too many toms

I do enjoy getting in the garden when i can, altough i am pretty hit and miss when it comes to harvest time... i'm pretty good at cultivating slugs!!!

However, my two Uncles are very keen gardeners, and this year my Dad joined the club by getting himself a lovely new greenhouse. Tomatoes, that's the thing you see.... i did hear on a gardening radio programme during the summer, a question about tomatoes, to which the comment 'you either have tomatoes or you have a life' made me laugh! Well, my Uncles and my Dad do take very devoted care of thier tomato plants it has to be said, so much so in fact that they all end up with millions of tomatoes each! Tomatoes for breakfast lunch and dinner, and then some!

You can freeze tomatoes of course but they are a bit mushy.... i prefer chutney making. So the other week when my Dad visitied, he proudly brought me a bag full of his own home grown tomatoes! (Hey hey! The Uncles better watch out!)

This batch was from the end of the season, so quite a few green ones. Perfect for chutney tho, and my horticultural contribution was some fine apples from my garden ( the apple tree is slug proof and does it's thing with zero imput from me). So Green Tomato and Chilli Chutney was cooked up and we have to wait a few weeks for it to mature, but then i think- i hope- it will be good, and presants (not phesants) all round for Dad and Uncles!

There are lots of chutney recipes on the internet, so if you fancy having a go yourself you will have no trouble finding some tips. It is so easy tho, you can't go wrong. I put lots of apples in mine, onions and some spices and mustard seeds, along with vinegar and sugar. Next batch of chutney will be apple cider chutney i think... unless i use up the rest of the apples on crumble and pie...

I made little polymer clay chillis and tomatoes to decorate my jars with, so they are fun to make from start to finish. And with a fabric cover made from some material scraps and a ribbon bow and a bit of string for a rustic twist- it's definitely autumn!!