brought me back a Saffron Cake. Thanks, Paul!
You may not know this, but I am half Cornish. My Dad was born in the Isles of Scilly. Saffron cake is to a Cornishman what Lardy Cake is to a Hampshireman (did I mention that my Mum was from Hampshire?) - it is the archetypical local product, and I just love it. Unfortunately it is hard to find outside of Cornwall so I don't get to eat it very often. It is more of a loaf than a cake; very much along the lines of a teacake. "Proper job!" as they say down in Penzance...
I love that Saffron cake is to Cornwall what Lardy cake is to Hampshire. I've yet to try saffron cake so I'm very jealous. Also envious of your chillies!
ReplyDeletegreat harvests and interesting looking cake
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of saffron cake before, it looks delicious though. I shall lookout for it when I next visit Cornwall. Nice harvest. My beans have only just got going, yet they've just about come to the end already.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful harvest. And I don't get tired of runner beans. Well at least seeing other people's. If I got so many I'd probably be bored of eating them by now (I'm a little sick of regular beans right now). But since I haven't had any this year, they look quite lovely to me.
ReplyDeleteThose runner beans are always a treat to see. Good luck with the Turkey chillis, I hope the rest of the pods ripen up in the garage. I have a couple of late producing chillis also, it's always a race to see if the frost or I get them first.
ReplyDeleteThat saffron cake looks delicious, nice and buttery, mmmm.
Beautiful harvest baskets. I always love to see the bounty, no matter how repetitive, that just means you have an amazing production year and that is worth noting!
ReplyDeleteSo I guess the saffron cake is not something easily made right at home?
Hi Shawn Ann; Funnily enough I have never looked at the viability of making homemade saffron cake! It always seems like "special magic" from Cornwall ("..made to our own family recipe...), but I expect that if you know how to do it it is easy enough. Getting just the right amount of saffron would be the biggest challenge, because it can be very bitter if you use too much.
DeleteRepetition is not a problem, how else would I let everyone know I still have parsley, parsley and more parsley? Your runner beans look perfect. I keep looking to see if mine survived the winter but frankly I don't think they have - i shoudl have seen them growing again by now I think.
ReplyDeleteLiz; maybe you and I should co-operate? The thing I have most difficulty with is Parsley. We use loads of it in our cooking but I never have enough of it in the garden, whereas our freezer is now brimming with Runner Beans.
DeleteI still have loads of green chillis waiting to ripen in the greenhouse - think I'll have to bring the plants indoors to give them a bit of help. The saffron cake is a wonderful colour I saw a programme about it not long ago - apparently everyone who makes it has their own favourite recipe.
ReplyDeleteVery nice harvests for this time of year! I think repetition is what we aim for isn't it, since it means we are getting a lot of a good thing! Oddly, I've never had nor grown a runner bean in my life. Maybe it's something I need to try! That saffron cake looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI see you got your Harvest Basket! Nice harvest Mark, and that cake looks interesting as well.
ReplyDeleteDavid, Re the basket: I ordered it over the internet from a place in the West Country of the UK, thinking it would be a British product, but when it arrived I saw that the label said "Made in Romania"! Oh well, I TRIED to buy local..
DeleteMy beans haven't done so well but I'm still happy I've had a few pickings. Dwarf purple queen have been good for me this year. On the last Gardener's World I recall Monty saying he over winters his chilli plants in a glass house.
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