Thoughtful Bounty .... And making The Most Of It.

Summer .... however rubbish ... is rattling on ... and the Autumn almost upon us.... I know ... I know ...not had any summer yet ..an all that!

But I feel its more important than ever to harvest whatever we can ... save and store for the coming months ... 'things' are not getting any easier ..... and food is as expensive as ever.

So what a thoughtful boon.... a kindly gift ... a

 'Waste Not Want Not' 

kind of 

'Pass it On'.

I called ... as usual at 'Collin the Veg' for my weekly order of veggie goodies ...and it must be said his prices are very reasonable.

 As it was the end of the trading day (at the carboot/market) he said could I do 'anything' with some bananas and cooking apples ... they were okay ... just getting a bit over ripe ... and of course he could not sell them the following day ... so they would be thrown in the rubbish ....wasted.

 I said of course .... Yes Please.

Well .... he said.... I know you do all that proper cooking ... jam and cakes and stuff ... and will do something with them.

 

 And what bounty it was ..... a big box full of apples and bananas!

I set to as soon as we got home ... it was a very ripe boxful ... the whole van smelled like a banana.

I simply chopped all the apple and filled my trusty 'Big Pan' .... simmering them and putting them through a cloth to make some Apple Jelly.

 

I used 8 of the ripest bananas to make a batch of Banana Bread ...

It turned out really well ... I've not made it before ...I just got a recipe off the Internet .... modified it a bit to what ingredients I had in the cupboard. 

 Jelly turned out fine ... just a simple Apple Jelly ....I eat loads of it ... just love it with pork, or chicken ...or cheese ... or stirred into a sauce or stirfry .... Yum.

 It seems banana bread is a hit .... I made it yesterday and this is all that is left of a large loaf tin sized cake ...Hubby P has discovered it tastes just lovely slavered in butter .... 'keeps his strength up' ... or so he tells me.

Don't know why I bothered wrapping it in tinfoil ... telling myself 'well ... it says it will keep a good week ... and it is better ... is more moist ... after a day or two' ... fat chance in this household!

In the midst of the baking etc Hubby P walked in with a big bag of runner beans from a neighbour ... well they too needed to be sorted ... chopped, blanched and popped in the freezer for another day, a little work but so welcome to brighten our meals in the coming weeks.

 We had some for dinner with our pork steaks ... and a little apple jelly of course.

Still lots of bananas left here .... I've had bananas with my bran flakes, bananas and custard .... Richard has eaten a few .... Hubby P .... well .... I can only get fruit into him in the guise of cake/pudding etc ... so the banana bread is a good bet .... any good banana ideas? ..... anyone tried banana curry?

How is your harvesting going ...any ideas for interesting preserves? .... I'm getting a bit bored with the same old jams etc.

Bye for now x