Lots of Stirring and Preserving.

I spent the last couple pf days turning my crop surpluses and foraged wild fruits into preserves to use in the coming months. The recipes will be written if they are all mine or from a book and will be linked if I got them off the internet and I’ll be sure to mention if I made any alterations.


Monday I finally got round to cooking and bottling my growing stock of ‘Roma’ and ‘San Marzano I I ’ tomatoes, two varieties which make great sauces and purees. I turned them into a yummy herby chunky tomato sauce. Which I then bottled using this technique. Everything went as per planned, I used bottles with plastic coated metal covers and (as I hoped) as the bottles cooled it created a vacuum and the bottles original pop up seal have sunk in which hopefully means the bottles are now air tight. I just hope now that it has worked and that my 4lbs of tomatoes don’t spoil in storage.

My recipe for ‘Chunky Tomato Sauce’ was adjusted in relation to what I had.

Tomatoes (cut into chunky pieces) - 4lbs.
Garlic (roughly chopped) - 1 clove per tomato.
Olive oil - a very healthy ‘glug’ to cover the base of the pan.
Black pepper (freshly ground) - approx 1.5 tbsp.
Soy sauce - approx 2 tbsps.
Fresh herbs used: oregano, parsley (leaves and 1 tbsp of dried seeds because it was available on the plant), thyme, par-cel (celery leaves are a good substitute) and leaves from saved onion tops (which are being kept fresh in the fridge in a cup of water but spring onions are a good alternative). The herbs I used were what I had growing in my garden, you can adjust it to suit what you have or like.
Scotch bonnet chilli - 1 cooked whole to impart flavour with a little heat, if you like things really hot (I have to think of the kids) you can chop it up and add as much as you like.
Salt - I used near the end to taste but also was aware that when I plan to use the sauce in the future I may add salt to a dish so I did not add too much at this time, you may choose not to add any at all.

Method: I sautéed the garlic, herbs and black pepper in the olive oil and soy sauce for about five minutes over a medium to low heat (don’t let the garlic burn as it will become bitter). I then added the tomatoes lightly mixed to incorporate the herbs then added the chilli on the top, turned the heat down and covered the pot leaving the tomatoes to breakdown into a semi liquid.

It was cooked for approx 25 minutes or certainly till the majority of the liquid was reduced leaving a thick chunky sauce. While cooking I stirred periodically to prevent sticking as the sauce thickened up, remember if you don’t want to burst the chilli locate it carefully before stirring.
While the sauce is cooking sterilise your bottles and lids. Once the sauce is cooked to your liking bottle it up and sterilise according the canning method of your choice, the technique I used is hyperlinked above.

I had hoped to preserve the damsons as well Monday night but my little one came down with the cold and was in no mood to do with out mummy so I was only able to de-stone the damsons which were popped into the fridge. But I did get the opportunity to boil up the hawthorn berries and leave them to drip the juice out overnight.

Roll on Tuesday then and using mangocheeks plum and mulled wine jam recipe I transformed those lovely tasting damsons into something fantastic (by the time my four year old was finished licking the spoon once I was done with it didn’t need washing but I thought I probably wasn’t a good idea to stick her germs back into the cutlery drawer). I did alter the recipe though, as there was no opened bottles of red wine in the cabinet I used some sherry instead.

The hawthorn drippings were also sorted out and using this recipe. I also doubled the water quantities (see the recipe’s comments left recently). But following the explanation given by the blog’s writer I will try this recipe again with haws picked later in the season. There is a lovely covered bush at the allotment so I’ll definitely give it another go. My jelly sadly didn’t thickened up although it was setting when I tested it prior to bottling. Never mind the sauce is delectably sweet and the kids will relish it on their morning pancakes and ice ream treats.

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Well that’s where I’m at thus far with this year’s preserving and for anyone following my blog for preserving ideas I have been researching further the Chinese quinces I mentioned in this posting and have found that they are better used when they have been frosted which is called bletting as the flesh becomes softer and the sugars become sweeter, the same goes for rosehips and medlars which I wrongly referred to in earlier posts as yellow cherry plums (which will also explain why those trees are still dripping with yellow fruits, the birds basically don’t touch them till they become sweet after being frosted, hmm go figure!). Well all that was to let you know that I picked up a shortcut way of bletting from another harvesters of these tart fruits and that is to leave in the freezer overnight, yep simple as that! Then use as you had planned, here are other ideas I have picked up on other forums.

My First Blog Award - Ten Things I Love About Being A Mummy.

