Timely Reminder

The competition in lovethegarden.com for a favourite tomato recipe is a timely reminder to use up the last of the Tumbler tomatoes trying in vain to ripen near the back door. Though decidedly unripe they have a nice earthy flavour and are already sweet, and as luck would have it there are also the last (likewise earthy) Ring of Fire chilli and about 30 coriander seeds the chickens and my picking for drying have missed.  The three green ingredients needed to make my hot salsa. The toms - about 20 ranging from overgrown pea to underfed golf ball - are chopped roughly. Then the seeds-and-all chilli, coriander, six peppercorns, two garlic cloves and a big pinch of coarse salt are machine-zapped to a paste to which the juice of half a lemon and a good glug of cheap olive oil is added (I defy anyone to tell own-brand from super-ultra-extra-virgin in such a mixture). Mix the Tumblers with the by now thin paste, breath deeply to enjoy in advance, and then cover with clingfilm and leave to mature in the fridge for at least six hours(though I'll take it out to warm to room temperature before using). It will spice up this evening's autumnal supper of pork chops and Turk's Turban squash, and any left will go nicely on toast - or if you live in Kensington, bruschetta.

The Scent of Coriander and Bay

Using the food dryer toy to preserve some herbs - a good way to get early payback as a little Schwartz bottle of dried sage etc runs well beyond the £1 mark - had the very pleasant by-product of filling the basement with a fabulous scent, as we pretentious wine-writer gits would say the coriander was the top-note, the bay providing a deeper background aroma, and the sage a subtle little touch of the savoury.

That is one of the joys of proper cooking, of real food: filling the house with mouth-watering smells. This morning's breakfast smell only noticed after we had been in the garden for a moment, returning to a comfortable mixture of bacon, coffee, and toast. Had we been using the wood-burner people would have thought we were selling the place.