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They’re nearly all gone for the year now. If you’re growing them and you’ve got some still on the vine but they’re still very green, try cutting off the vine and hanging it up indoors somewhere, or putting them in a paper bag with a ripe banana!

Once they’re ripe, make the most of them with our recipes for Autumn Pancakes with Blue Cheese Sauce, Tomato and Roast Garlic Soup, or Homemade Tomato Sauce (which you could freeze to use later in the year when the tomatoes are gone).

Tomatoes Baked with Parmesan, Parsley & Garlic

This toasty tomato recipe from the Vista Veg cooperative might help use up the final few tomatoes – perhaps nestled into a basic risotto or on fresh, warm buttered bread? Mmm…

beetroot and cheese pie

Last year we published a feature on beetroot. This year we’re refreshing that feature as we approach the end of beetroot season, with some brand new recipes from our readers and some more brilliant beetroot facts…

And as it’s just about time to be planning your vegetable patches for next year, do bear beetroot in mind. They look great growing in borders or deep enough troughs on window-ledges because the leaves are so beautiful.

Click through for all the facts, and for recipes for:

• Beetroot and Cheese Pie
• Pink Mash
• Sneaky Beetroot Jelly, and
• Jam Packed Ruby Red Risotto

cherry clafoutis

Cherry Clafoutis

August brings with it the last of the cherries, so make the most of them with this traditional, elegant yet amazingly simple French dessert.

eton mess

Eton Mess

Summer’s not Summer without Eton Mess … Make yourself popular with the kids by whipping one of these up whilst British strawberries are still abundant.

squashes in the spotlight

We are close to declaring squashes our favourite of all the ingredients we write about. Maybe it’s the sheer variety of them in all their amazing ornamental shapes, sizes and colours. Maybe it’s their versatility for cooking savoury and sweet dishes with.

We also love that they all grow on plants from the Curcurbitacea family, and so are related to courgettes, cucumbers, melons and LOOFAHS (we don’t recommend eating these)!!!

Originally native to Central and North America, many varieties have since been bred to weather colder climes.

Their seasons vary according to type.

Here’s a quick guide to the differences between Summer and Winter squashes, with recipe compilations for each.

sauces, salads, tarts, soups, stews...

Tomatoes are a delicious and welcome sign that summer is here!

And they crop right through until the first frosts of autumn.

Anyone who has tried home-grown / veg box tomatoes will know their flavour and texture is vastly superior to standard supermarket tomatoes.

This is because the home-grown / veg box are left to ripen on the plant, rather than being picked too early, ripened artificially and then transported for days or even weeks, in cold storage. That’s why supermarket tomatoes often have a “floury” texture.

Read on for tips on storing, ripening and skinning, and for our brand new selection of recipes for:

• Red Lentil, Walnut and Tomato Pate
• Classic Tomato Sauce
• Super Quick & Easy Tomato Tart

and more…

ooh what a pavlova!

In 2010, National Cherry Day is Saturday July 17th.

Cherries are a short-lived, summer treat. They can be either sweet or sour, depending on the variety so check before you cook with them as you’ll need sugar for the sour ones! But the sour varieties make better jam.

In the past, the stones were used in bed-warming pans, and the cherry was grown primarily for medicinal purposes rather than to eat as a fruit.

Nutritionally, they’re a good source of antioxidants, Vitamin C, iron, potassium and magnesium and are fast on their way to becoming a “super-fruit”.

Click through for our guide on how to buy, store, freeze and cook cherries. In particular, we’re delighted to bring you two brand new recipes donated generously by FoodLoversBritain.com:

• Cherryade
• Soft Cherry Cake

as well as our recipes for:

• Poached Cherry Pavlova, Vanilla Cream and Toasted Pistachios, and
• Cherry and Strawberry Cream

yet another way to enjoy rhubarb...

This is our newest recipe to the database, and is SO easy to make – brilliant for making the night before a dinner party so that all you have to do is put the sauce on top on the day.

Click through to try it out.

VBRs most popular 'veg' of all time

Butternut squash is becoming increasingly popular in the UK, with supermarkets now importing it from as far afield as Argentina, to meet out-of-season demand.

The good news is that September through to December is peak season for UK-harvested butternut squash, meaning it’s everywhere, it’s cheaper, and it’s got a much smaller carbon “cookprint”.

Read on for tips on how to store it, prepare it and freeze it, and for recipes for:

• Butternut Squash and Almond Cake
• Savoury Baked Butternut Squash, and
• Barley Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash and Goats Cheese

go bananas!

When the day comes that the banana is a British seasonal fruit, we’re in big trouble. Until then, at least we can eat bananas that are fair-trade, organic and sea-freighted rather than flown in. Read on to find out the truth about whether bananas are actually herbs, whether you can be killed for eating them, and of course to find recipes for Banana Bread, Banana and Ginger Biscuits, and Banana Tempura.

What’s your favourite banana recipe?