Despite the strange summer weather we have had this year. We have managed to grow lots and lots of chillies. We plan to freeze some and dry some for adding to spicy dishes throughout the year.

Despite the strange summer weather we have had this year. We have managed to grow lots and lots of chillies. We plan to freeze some and dry some for adding to spicy dishes throughout the year.

I have to say our pumpkins were a little disappointing this year. After a head start under cloches they seemed to stop growing quite early on in the season. I am not sure if the mild summer is the cause but we had dead plants and ripe pumpkins ready to pick at the end of August. Our butternut squashes and summer squashes on the other hand have performed quite well.

We kind of went a little overboard with our tomatoes this year. We grew several hanging baskets, several grow bags and several tubs. Far too many for us to eat all in one go. Below is a recipe for making a tomato pasta sauce. We used all cherry tomatoes, both red and yellow so our sauce turned out a little orange rather than red. Its tasty all the same though.

Our grapes are well on their way to ripening. We are hoping to protect them a bit better this year. Last year we lost the whole lot one morning to cheeky little birds.

We were given lots of plums by a friend. Below is some pics of one of the many recipes we followed in order to use them all up.


Recipe: http://www.allotment.org.uk/recipe/74/recipe-for-fresh-plum-cake/
My best friend has just given birth to a little baby boy, so I decided to have a go at making some iced cookies to give her as a gift.


I followed this recipe: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/scary_halloween_cookies_86970