Oven dried tomatoes (part 2)

This is what the tomatoes looked like this morning, after a night in the oven on a very low heat...

...and this is what they look like with some fresh thyme and extra virgin olive oil... yum!

Oven-dried tomatoes....

In preparation for our 2011 Harvest Festival we're trying out various preserves to make sure there's plenty of produce to enjoy for all. These tomatoes were harvested today by our volunteers, and will last in the cupboard to make lovely pizzas toppings or salad ingredients.

Oven-dried tomato recipe

1. Harvest tomatoes of any variety, shape or size.

2. Leave small ones whole, but medium ones in half lengthways, cut large ones into quarters lengthways.

3. Place in a baking tray (cut ones should be placed cut-side up).

4. Place in the oven on a very low heat (between 50-100 degrees C).

5. Cook for 4-6 hours depending on the size of the tomatoes.

6. They are ready when they look shrivelled up like sun-dried tomatoes.

7. Leave to cool then store in a jar with a few springs of thyme (or rosemary or garlic etc), completely covered with a good olive oil.

Family Open Day Friday 19th August 2011

Over 70 people came to our family open day last Friday, 19th August. Happy children explored the garden with their parents, taking part in a 'Hungry Caterpillar' garden hunt and making apple bird feeders. Seeds, plants and produce were the prizes in our raffle.

Remember that our next (and final) 2011 open day is the climax of the season - The 2011 Harvest Festival. There will be a children's scarecrow-making workshop, experts from The Royal Parks Guild on site to answer your questions, an exciting raffle and, of course, lots of tasty food cooked fresh on site from allotment produce. The event will take place on Sunday 25th September 2011, 11am-5pm. You can find the allotment garden on the corner of Inner Circle with Chester Road, in the heart of The Regent's Park next to the park office (NW1 4NR).

Allotment Garden open days

200-300 people came to enjoy the delights of the allotment garden during our last open day on Saturday 6th August. We will open our gates again this Friday, 19th August, for our Family Open Day. Between 11am and 4pm we will have children's activities, produce tasting, and a raffle. We look forward to seeing you

then.

Allotment visitor

Summer in the Allotment Garden

Today the sun is shining and the allotment is flourishing. The potatoes came out of the ground this week and red turban squashes have gone in their place. Sweet potatoes are ready for planting too. Everything is going to need a good drink so just as well there is rain forecast for the weekend. This month we have harvested peas, mange tout, broad beans, French beans, potatoes, chard, salads, elephant garlic and shallots. Yum.

The Regent's Park Allotment Garden

The allotment garden lies in the heart of The Regent’s Park, on the corner of Chester Road and Inner Circle. The gate is open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4pm. A dedicated team of Capital Growth volunteers manage the garden alongside staff and students from Capel Manor horticultural college next door. Capital Growth - a London-wide community food-growing initiative - runs an exciting programme of activities in the garden, including free open days, training sessions run by local experts, and sessions for local primary schools. We have had about 300 people through the gate at our 2011 open days, as well as 180 local primary school children just in the last 7 weeks.

Our next training session is Growing in Containers/Small Spaces, on Saturday 16^th July, 10.30am to 1pm. Bookings can be made via training@capitalgrowth.org.