At this time of year it is easy to feed ourselves using ingredients mainly from our garden. I grow a variety of crops so that our meals don’t feel restrictive, and are not boring. It is surprising the number of meals you can make without needing much from the shop or storecupboard, besides oil, herbs, spices, flour, eggs, or cheese (or their vegan alternatives). This saves us so much money and I barely buy any food for 3 or 4 months.
We do add meat to our vegetable meals 3 times a week, but we don’t need to. Mr S just likes meat now and again. Our meat is bought around Christmas time when it is on offer. We portion, process it, and freeze it.
Obviously soup can be made from garden ingredients, but here are some examples of meals that we are eating at the moment.
Ratatouille – Tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines, peppers, onions, garlic, and herbs. For a second meal from the left overs I add pulled chicken and served with pasta.
Vegetable curry – Courgettes, beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, and peppers. Sometimes I add pulses to bulk it out and add protein.
Roasted vegetable traybake – Whatever is ready in the garden, roasted with herbs, usually rosemary. Meat can be cooked on top if wanted. We sometimes add chicken.
Stuffed peppers or courgette (or other squash in Autumn) – Filled with chopped vegetables, herbs, and rice if I have it. Grated herbs, cheese, and sometimes bread crumbs are placed on top.
Courgette and tomato gratin – Onions and courgettes, and tomatoes are layered with bread crumbs, herbs and cheese.
Vegetable or bean chilli – made with tomatoes, beans and chillies, and any vegetables we have.
Vegetable lasagne using grilled courgette instead of pasta.
Vegetable pancakes – pancakes filled with vegetables in a rich tomato sauce.
Vegetable pizza – I usually make the base with yoghurt and flour but if I don’t have any, I will make a base with flour and water.
Beetroot or Bean burgers.
A garden salad with feta cheese.
Egg based meals
Frittata – Great for using courgettes, onions, peas, spinach, tomatoes, and herbs.
Garden omelette – Whatever vegetables you picked that day.
Shakshuka – Eggs poached in a tomato, pepper, onion, and chilli sauce.
Potato meals
Bubble and squeak – Potatoes with cabbage, kale, or any greens.
Potato and vegetable hash – Fry potatoes with onions, peppers, courgettes, and herbs.
Potato cakes with grated vegetables and cheese mixed in.
Potato quiche using mash potato as a base instead of pastry.
Vegetable cottage pie with a tomato and vegetable base.
Bean and pea meals
Fresh bean stew with tomatoes and herbs.
Pea, broad bean, and mint risotto.
Green bean and potato salad with mustard dressing.
Pesto pasta – carrot tops and herb pesto served with pasta or rice
One-pan meals
Garden vegetable stir-fry.
Mixed roasted vegetables served with herb yogurt.
Vegetable kebabs cooked on the barbecue.
There are so many lights meals that you can make from garden ingredients as well. Home made baked beans on a baked potato, vegetable fritters, pakoras, onions bhaji come to mind with a tomato based or yoghurt dipping sauce. The list of what we eat from the garden is endless. Even if you don’t grow a garden, vegetables make cheaper meals. We are always experimenting, especially with pasty fillings. What are your favourite meals from your garden?
Such a wealth of creative ideas! Thanks for sharing. We regularly have meals with beans such as veggie chilli butterbean hotpot with a breadcrumb topping. Also salads, vegetable curries and an old recipe for gardener’s supper which is like a cottage pie but with vegetables in a white sauce (we add cheese and mustard) below. Lots of crumbles from the fruit, too.
When our tomatoes are ready I make ratatouille, ( my version) using onions, courgettes tomatoes and garlic from the garden but it is served with something such as sausages, salmon or other things. I also frees some containers of it for later. I make quiches using a tortilla as the base and it usually has onions, tomatoes, courgettes and sometimes chives also.
While I have onions, garlic, courgettes and tomatoes I cook some mince to be used as Bolognaise or some other way and freeze containers as well as eat on the day it’s made. I make pesto to use and freeze taking all sorts of bits from the garden, chives, garlic chives, Swiss chard, garlic, sometimes other herbs and add nuts which are not home grown.
Then there’s salad and a first for this year radish seeds which were really tasty.
Stir fries also but using all of the above and either Swiss chard or spinach, sometimes thinly sliced carrots are added.
Lots of great ideas.
Brilliant collection of ideas particularly for me as a vegetarian. Thank you.
Love these ideas! We were late getting started this year due to my mother-in-law’s passing, and our son’s wedding. Just harvested Swiss Chard this morning and had it with our July 4th feast when the kids came over. Rhubarb, onions, garlic, ‘early’ spuds and lettuce will be ready in the next few weeks! Can’t wait to try some of these ideas!