Purple Congo Potatoes and Brassica Plantings

Yesterday I dug up the last of my potato crops. The result is 5.5kg of weird looking (as in purple dog poo weird) purple congo potatoes from planting 500g of seed potato. This year most of my potatoes were pretty badly affected by caterpillars not to mention a malfunctioning watering system when we went on holidays. The most resilient and resistant variety by far were these purple congo. While the others wilted and drooped, these purple wonders just sent out yet more shoots and more flowers. They're definitely something I'll want to grow again (unless they taste awful!). Although from what I've heard about their weedy tendencies, it will be impossible not to re-grow them!

The cream of the crop have been allowed to dry and have been boxed up ready for storing under our house where it's nice and cool. The others that are a bit dinted or eaten in places have been washed and dried and will be kept in the kitchen for using first (below). I can't wait to start using them! From what I've read, they're fantastic in gnocchi, boiled or mashed but are not so good roasted. I think some cooking experiments are in order!

I've also started sowing and growing my brassica seedlings for winter harvesting. Here they are carefully covered with horticultural fleece to protect from the hoards of hungry white cabbage moths and harsh summer sun. So far I've planted punnets of romenesco broccoli, January king cabbage, mini cauliflower, Long Island brussel sprout, Chou Moullier kale, green Macerata cauliflower, savoy cabbage and mini wongbok.

Are you harvesting and planning for the winter?

13.6kg of Plums in Just Three Jars!

How do you make 13.6kgs of plums fit in 3 jars? Suck all the moisture out of them of course! I've been using my favourite new toy, a 9 tray dehydrator, to leatherise the plums my lovely brother gave me. There would have been 4 jars if they weren't so darn tasty! 

After a little tweaking (but definitely no twerking), and one very sub-par batch I think I've got it all figured out. I've been removing the pips and putting the plums in a pot over low heat, with a squeeze of lemon and a trickle of rice malt syrup then letting them cook until they're beginning to fall apart. I then blitz them up with a stick blender until smooth, smear over baking paper (nice and thick) then bung in the dehydrator until they're pliable and leathery. Mine take about 18 hours on medium heat. 

The first batch I made I didn't cook the plums, just blended them up, smeared and dehydrated. Fail. They were brown, ugly, stiff and tart enough to make your lips pucker. The plums were probably a bit under-ripe which wouldn't have helped. The latest batches are shiny, deeply coloured and a joy to eat- still tart but definitely in a good way now. 

This last photo is not plum related in the slightest but I was caught by the beauty of all the various colours, shapes and sizes of seeds sitting in bowls waiting to be soaked and later filled into the sprout trays...

Tell me, if you like, what interesting things are growing, cooking and eating?