This evening, I’ve been cooking up a tomato and vegetable relish. I’ve done that before but what makes this one special is that all the fresh ingredients are homegrown and come either from the allotment or the back garden. Actually, I’m not completely sure about the garlic (we did grow some but don’t know if that is what was in the drawer) but the onions, squash, cucumbers and tomatoes were all from our plots. Indeed, one of the motivations for cooking up this batch was to deal with the harvest of the last few days and make room to bring the next lot in.

Other ingredients include sugar, wine vinegar and a few bits of seasoning including mustard powder and cumin seeds. Once it finishes in the oven (which will expand the air at the top of the jars so that, when tightened down and cool, the top will be vacuum sealed) I’ll have to give it a month or so to mellow but it should then be good all the way through to next spring.