Autumn is on its way
With the weather today being cold, wet and windy it feels like we have suddenly turned a corner and left summer behind. I was hoping that summer would bow out gracefully and slowly. Hopefully we shall have a bit of warm sun still to come.
We went to a bbq on bank holiday Monday and a group of us went for a walk. The person whose house it was and therefore knows the area, suggested the walk. We went along and took our three grandchildren who have all had birthdays in August and who are now 2, 4 and 7. Seven and a half miles later, we struggled back to the house. The seven year old coped fine and obviously could have gone further. The four year old managed well for the first five miles and then had to be carried. The two year old managed a couple of miles and had to be carried the rest of the way. My arthriticky knee managed at first but by the five mile point, was protesting loudly and we still had a third of the way to go. Not fun!
Naturally, as always, I had a plastic bag in my pocket to fill with any goodies for my rabbit as we were walking across fields and public rights of way. I did find various things for the rabbit but I also found some crab apples, elderberries and a few damsons. I added a couple of windfall apples to this as well as a handful of blackberries and made five small pots of hedgerow jelly to add to my store. It is a lot of work for such a small return but it has a fabulous flavour. It will be great with meat but will be just as good on my breakfast toast : )
I have more blackberries to pick and will make some more blackberry and apple jam. I'd like to make a little bit of chutney and mayber a pickle or two. My husband likes Branston and not much else but I love pickles and chutneys. I have tried hard to broaden his mind but it remains firmly set on Branston and pickled onions. The only time I have managed to get him to try anything else (with the verdict of "It's alright but I prefer Branston") was a tomato and apple chutney made with tinned tomatoes. Windfall apples are relatively easy to come by if you know anybody with an apple tree. Tinned tomatoes are currently four for £1 at Asda so it is an inexpensive chutney to make. It also uses just ordinary vinegar, not spiced, and white sugar.
We went to a bbq on bank holiday Monday and a group of us went for a walk. The person whose house it was and therefore knows the area, suggested the walk. We went along and took our three grandchildren who have all had birthdays in August and who are now 2, 4 and 7. Seven and a half miles later, we struggled back to the house. The seven year old coped fine and obviously could have gone further. The four year old managed well for the first five miles and then had to be carried. The two year old managed a couple of miles and had to be carried the rest of the way. My arthriticky knee managed at first but by the five mile point, was protesting loudly and we still had a third of the way to go. Not fun!
Naturally, as always, I had a plastic bag in my pocket to fill with any goodies for my rabbit as we were walking across fields and public rights of way. I did find various things for the rabbit but I also found some crab apples, elderberries and a few damsons. I added a couple of windfall apples to this as well as a handful of blackberries and made five small pots of hedgerow jelly to add to my store. It is a lot of work for such a small return but it has a fabulous flavour. It will be great with meat but will be just as good on my breakfast toast : )
I have more blackberries to pick and will make some more blackberry and apple jam. I'd like to make a little bit of chutney and mayber a pickle or two. My husband likes Branston and not much else but I love pickles and chutneys. I have tried hard to broaden his mind but it remains firmly set on Branston and pickled onions. The only time I have managed to get him to try anything else (with the verdict of "It's alright but I prefer Branston") was a tomato and apple chutney made with tinned tomatoes. Windfall apples are relatively easy to come by if you know anybody with an apple tree. Tinned tomatoes are currently four for £1 at Asda so it is an inexpensive chutney to make. It also uses just ordinary vinegar, not spiced, and white sugar.
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Labels: preserves
posted by Jo @ 8:07 AM
2 Comments:
At 10:54 AM,
Mum said…
Sounds like a very long walk to me - don't think I could have managed it. Well done you and thank you for the recipe.
xx
At 10:59 AM,
Jo said…
It was a nice walk until the last couple of miles. Pleasant company and pleasant scenery. Just tooooo long for me with my knee. Recipe is easy and good - very tasty.
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