Summer Gluts

One of the joys of summer for me is the abundance of home grown produce. I'm harvesting fruits, vegetables and herbs on a daily basis that couldn't be any fresher. At times some produce comes in such quantities that it is difficult to know what to do with these gluts. Summer squashes like courgettes (zucchini) seem to double in size overnight, and are no longer the finger sized treats they were at the beginning of the season. After waiting weeks for the laden trusses of green tomatoes to begin to ripen, they soon produce a daily bounty that cannot be devoured simply by a simple sandwich or salad lunch. Cucumbers that were once picked at a few inches long and eaten whole, start to take on monstrous proportions that defy the dainty sandwich or salad platter. Runner beans that were eagerly awaited a few weeks ago are now growing at a terrific rate and the children begin to groan at their repeated appearance on the dinner plate.
One could give some away to friends and neighbours, or just dump the excess on the compost heap, but really the answer is to find new and interesting ways of using these gluts for ourselves; we put a lot of effort into growing our own food, we really need to make the most of it. I hope to provide some ideas for using, and storing these gluts of hard won produce.