Mandy to the rescue again!

Look what I found this morning, next doors cat was trying to get at it and magpies were going mad, poor little fella has a puncture wound and is in shock. I let him rest for an hour or so and then he had lunch. He's making a good recovery so far!

Lemongino

After great success with my Sloe Gin last year I wondered what to do with an abundance of lemons from my mum, OCD to her means a different buying obsession every week, so I got to thinking of things to do with lemons?....lemon curd, yum, lemon tart....maybe, lemongino a possibility?

So basically I've just followed the same recipe as for the Sloe Gin but substituted lemons for sloes. Ill need to leave it for a few months at the least before trying, hoping it will be good :)

The recipe is:

700ml Gin
500g Sugar
715g Lemons

Method:  zest some of the lemons and place together with the lemon wedges into a wide mouth jar, sprinkle in the sugar and fill to the top with Gin. I could quite fit in all the gin, so had some left over.  Keep giving it a shake every day until all the sugar has dissolved, then leave to steep for several months.

Strain and decant into a sterilised bottle and enjoy!

August 2011

August is definately the month of forraging! As long as not on private property but hanging over onto public pathway it is permitted for personal use, not for resale! or in public parks or woodlands?
Well so far in my borough I have located several fruit bushes and trees, all that fruit going to waste, but of course I leave plenty for the birds and insects!
So far I have found elderflowers, then elderberries, blackberries, mirabelle plums, scarlet mirabelles, sloes, rosehips, damsons, hazelnuts, haws, crab apples, pears and plums, what a collection. Many I have turned into jams and some stored in the freezer for future use.

Mirabelle Jam

• 1 kg sugar
• 2 kg plums

Add a little water and bring to the boil, sieve to remove the stones or this can be done prior to cooking.

Bring back to the boil and add the sugar, stirring until dissolved.

Bring to a hard boil, then jar.

July 2011

Why doth the Lord fail me? no really, none of my seeds have germinated, dam! think the windowsill is too hot, will try again, this time will put the propagators in the GH, we've had such a hot month, Ive had trouble with most of my veggies drying out and not much growing going on, this time last year my veggie patch was like a jungle but as we've had no rain this year everything looks very miserable!
Ive planted some more green beans, I might get lucky this time.

For some good news, a beautiful thing is happening, the water lilly I planted last year has given its first flower

And my first butterfly in the garden

June 2011

Planted: Corn, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflowers.
Sowed: Carrots, spring onions, beetroot, okra.

A very hot and very wet month.  Apart from a fox getting into the garden and chasing all the chooks around I have nothing much to say! and that is that!