I have been tagged by Jo to receive this ‘You Are a Great Read!’ award I was very surprised and pleased to receive it. Its nice to know that others enjoy reading what I enjoy writing. Part of receiving the award is to list 10 things about myself, so with this in mine I have decided to list 10 things that I love about being a mummy.

1. That first kick/ stretch/ turn I felt in my tummy that confirmed my beautiful burgeoning waist line was not due to my overeating or water retention but was my little one trying to tell me hello.

2. I loved watching them grow fat like tubs of lard on my liquid gold and nothing else, oooohhh!! The endless folds, dimples and creases made me so proud.

3. There is so much joy in watching them achieve their milestones on their terms and no one else’s and seeing them swell with pride when they have achieved them; the first time they clapped, that first step, the 1st successful skipping rope jump, reading their first proper book, etc.

4. I enjoy knowing that my trust in MY mothering instincts are growing every sec, every minute, everyday and that parenting becomes easier as I act more and more on that growing trust to look inward.

5. Their smiles, from their first gummy toothless ones of yesteryear to the cheeky please don’t be mad ones of today.

6. I love teaching and sharing knowledge with them and seeing the joy of discovery a fresh through their eyes.

7. I cherish holding sweaty sticky hands, sleepy dribbles on my lap and even the disturbed throws of passion endured by my OH and myself because of a bad dream or a wet accident!

8. The joy and peacefulness I experience when they play well together is greater than I could ever have imagine it would - its just pure happiness.

9. I revel in their noise - peels of laughter, ear piercing screams of joyful play, whooping shouts and galloping footsteps down the poor house staircase. It all means they are well and happy.

10. And last but certainly not least, its gotta be the spontaneous kiss on the cheek with the hug that is the arms around the neck with the whispered words of ‘I LOVE YOU MUMMY!’ in my ears.

To keep the ball rolling so to speak, I now have to pass this lovely award to bloggers I also enjoy reading. So I would like to present the award to Mangocheeks and Maureen, I wanted you both to know that you are a great read!

Just Catching Up

Just catching you all up with what’s been going on in my life. Following on from my first lotty visit last Wednesday I returned on Thursday to work mainly on my own. I wanted to see the task of removing all the spuds from the ground where they were planted this year done and dusted. I was able to complete the last three rows where I was working which left just one other row which is else where on the plot. I mentioned to the site manager that it would have been a good idea to get them out as the crops were getting slug damage as well the longer they sat in the ground (thankfully the weather in my neck of the woods have been dry or the whole crop would have been lost). What damaged spud there were was also being followed up by some little creepy crawlies (sorry Maureen they are creepy I have to agree but for educational purposes I have posted the pictures, so others would know what they are if they ever come across them in the future because till last Thursday I had never seen or heard of them).

Spotted Snake Millipede 'Blaniulus guttulatus'

Since we are on the topic of the plot here are some pictures of The Lotty’s cat whose name is Oscar, he is very friendly for a ‘wild’ cat and made himself a real nuisance last Thursday as he wanted lots of attention and petting, even my four year old got tired of him.

Later Thursday night when all were in bed I finally got round to turning the foraged damsons into jam using the tried and tested recipe from Eat Weeds blog. The only thing I did differently was to add two pods of crushed cardamons and a couple dashes of ground nutmeg. I was so glad everyone was asleep cause I got to lick the spoon and pot afterwards, oooooohhhhh!!!!! Yummy!

On Friday the poor ignored garden got a little look in with some well needed watering and harvesting of ready crops. Check out my second slightly bigger than the last time ochre.

The weekend was busy starting from Friday afternoon as the kids extra activities restarted this week as well. So I didn’t get to go into the garden except to open and close the greenhouse. On Sunday though we went out to our local largest public green space Mote Park which is about 15 minutes walking distance away. There was a Multi-cultural Melee being put on which is put on every year but we have never gone to before though we have been here seven years now, tut! The kids had a great time going on the rides, getting their hands henna tattooed and watching all the different cultural dances that went on the main stage.

On the way home we did a little bit of foraging of some plump looking hawthorns (2lbs 3oz) and more even sweeter than the first lot damsons (2lbs). Later today when I go out to pick up my daughter I’ll get some more sugar and turn them into yummy preserves.

