We’re doomed, but everything in the garden is rosy - Fiona Duff

It seems that the world is about doom and gloom these days. No petrol, food shortages, price rises and probably a cold snap around the corner really doesn’t make for jolly reading.
A freshly picked selection of organic vegetables placed in a box on a small allotment.A freshly picked selection of organic vegetables placed in a box on a small allotment.
A freshly picked selection of organic vegetables placed in a box on a small allotment.

And then our glorious (ahem) leader promising that Christmas will “be better than last year” - frankly if that man who looks like a burst straw stuffed sausage thinks that’s an incentive to celebrate he’s gone totally doolally. Frankly, if one person turned up and let off a party popper on Christmas Eve it would be an improvement on 2020s yuletide parties.

Anyway, what there is not a shortage of, in this household anyway, are vegetables. Him Outdoors has an allotment which seems to produce the most amazing amount of potatoes, beans, courgettes and beetroot. Did I mention all the different berries as well? I mean, this year I even made gooseberry jam; I thought I might be having a funny turn but in the end a quick lie down after it is in the jars and I felt fine.

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If we were actually vegetarians our food bill over the past few months would be virtually zero. I have tried so many recipes with courgettes, of which there was a glut this year, and have actually started to enjoy eating them. Needless to say if a friend pops in for a cup of tea, they leave with a carrier bag of greenery. Not that anyone complains because there is something so much tastier about something that has been hoicked out of the ground so close to home. I get a constant flow of dishes they have created, which I often try to re-create with varying success.

So with a freezer full of tomatoes, soups and stewed apples we aren’t likely to go hungry this winter although I might miss having a sausage every so often. Not sure if you noticed that there aren’t enough butchers around these days.

In the meantime I shall divert my eyes from the headlines and head back to the cooker. Roast courgette pesto anyone?

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