Courgettes anyone?

ingredients for Tomato Ketchup

Its that time of year isn't it? Even with the weird seasons this year there is still the glut of courgettes and tomatoes to deal with. What do you do with yours? I have a couple of favourite recipes and I have put them onto the recipe site so that you can try them if you fancy them. Of course, there is my best courgettes recipe of all time, which I devised when Trev and I got married - not as an idle pastime you understand, but to go with the lamb roast plus new potatoes and salads we were having. The by now legendary Courgette and Mint Relish has been a popular favourite ever since. Like everything courgette based, it doesn't look stunning but it more than makes up for that with flavour. Anyway, that doesn't help with the tomatoes. So the two recipes I have been making this week, amongst others, is Ratatouille Chutney and Tomato Ketchup. Now, the chutney is as the name implies - a sort of pickled ratatouille and it is absolutely perfect stirred through pasta for a light lunch or supper. Grate some parmesan over and it really packs a punch. The tomato ketchup looks nothing like its commercial counterpart - a sort of pinky brown colour it is absolutely delicious. One grateful mother told me she counts it as one of her son's 5-a-day because it has so many vegetable ingredients as well as the tomatoes. I love it and add it in to other dishes as an ingredient - its not just for pouring. Try them and see what you think.

I am trying now to get really organised for The Big Feastival which is coming up fast. My list seems to get longer and longer even though I have done quite a lot of it - there is always more to add on. Come and say 'hello' if you are going to be there - we are in the Market Stalls area in the Little Dudes part of the park - I will be making jam over the two days so would love to have a chat. We are also going the The Taste of the West Awards to do a spot of judging and then Welwyn Garden City to talk to the Allotments Association there. Early September is The World Jampionships in Dundee so an aerial view of Rosie & Trev would show us zooming all over the country! Golly.

What news of The Chix I hear you cry? All doing well, getting some feathers back although they look like burst cushions at the moment. Around four eggs a day from six birds which is more than I expected. They lie out in the sunshine and spread their wings to sunbathe which is how they get some of their vitamins - only problem is they only have the ribs of their wings with no feathery bits so they look like a collapsed umbrella with no cover! They are soooo happy though, scratting about, digging, digging, digging. I'll take some more pics when they have their feathers back.

The BBC News put out on Twitter today that it has been the biggest and bestest ( not their exact words ) blackcurrant harvest for a generation so make sure you grab plenty for jams and cordials before they finish.

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Ratatouille Chutney - delicious!