While on the topic of foraging food, on the way to my daughter’s school we always pass a hedge which at this time of the year has some yellow fruit, I finally got it confirmed today that is some sort of wild Asian origin quince Chaenomeles japonica 'Moned'. The fruits can be used to make jellies and as they are very high in pectin if they are used in conjunction with other fruit which have lower pectin levels they help to aid the setting of those jellies as well, I’ll pick myself some hopefully tomorrow.

I must mention another recipe I tried from fellow blogger mangocheeks, her Roasted beans with couscous and spiced feta Salad. I omitted the feta cheese salad and also added halved cherry tomatoes to the roasting pan. The meal was delicious my tongue felt like it was experiencing fireworks with all the flavours popping in my mouth, thanks again mangocheeks for posting it.

Last but not least, I have been given my first ever blogging award from another fellow blogger (blush). Thanks again Jo and I’ll post about ten things I love and pass it on in my next posting.

First allotment Visit and Other Stuff 09/09/09

The upper end of the site; left hand side is the communal and small individual plots which are represented by the pink section of the google map and the right hand side is to be cultivated by a man and his son, which is represented by the red section of the map. The thick shrubby growth full of hedgerow type plants and bramble at the top of the site will be cleared over time to expose another 15’ - 20’ of land.

The lower end of the site to be cultivated by one person, represented by the blue part of the map.

My little spot - to the front you can see the planks of wood that marks out the general width.

Today was the day of my first work day on the allotment front and it went quite well I’m pleased to say. I met another member of the community (boy can he talk, he even introduces himself as a talker not a worker). When I got there at a bout 10.50am the site manager happily showed me that she had begun to mark out the individual and communal plots, yeah!! She has given me a lovely piece that has been worked this year and doesn’t have too much shrubby growth to the back of it. There are crops on it but most of those will be gone within four weeks, leaving some leeks which will be out by next year spring in time for my plantings, so happy times all round really.

On the more official side fees aren’t due till the end of the year so another yeah!! And the keys are being sorted, it seems they are a special type of key and a £20 refundable fee needs to be paid for each one, moneys are returned on the safe return of the key.

I really underestimated the knowledge base of the other members, they are on a seriously steep learning curve . Today I brought one of my concerns to the front, I observed that there were quite a few rows of undug spuds on the ground with quite a few going green and when they said that area was earmarked for rotovating I saw all my spud growing ideas going up in 2010 blight. So a very quick lesson in plot hygiene re spuds and blighted tomatoes and their foliage was given, then I got stuck in and begun to dig up a row. By the time I was done there was a bucket of perfectly good spuds to pass around and another bucket of spent foliage and greened/ slug damage spuds put aside for burning at a later stage.

I was also quizzed on pea sticks and winter veg and much more, its nice to be in a community that will appreciate you but I’m looking forward to tomorrow when I’ll be working on my own with just the site manager for company.

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My youngest totally enjoyed herself and befriended the neighbour and his wife (an elderly couple) who makes his water available to the site. She took her pack lunch into their home and had lunch with them. She also enjoyed acquainting herself with the site’s cat, his name is Oscar and is extremely friendly ( I forgot to take a picture of him though).

Preparation to go the plot, especially with a little one has to be precise:

First aid kit: (not everything is in the picture) cotton, wipes, toilet paper, tweezers, clean container to mix wound cleaning solution, teatree oil for stings and bites, bandaids, ice pack, calpol for pain control/ fever ( still to get - savlon).

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Pack lunch for her and water for us both (not pictured).

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Tools in a carrier on wheels: I packed my kneeler, fork, shovel, trowel, hand fork, leather and regular cloth gloves, I also took a couple pairs of surgical glove which keep my hands really clean in case of an emergency eye complaint by little one. The whole lot is transported over the handle of my daughter’s pushchair.

A couple other essentials are note pad and pen. Good thing too as I realised I forgot my pruning shears, measuring tape and a small mirror in case I need to see if there is something in my eye, so I jotted it all down to remind me to pack them for tomorrow. I also plan to take a long a bucket and doggy bags at some point in case my daughter has to do a wee or a poo! although the wee will end up on a compost heap.

Other things I got done today was the foraging of some damson fruit which is on the route to my daughter’s school. Yesterday we indulged and they were really sweet ( I have never had a sweet damson before). The picking tool I made was not as efficient as I hoped it would have been but we still got 1lb 9oz of fruit. Which I’ll turn into jam tonight. Below are a few pictures that tell the tale…

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And when I got back home I harvested these goodies for dinner. Note the very small Kalibos cabbages they tasted great and I’ll continue to grow cabbages from now on.

Anyhow that’s it for now, bye.