July 24, 2016 – I love summer for the fresh produce, the problem is that I tend to overbuy and then I need to figure out what to do with it all.
Like this week. I find myself with 14 mangos, several pounds of peaches, too many bananas, five pounds of blueberries, three pounds of strawberries, two pineapples, a small watermelon, and too many cobs of corn. Thank goodness we finished the cherries and I managed to make myself not buy the apricots.
It’s so easy to buy too much, and I hate waste. Luckily my two grandmothers taught me well. What excess I end up with (which is usually a lot) goes into jams, jellies, chutneys, or salsas, or it is dehydrated, frozen, or baked into something delicious.
Those mangos landed in a pot with some sugar, some lime juice, and a hefty dollop of sriracha and turned into some delicious jam for glazing things on the BBQ, or for draping over brie and crackers.
The peaches found themselves blended with some yellow peppers, some lime juice, sugar, and chili peppers, also turning into a sweet + heat sauce for later use on crackers and cheese or on just about anything that lands on the BBQ.
The pineapples were blended with Thai bird chilis and sugar and also ended up as a sweet and spicy spread.
All three went into jars and were canned for future treats or to give away as little gifts for some reason, or for no reason at all.
The bananas ended up in a banana bread. Yum!
The corn was roasted on the BBQ and the kernels removed for the week’s lunch salads ahead.
The strawberries are, as yet, still intact and waiting to be snacked on ad libitum, as are the blueberries – they keep for a long time and will end up in the morning yogurt and granola, or just being nibbled on.
When I was up at Painter’s Lodge the other week for a course I had blackened cod with a watermelon and blueberry salsa….I’ll have to find a recipe for something similar and add that to this week’s menu.
Yes….I do love this time of year. It takes me back to my summers in the Shuswap. We may have been busy picking everything and preserving it for the year ahead, but those lessons and taste sensations have stayed with me for life and I cannot buy jams or other preserves at the store. I’m more than happy to make my own and am always looking for new recipes and new ways to use the wonderful tastes that summer brings.
Nature makes better candy than can be found in any store 🙂
116 Photos in 2016 – 30. As sweet as candy
20 comments
Seen in
116 pictures in 2016
I love summer fruit too but I have the opposite problem with it, 2 lbs of blueberries last about 5 minutes in my house, same with strawberries. Peaches and nectarines don’t last much longer. The only reason mango’s stay around for a bit is because the kids need an adult to peal them otherwise they would be gone just as quick. I buy fruit in the hopes of getting to turn some into jams, or fruit leather and it never happens because by the time I have a chance there is no fruit left to make anything with.
Yes, but you do have a few more mouths at your house than I do 😉
Only a few more, three of the mouths at your house have very different diets then mine. (Thinking of the two cats and bird) probably no less demanding about their food though
Freeze them, serve them in a Super Dry Martini.
the blueberries that is….
😀
Probably not far off 😀
mmm… mangos … if you’ve never tried it, consider making the Thai dessert sticky rice & mangos. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/150313/thai-sweet-sticky-rice-with-mango-khao-neeo-mamuang/
Seen in
116 pictures in 2016
Seen and appreciated in
116 pictures in 2016