Harvest time inventions

Harvest time, I both love and loathe it in equal measures.

On the one hand there is the gratitude and happiness to see ripened crops, to pick baskets of beans or beets, to be able to share and swap with neighbours.

On the other hand there are the failures or the excess of one particular prolific crop.

Last year for us, that was the courgettes, this year it's the beets and beans.

This year I'm trialling beetroot and gooseberry chutney which, if it works, I will try to share the recipe.

Much as I love making pickles, jams, blanching to freeze until my hands are dry and raw, there does come the day when I scream out "what the heck can I do with yet MORE beetroot" to enable my family to not pull a face as I add jar number 67 of pickled beets to the shelves to add to our meat dishes this winter!
I have plans to make a couple of beetroot and chocolate cakes to freeze and one to give away tomorrow as we have a friend coming over to help us with the honey harvest.

I'm not massively keen on bottling, something that I find a lot of US websites recommend. Canning and bottling at home aren't something that the UK seems to be as fond of, hence the best equipment for this is from the US.

I therefore also try to get a bit more inventive and fill the freezer with slightly more trial and error foods, some of which really do. not. work!!


But, my big question today is:

How does this sound to you?

Rhubarb and chilli jam?  Is it more a pickle or a jam? Savoury or sweet?

My chilli plant has put out rather suddenly and I don't like using dried chillies, so am debating making some indian pastes up to freeze as I make a lot of curries and using some with the last of the rhubarb that I've just picked.

I suppose we just have to see eh?