A Few Ideas For Using Up Your Excess Fruits and Veggies

Hi gardeners!

After a glorious growing cycle, it’s time to turn our attention back to business in the garden and get harvesting all those fantastic fruit and veg that we can grow here in Mindanao. 

From salad leaves to Zucchini and runner beans there are some items that seem to grow well almost anywhere and you certainly don’t need an allotment to join in the fun. Even a window box , simple raised bed or an old rubber tire filled with soil, will do ..so we do hope you've been enjoying a successful year of growing so far.

In fact, sometimes our harvest can be so successful it can be difficult to work out what to do with all that veg. Which is why we’ve put together a few ideas for using up your stores. If you've been really lucky with your crop and these ideas still don’t cut the mustard, then why not see if any of your neighbors have some veg to swap? Or pop down to the local market with a few baskets and see if you can offload your crop for cash!

Kalabasa / Pumpkin Pie

We all know how prolific the squash here ( Kalabasa) can be. Even your friends and neighbors can grow tired of it but here is a little tidbit. It makes great pumpkin pie.

Just peel and cut into 1 inch chunks and boil until done. Follow your favorite Pumpkin recipe and you will create a fun treat for everyone.

Baked Zucchini Risotto

Cut your Zucchini in half lengthways and criss-cross them with a sharp knife before roasting for 30 minutes in an oven set to 200C. Take them out, let them cool and chop them into smaller pieces before adding to a classically simple risotto recipe of Arborio rice, celery and onion with a little white wine. Finish with a little parmesan and with a favorite glass of sun tea.

Spicy Bean Hummus

Making homemade hummus is easier than you think and it often turns out better than what you buy in the stores , if you can find it. Chuck a can of pre-washed chickpeas into the food processor, pop in your sliced green beans or podded broad beans, some lemon juice, chilli flakes (to taste) and plenty of salt and pepper.

Pop the lid on and start the motor running before adding olive oil in a thin drizzle until you have the consistency you want. For more of a shop feel you can use tahini but it really does work without it too.

Apple Chutney

Chutney makes a great a great compliment to any table even if our apples here are not exactly the best. But if you can find a good deal on some slightly over ripe apples this is a great project..You’ll need a big pan with a heavy bottom, but the actual process is really simple. For about 1kg of apples you’ll want 250g of onions and 120g of sultanas, with 375g of sugar and 500ml vinegar. The spices you use can vary but coriander and paprika make a good start and you can’t go wrong with a bit of mixed spice. Chuck it all in the pan, slowly bring it to the boil and just give it a stir every once in a while. After about 2 hours it should be ready –if you can scrape a spoon across the bottom and the channel it leaves doesn’t fill with liquid straight away then you’re all set.

Do you have any recipe ideas to share? Any tales of magnificent vegetable growing? Get involved in the comments and join the conversation!