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!

May 2011

May and its beautifully warm, horah!
When collecting eggs this morning, I came across a huge one, Ouch! that must have been really painful, at first I was delighted but then thought about the strain that poor little chook had to go through.  I suppose that's what my mum felt like, she is so tiny, petite, not a bit above 5 ft and I was an 8lb baby, yikes!

I have decided to try making wine and bought a wine kit "Young Elderflower", after following the instructions and letting it ferment I racked it off (meaning syphoned from one demijohn to another to rid it of sediment. and finally after a second racking bottled it into sterilised recycled bottles. It already tastes wonderful! but will leave it for another few months.

May brings the month of Elder flowers

Elder flowers here I come....... have you ever seen such a beautiful sight, real magic for the kitchen, first the flowers then the berries..... cant wait!
So most of the neighbours now think I'm a loony!!! do I care? not a bit! So there I was with carrier bags in hand and a small pair of scissors, I've had old ladies looking out of their windows wondering what the hell I'm up to and groups of young boys on their way home from school calling me a vandal? Me? what do they know.....so I've managed to get a couple of bags full, not bad for my first day.
On my return home I've made some Elderflower cordial, recipe from Pam Corbin's preserves book and some elderflower champagne, I managed to get a good recipe from a work colleagues mad aunt! no madder than me.
Managed to find some demijohns in second hand shops, I had purchased the first couple, wow its all working out rather expensive.
Found a park near to my local Aldi store where I discovered an abundance of Elders, came home with about 5 bags, have measured them into pints sizes, bagged and frozen to use during the next year.

April 2011

Another very sad month, Henry has been suffering with bleeding gums and after having 15 teeth removed the infection still won't clear up.... He was diagnosed with FIV feline immune difficient virus.  R.I.P. lovely Henry 28/4/11.

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