Tomato harvest

Tomato growing was one of my most exciting projects this summer.  Having tried planting tomato seeds many times in the tropics as a child and watching the seedlings flop over at about 3 inches high, I had never attempted growing this fruit again until now.

Early this year, whilst unpacking some boxes, I found a packet of unopened heritage tomato seeds from Diggers Club Australia.  It had been in a box for three years but I thought I would stick some in compost to see if they would germinate. 

It was a lottery as there were eight types of 'heirloom' varieties in the packet.  Amazingly, every single seed germinated.

I tucked some amongst the calendulas as I've read that these plants would help to repel pests.  Others were grown next to the sweetcorn further down the garden and one was planted in a pot. 

It was exciting, watching and waiting, not knowing what variety each plant was going to be until later in the season.

In the end, one tomato plant grew into a bush variety called 'Brown Berry'.  The fruits were juicy and very sweet.  I'd definitely grow more of these next year.

Brown Berry amongst the calendulas

  

Another plant turned out to be a vigorous growing Grosse Lisse with big potato leaves.  The fruits grew so large and heavy that the entire plant, even with stakes, eventually collapsed onto the calendulas and pea plants behind it.  Stronger stakes next year!

Grosse Lisse in early summer

Four fruits were left after pinching out

Mid-summer after rain

Early autumn

The rest were mid-sized plants which I 'stopped' at 2-3 feet high.  The fruits were elongated with light green streaks but as they ripened, the lot turned to a lovely yellow colour.  It was quite a mystery at first why one yellow fruit would taste so different from another yellow fruit.  After some 'Googling' the penny dropped:  they are two different varieties, Cream Sausage and Banana Legs!



Banana Legs ripening in late summer

Both varieties were prolific and very showy.  The Banana Legs tomatoes thrived in the ground as well as in a pot on the warm patio, the fruit turning into a beautiful canary yellow which remained hanging on the plant like big pendulous baubles until harvested.  The fruit is meaty with a very subtle flavour.  Apparently yellow tomatoes have less acidity and this variety definitely fits the bill.

Pot grown Banana Legs in early autumn

The Cream Sausage tomatoes are, true to their name, a light creamy yellow when ripe.  They are juicy, full of flavour and great for salads.   They grew very well in clay soil and required additional staking when the fruits got bigger.  Due to its thin skin, this variety is favoured by slugs and snails and must be kept off the ground! 

       

                                                                                      

Cream Sausage ripening in mid-summer

The last tomatoes were picked today and none had suffered from blight.  Was it beginner's luck, companion planting with calendulas or wind direction?

         

Grosse Lisse, Banana Legs and Cream Sausage tomatoes

 

All in all, a very worthwhile effort and a very tomatoey summer was had by all!  



Brown Berry and Banana Legs tomatoes

Rose hip jam

I had not considered roses as being 'edible' until recently when I noticed that the rose bush by the front door was absolutely dripping with rose hips.  The hips had turned a beautiful fire engine red and I thought it would be a terrible waste to let them fall to the ground.

Having read that jam, syrup, jelly, soup, pie and even wine could be made out of rose hips, I decided to give jam-making a go. 

I 'googled' and found this popular recipe from the 1700s:  1 pound prepared rose hip pulp, 1 cup water and 1 pound sugar.  There were no specifics on how to 'prepare' the hips - it seemed everyone had a different method.  Here's how I made mine......



 

Harvest carefully, wearing gloves and an old jacket to prevent scratches to oneself. 

Put the very ripe and soft fruit aside.  Select fruit which are firm and trim off both ends.

Cut these in half and scrape off the seeds with the sharp end of a vegetable peeler or knife. Try not to touch the hairy seeds (more on that later).

To prepare the softer fruit, hold firm the stem of the fruit and gently pull the 'bunch' of seeds off from the other end - easy!

Rinse the cleaned fruit to remove any leftover hairy bits.  Here's the thing about the fine hairs on the seeds: they work like itching powder.  Rub some on the skin and you will feel it!  If you're very sensitive, wear gloves when processing the fruit.

Pour the prepared hips and water into a heavy-based saucepan, cook until soft enough to press through a stainless steel sieve.

Sieve the pulp in small batches into a large bowl.

These were the skins left over from 1.5 pounds of rose hips.  Flick these onto the garden beds.

Pour the fine pulp back into the saucepan, stir in the sugar and bring to a boil.  Boil for several minutes and then simmer until there's a 'jam-like' consistency.

Rose hips have plenty of pectin, so there's no need to add anything else to help it set.  Once the mixture is thick, glossy and silky, test for setting point. 

Voila! Only four bottles after all that work but the taste is well worth the effort.

As I prefer a less sweet jam, I used 1 pound organic natural demerera sugar to 1.5 pounds rose hip pulp and two cups of water.  This jam is soft and silky and has just the right balance of tartness. 

Malaysian Night at Trafalgar Square

Ok, so Friday was grey, a tad wet and absolutely freezing.   Never mind that.  I read about 'Malaysia Night at Trafalgar Square' in a Time Out newsletter and decided to join a gaggle of diehard foodies to support this event.  Braving arctic conditions (by my calculations, that would be anything below 10˚C),  I arrived to the sounds of Malay traditional music and the heady smells of hawker food.....  

and it looked like the entire expatriate Malaysian (and Singaporean) community had decided to follow their stomachs as well!  A huge festive crowd was already there, tucking into Penang laksa, char koay teow, beef rendang, ayam percik, satay, chendol.....   

Most people sat around the fountains to eat their food but this gentleman here has demonstrated a most elegant way to tuck in standing up.....

What style!

Mmm.....check out the menus!  In my haste to satisfy my taste buds, all thoughts of food photography flew out the window.....until the very last dish, rojak. 

    


Rojak is a salad made from cucumber, jicama, bean sprouts, pineapple, green mango, Malay apple, guava and fried tofu puffs - ingredients will vary.  The dressing, the vital part of this salad,  is dark and viscous and made up of shrimp paste, tamarind paste, sugar, chilli and lime, topped with crushed roasted peanuts and a sprinkling of sesame seeds - salty, sour, sweet and spicy - the flavour is out of this world!

Rojak

Imagine buying kicap manis or fresh birdseye chilli in the middle of Trafalgar Square!



Maggi chilli sauce for sale here

.....and kicap manis here

Champion carver Weng Kit Ho flew in from Paris to present a stall full of fruit and vegetables.....

Royal stamp of approval

I might add that the entertainment was pretty good too:  traditional music and dance, parade of ethnic costumes, demonstration of the martial art of 'silat'.....

Folk dance



Silat

Malay musical instruments

Unfazed by the steadily dropping temperature and spurred on by the tantalising smells of food, the crowd grew and grew.....

The brightly lit National Gallery overlooking the event

Foodies are a very patient lot!

This event was part of a year long campaign by the Malaysian government to introduce the British to Malaysian cuisine (http://www.malaysiakitchen.co.uk/).  All participating food stalls in this event were run by Malaysian restaurants based in the UK.  A jolly good idea well executed!