Making the most of summer veggies
It’s nearing that time when there’ll be a bounty of fresh produce in the shops and those of us who have garden space or an allotment to ‘grow our own’ will have loads of delicious summer veggies to enjoy.
There’s nothing quite like homemade chunky chips or crispy roasties with Sunday dinner. Store potatoes somewhere cool and dark.
They store best in the bag you bought them in, or a fabric bag, and still in the soil if they’re home-grown. Just wash them as you need them.
Most fruit does better in the fridge. In fact, did you know apples can last weeks longer in there instead of the fruit bowl? Just move them to the fruit bowl to bring them to room temperature before eating.
The same goes for other garden fruits like pears, while berries such as strawberries and raspberries can be frozen if you’ve got a glut of them.
Small tomatoes can be frozen whole if you’ve too many and added to cooking straight from the freezer.
If you’ve got a few to use up, why not give this homemade sauce a go for pasta or pizza? The sauce can also be frozen for a quick dinner later.
The fridge is the best place for cucumber. Because it has a high water content it doesn’t freeze well. If you have more than you can manage why not try pickling it instead?
Pickled cucumber ribbons are a tasty addition or side to many dishes and pickling is easy to do at home. It works just as well for carrots too.
Courgettes are another vegetable that does best in the fridge – but if yours is looking a bit sad we’ve got a smart ‘hack’ to help perk it up.
Simply put the stalk end in a jar or glass of water in the fridge and it’ll stay good for longer. This also works for other stalky veg like asparagus.
You can also freeze courgette – just cut it up length-ways and grill it first.
How about those herbs?
You can grow fresh herbs indoors, outdoors, in pots, window boxes or in the ground – they’re so versatile.
It’s easy to keep ‘ready to go’ herbs in stock whatever the season by chopping them up, stalks and all, and freezing in an ice cube tray with a little oil – or putting them straight into a freezer bag or container if you have a lot.
Then you can pop them out as you need them and add them straight to cooking from frozen.
It’s easy to keep ‘ready to go’ herbs in stock whatever the season by chopping them up, stalks and all, and freezing in an ice cube tray with a little oil.