Grow, Gather and Feast - August
My monthly guide to our gardens and kitchen in August
August is here. In Scotland, July was cool and wet and it looks like the weather is going to hold the same again for this month. It feels almost Autumnal. Normally at this time of year my kitchen is filled with big salads using the vegetable patch harvests, this year however stews, soups and dumplings are already back on the menu. The vegetable patch has been slow to develop, we are just getting the first of our courgettes and the tomatoes are a long way off from being ripe. There is still a lot to harvest though and I still enjoy every wet walk down the garden path to the vegetable garden to harvest vegetables.
Grow
August in Scotland is the last month for sowing seeds for successional crops and autumn and winter crops.
Vegetables
Chard, chicory, fennel, endive, lettuces, oriental greens, pak choi, radish, winter salad leaves, spinach, spring onions, turnips.
Herbs
Coriander, dill, parsley
Edible Flowers
Calendula
Weeding, watering and planting out vegetable plugs (seedlings) are the continuing jobs for this month.
Keep tomatoes it is also important to pinching out tomato side shoots so that they focus their growth on making large fruits rather than putting energy into growing lots of foliage.
Remember to feed your plants weekly with a liquid seaweed fertiliser.
Gather
The last of the summer harvests is here, perfect for gathering and then eating outdoors, if the weather allows this month.
Vegetables
Globe artichoke, aubergine, beetroot, french and runner beans, carrots, celeriac, chard, chicory, chillies, cucumbers, courgettes, endive, fennel bulb, kale, lettuce, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, salad leaves, spring onions, spinach, sweetcorn, summer squashes, wild and cultavated rocket and tomatoes.
Fruit
Apples, blackcurrants, blackberries (first of the season), figs, melons, plums, raspberries.
Herbs
Basil, chamomile, chives, coriander, fennel, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary
Foraging
Blackberries, dandelions, nettles, raspberries, wild strawberries.
Feast
Golden summer courgette, pea and butterbean stew with courgette dumplings
Ingredients
For the stew
One bunch of spring onions, or two shallots, finely chopped
Four cloves of garlic, minced
2 courgettes, cut into 1cm pieces
2 tsps ground turmeric
1 x 325g jar butterbeans
200ml vegetable stock
1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
1 x unwaxed lemon, zest and juice
150g fresh garden peas
Pepper, to taste
For the dumplings
200g flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g butter
1 courgette
1 tsp dried oregano
pinch of salt
50-75ml oat milk
Method
Place a heavy bottomed casserole dish over a medium heat, add a little oil, spring onions and garlic. Cook for five to ten minutes until the spring onions have softened. Then add the courgette and cook for a further five minutes.
Add the turmeric and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the coconut milk, stock, butter beans, zest and lemon juice and the squeezed lemon halves. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes, then remove the lemon halves and add the peas.
While the stew is simmering make the dumplings. In a bowl add the flour, baking powder, oregano and salt. Mix then add the butter and mix until a breadcrumb texture is achieved. Stir through the grated courgette then slowly add the milk until a dough forms. Using heaped teaspoons of the mixture, roll into balls and then place ontop of the stew.
Once all of the dumplings have been made, place a lid on the stew and gently simmer for 15 minutes. Do not remove the lid during this time to make sure the dumplings are light and fluffy.
Once the dumplings are cooked serve in bowls.
Blackberry and elderberry cake
Ingredients
150g vegan butter
150g demerara sugar
150g ground almonds
150g self raising flour
1 tsp almond extract
200g blackberries and elderberries
Method
Mix all of the ingredients together, apart from the fruit, either by hand or with a freestanding mixer.
Place half of the mixture in a lined 8” cake tin. Sprinkle with the fruit, then cover with the remaining cake mixture.
Bake in a pre heated oven at 160C for 45 minutes.
Thank you for reading my guide to August. I hope you find it helpful in your garden and kitchen this month.