Tomato Sauce and other Top Tips.

Last year, I had such a poor crop of tomatoes that this year I grew twice as many plants. They have almost taken over, but we have had a bumper crop. It got to the point where we couldn't eat them fast enough, so I decided to make some puree to freeze.

One Mornings picking

Getting out my trusty liquidiser, I added a few drops of Olive Oil and whizzed the lot up.

It actually made 2 litres of puree, that's 5 double portions of base for soup, pasta sauce, pizza topping, casserole or whatever. And there are loads still to come.

However my freezer is full again, mainly Blackberries, and with the Raspberries starting to ripen, I need room. I don't want a bigger freezer, as I would just fill it with stuff, just a bit of room in this one.

After work on Tuesday, a very nice day on the river,

 we had sausages baked in onion and mushrooms, served with roasted tomato and some couscous.

First slice your onion and mushrooms, toss in Oil and Balsamic (to taste)

then put in a 180 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Give them a stir and add the sausages, after rubbing them with Oil. Put it back in the oven for 25 minutes.

Add a tablespoon of runny honey and mustard to taste, give it a stir and put it back in the oven. Then put your tomatoes, halved and oiled, in for 15 minutes.

Use the time to make your couscous.

YUM.

Here's a top tip, anything you prepare with water, (Boiled potatoes, pasta, couscous etc) add a teaspoon of veg stock powder to the water. Gives it a whole new taste.

Here's another, I always add a spoon of either Horseradish or garlic paste to beef mince or stewing beef when I fry it, to bring out the flavour. Horseradish for stews or Cottage Pie, and Garlic for Bolognase.

Its been really humid here, and for a change today I took the dogs up Yardes Lane, as its shady and cool, theres a stream that runs down the middle of the lane in places and its a magical place to be, you can feel the energy of the trees and the earth surround you.

see what I mean? Although you aren't far from civilisation, there are cows grazing and its very pastoral.

And when you get to the top, there a view across Torbay

Then a steep hill to walk down to get home. I know its been hot and dry this summer, but the stream had gone, just a bit of damp ground.

Time has gone quickly, and I have to go back to work tomorrow. But I have 11 days off after that, we were going to decorate the front room but now Yvonne is not well so we will have to leave it.