Easy pickings

Could there be anything more wholesome than a morning picking fruit and veg?

I have been taking my kids to Parkside Pick your own Farm in Enfield since they were very little. At the beginning I struggled a bit with the children's buggy and the vegetable cart, but as they grew, each year would get a bit easier, and we all loved it so much so went back every year.

Well, my kids are now all teenagers and they still love going fruit-picking! At least they can manage the cart now and I just have to worry about how many punnets to fill. Here's what we picked yesterday:

The berries will be eaten raw - and very delicious they are!

The squashes have had the flesh spooned out, sautéed with some onions and tomatoes. The addition of some flaxseeds, shakshuka spice and walnuts made a mixture which was piled back into the squashes and baked for about an hour till soft to make this a tasty vegetarian alternative for tonight's dinner guests.

Green beans have been boiled - half eaten with dinner and the other half to make a bean salad.

Cherry tomatoes are intended for a salad, but are so sweet and yummy that they are nearly all gone!

Half the courgettes were made into soup and frozen, and the other half cooked with onions, garlic, oregano and tomatoes to make a courgette ratatouille.

The delicious sweetcorns will be boiled and served at a BBQ this weekend - yum!

Food shopping has never been so much fun - I might not be able to wait till next year to go again!