I’ve got a lovely thistle in the garden that’s blooming right now and bees love it.
Isn’t this much nicer than featureless paving stones and grass? It’s supporting the bee population too.
I’ve discovered another use for the bumper crop of plums we’ve got: plum crumble. This was delicious!
We’re also swimming in tomatoes so I’m going to give tomato ketchup a try. I think summer should be called the season of bottles and jars. We can buy whatever we want all year around these days but in the past preserving the summer bounty provided a source of food during the winter months. Perhaps if we still had to do this we’d be more careful about reducing food waste.
rachel.blog 
You’ve done such a great job with all that produce.
Thanks!
Do you also freeze the tomatoes for pasta sauce?
No, I’ve not done that. Perhaps I’ll try. Is that better than bottling them up as passata?
Ummm …… good question, but unfortunately I don’t know the answer. My sister in law did it, but maybe she made a sort of passata and then froze them. Best ask an expert – i.e. google – rather me me, I think š
I’m not keen to use up valuable freezer space on frozen tomatoes if putting them in jars is just as good. Perhaps they stay fresher in the freezer?
Or perhaps they keep for longer.
We usually preserve our tomatoes by pickling them in vinegar with herbs. It is something quite common in the Eastern Europe: https://happykitchen.rocks/russian-grandmas-pickled-tomatoes/
Makes great addition to meals in the winter š
Thank you! Pickled tomatoes sounds yum.
Ooh! Plum Crumble looks amazing. Plump tomatoes too!
I can definitely recommend plum crumble! We might have another tonight with the last of the plums.