OneGuyFromBarlick

PanBiker wrote:
Anything that is in season at the time. The jar that Stanley got was Blackberry, Pear and Sloe. Sally has made other variants as fruits become available. Blackberry, Bilberry, Pear, Sloe, Plumb, Crab Apple, anything can be used really. We forage the Blackberries and Sloes from the green lanes around town, Bilberries from up on the heather moor, pears from our front garden tree and crab apples and plumbs from friends.

We couldn't pick anything out and about. The council sprays all the blackberries around here and there's not much else grows wild. I like the idea of using pears though.

The larger fruits help to bulk out the mixture before rendering and filtering if making jelly. You need a fairly big pan full to create enough filtered liquid for boiling. Sally has bubbled up and filtered overnight a batch of Blackberry, Pear and Crab Apple, there may be some Sloes in there as well which will be finished today. We now have nearly two cupboards full of Jams, Jellies and Chutneys. Don't like to mention it yet but we will have no shortage of sweet and savory presents for friends and family this Christmas, it's been a good year for the hedgerows and fruit trees. We could not pick all that was on offer so plenty for us and lots left for the birds and other wildlife.

As we did not eat all the meat in the pie I shall add potatoes & mixed veg. to it tonight.
Our granddaughter is coming with one of her girls to pick the cooking & eating apples off the trees this afternoon (I don't want hubby climing up the step ladders at his age), so I shall be making chutney & sauce to freeze.

Latest batch was Blackberry, Elderberry and Crab Apple Liz not as I originally posted. When Sally is making chutney she picks up the stuff that's on offer from the fruit and veg shop. Do you have access to some more exotic fruits (to us) if you cant use the hedgerow? You could try some pretty amazing combinations I would think. You can basically use anything and render it to Jam or Jelly.

Sally had 4.75 pints of filtered liqueur from this batch so the same amount in lbs of sugar and bubbled at 100c until the correct setting stiffness achieved, slightly lower temperature than if making Jam. It's made 12 jars (recycled) of various sizes, I have tested it and it has passed!

I usually make quince jelly and medlar jelly every year but I've never mixed the fruit. You've also reminded me that we planted an elderberry a few years ago and to date it has never produced any fruit. The other trees are full of blossom so I'll check it today. It's in the garden, not in the 'orchard' with the other fruit trees.

Last year my sister and I made jam to give away to family members as Christmas gifts, for the first time. Everyone loved it but funnily the biggest fan was our 9 year old great nephew. He asked if he could have another jar. How good is that?

We get very much the same reaction Liz, it's like any other produce, better made at home and you wont find any of Sally's blends in the shops.

Sally's spicy plum chutney is good as well!
No need to be sensitive about mentioning Xmas Ian, the Cathedral of Choice has selection boxes in Xmas wrappers....
Moh, I extended as well. I made a small bowl of steak and onion into two bowls with carrots and peas. That was dinner and tea.
Liz, elderberries make good wine, if kept long enough it ends up very close to Port.

The Elderberries in this mix make an even deeper red than the Blackberries alone, Crab Apple a departure from the glut of Pears we had from our tree this year.

Braised rump steak & onions, roasties & rest of cauli,

When I took the shop at Sough there was a considerable quantity of Vostize Raisins (spelling?) We never sold any so I made them into wine. Being an amateur I corked them to tightly and several bottles exploded! However, what survived was a marvellous dark red fruity drink.
I extended the steak, Kidney and onions again yesterday. Wonderful how far you can make a pound of steak and kidney go! Had it for dinner and tea and one bowl left over in the fridge for today....

They're Vostizza Greek currants. Currant is derived from Corinth. As used in real Lancashire Eccles cakes. Portillo gave them a plug in one of his 'Sad man on a train' episodes.

Eccles cakes

PS.
I wish my memory was as good for everything as it is for this sort of stuff.

Thanks for that David, they were very expensive and yes, I've seen them mentioned on the label of the Lancashire Eccles Cakes....
I had the last of the steak and kidney with a peach for pudding at dinnertime. For tea I treated myself to an enhanced pizza. (Co-op but with extra cheese and some of the sweet little tomatoes Wendy brought me yesterday.....)

Very light dinner, a pack of 'Two Nut' crackers and a small corner of Stilton that needed eating followed by a peach. Tea was a pork pie and mushy peas followed by two small toasted Borgen butties with Sally's hedgerow jelly..... {It's a lovely taste!}

Pie and peas for dinner. For tea I had two toasted Borgen butties with cheese and tomato. The cheese was the new 'Parlick Fell' cheese from Singletons. Made from ewe's milk ( as is Roquefort but this isn't a blue cheese) it is very good indeed if allowed to warm to room temperature.



Just to reassure Maz..... (Vicky brought me some lovely beans and parsley yesterday..... So fresh it squeaked as I cut it up!)

The mutton stew came to fruition and I had a bowl for both dinner and tea. Two small bowls put in the fridge for today.... People say good meat is dear but it's amazing how far you can extend it and still have the flavour. Fruit for pudding at teatime.

I boiled carrots and baby spuds and mashed them with Mayonnaise. Lovely! I had some with my dinnertime stew and ate too much. I wasn't hungry at teatime and just had a very small bowl of Muesli and fruit.....

Cottage pie made with corned beef.

I put a small tin of Mackerel fillets in tomato sauce in a bowl of mashed carrots for dinner, it was nice. For tea I had the last of the stew with added mashed carrots.

Chopped liver & shallots in a white wine & cream sauce with chips and garden peas tonight.

I repeated yesterday's dinner but with sardines for dinner and had a couple of egg butties for tea. My latest slow cooked mutton wasn't quite ready......

Lamb curry with rice & naans.

The mutton was ready, I put some veggies with it and had it for dinner and tea. Lovely stuff!

I topped up the mutton with frozen green beans and had a bowl for dinner plus the rest of the date and walnut cake I started for bagging this morning! I am a sucker for it and it's a big mistake. Not surprising that at teatime I wasn't very hungry so I nibbled on a couple of chicken legs.....

Slow cooked lamb shoulder with roast veg. I cooked the lamb with red wine and cranberries and a few other veg and I'll use that for the sauce.

That sounds good! I use cider for my pork, I should be braver and use red wine with the mutton!