Foody Fest!

Good morning.

I thought I'd just do a catch up with a few food things.

I've finally got round to some preserving, two jars of the gherkins which have done so well this year, sold a few and given away a couple. The pickled ones are now in the cellar store room, adding to the goodies in there!

I quite frequently make apple turnovers but decided to do cheese and ham ones this time and the boys found them very delicious, so after them trying them I still have a couple in the freezer for another day.

It was our local flower and produce show on Saturday. I managed to make the long journey to the Canolfan (for those of you who don't know I live directly opposite our community hall!) in the rain that was teeming down and had a go at entering one of the baking classes and a veg category with some success.

Camp fire cup cakes...

salted caramel and chocolate

and most surprisingly 3rd place for my cucumbers! They were huge and thought I stood no chance due to them looking more like marrows!

Still working my way through the gifted apples and so far have cored, peeled, sliced and frozen 9lbs! Still as many, and more, to get through. Hope to bottle more in syrup like last year and make cakes and puddings, too.

Ooh, a very exciting thing has occurred recently. I have been asked to contribute to the Thompson & Morgan website as a blogger. Amazed, chuffed, honoured and all that so watch our for my first ramblings! 

Right, better get on as the washer is calling.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Apples Coming Out Of My Ears!

Morning!

I have been gifted yet more cooking apples since the ones I bottled! I was trying to think of different things to make from them; I already have some stewed, blanched and syrup all in the freezer and we have had crumbles and pies along with the ones I bottled.

I was reading one of BB's posts on Codlinsandcream2 and she had some great ideas for using up gluts of apples. I took some inspiration and made a Dorset Apple cake and this has gone in the freezer for another day. I then had a look online and there was a recipe for  apple turnovers. As luck would have it I had some puff pastry in the freezer, I normally do for quickness sometimes; I set about making these, first time for me and relatively easy.

You just chop or slice your apples, put a good amount of cinnamon over them and cook them in butter for a few minutes,

then add a slack handful of sugar, well anything from half a cup depending on how sweet your tooth is.

When the juice starts to form thicken it with a little cornflour and water

and mine are ready to go in the freezer as pie filling or other uses.

Here are the finished results of the cake and turnovers.

I have to say I was ridiculously pleased with how the turn overs turned "out"! -  Jon and the boys loved them, too, so that was an extra bonus.

I STILL have quite a big box of apples left but am getting apple phobia or something from cooking with them so might put a couple of bags out front with the eggs.

All from me; have a great weekend and I look forward, as usual, to seeing what everybody gets up to.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Not Quite Blown Away

Morning!

After Ophelia the weather has calmed down a great deal and isn't even that cold just now. She did a bit more damage to the Poly House but we have had an idea to use the plastic roofing from the conservatory to recover it when it is refurbished some time after Christmas, probably. She also knocked down a big branch which, luckily, fell the opposite way to the pond area. Part of the fence came away but that's now been mended;I think we got off quite lightly as it really was blowing some. Hope everybody survived minus too much damage.

I've just had breakfast after cleaning out the chooks and collecting the eggs. I also turned over the tyres where my blight-affected spuds had been. I read about what to do with the soil so I've taken a good few inches off the top, dug it through and weeded then the next job is to add some new compost; I'm going to plant the onion sets there as I cannot use them for spuds for a couple of years at least; I think the onions will do ok there.

I still have the huge job of taking up the sweetcorn and clearing that patch; want to get it started at least by the end of the weekend. I am NOT looking forward to it but we may be going to the tip at the weekend so I can take all of that there as have nowhere to burn things just now. Jon is going to make me an incinerator from an oil drum he got from work, did I already tell you that?

I admit to having found it really hard to get outside to do any jobs recently; the damage to the Poly House seems to have hit me, too! Anyhow this week I emptied all the tomato containers and put the compost into the compost bin. I cleaned out the lettuce and spring onion sink and have put the strawberry plants in that, lifted off the base so they don't get waterlogged by any rain. The failed squash and climbing beans have been given to the chooks and that tyre still needs a bit of work before being treated to some new compost and covering until I decide what to use it for.

The pak choi are looking good in the, damaged, cold frame but have a way to go yet.

The turnips I planted a little while ago seem to be doing ok and haven't need to cloche them as yet... 

as with the courgettes which are still giving a few to us which I love at this time of the year. I so know that I can grow them well outside again next year.

I've ordered and received some Christmas stickers and embellishments for projects for the festive season. I don't plan on making many things but just to tart things up, too.

I bought the same stickers last year and thought the buttons etc were lovely too. I have a thing about a few US craft companies including Jelly Bean Soup, Echo Park, Cosmo Cricket and In My Minds Eye. My Christmas always consists of either red, white and green or some vintage touches. I also have my new calendar; last night, whilst putting next year's dentist appointments on it, it occurred to me I  hadn't applied for Harry's senior school place yet! A quick internet search let me know I have until December 22 to get the application in so that has now been done and I will call the school to arrange a visit after half-term. It is making it all the more real that my boy is really growing up.

Last week I had my first go at bottling some fruit; this is a method of preserving I had not tried and I had some cooking apples I was storing in the cellar; they were keeping very well however I have always wanted to have a go at this so away I went.

I used up about two a half kgs of apples...

made the syrup without too much trouble...

and ended up with 4 of these jars for the cellar and one to put in the fridge.

I also had some syrup left over and I've put this into an ice cube tray to use for whatever.

Little update on the second Airbnb room; plastering is all done and the floor is going down next.

Last week I also made use of my new meatball gadget again. We had a slab of minced beef which came in a pack of meat products. I made a dozen regular meatballs and then six filled with cheese as Alfie loves those and then popped them in the freezer for future use.

Right, I think I'm up to date.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Foody Friday, Baking Bonzer.

Hi!

Today I have managed to bake quite a lot, even though I have been quite busy with other stuff, too.

I wasn't going to bake bread but changed my mind after I'd checked on space in the freezer, so in the oven went a half wholemeal, half white loaf and six rolls.

The tins were getting a little empty so it was time for a cherry oat bake which is always a winner with the boys and Jon. A pal of Jon's is coming to stay over this evening so wanted something to go with a brew, too. I think he may be watching his weight but not in my kitchen today!

I marked some pages in this book to try. 

This copy is not the one from the library but a copy very kindly sent to me by Sue at The Cottage At The End Of The Lane. Thank you again, Sue.x She saw I was having trouble finding a reasonably priced copy online and as she had picked this up in a charity shop decided to send it to me. How very, very, very kind was that? 

One of the things I planned to make were Welsh cakes, simple ingredients really; I have made them before and they were a bit too biscuity....

however these have come out a lot better. 

I plan on giving them to our next Airbnb guests as part of their breakfast along with our boiled eggs and my bread. I also took some to one of the Welsh ladies who works in the village shop as I had told her I was making them; she said they were good.

I went into the garden this morning and picked a few goodies.

The herbs are oregano which I put in the dehydrator yesterday. They are done and I have sage in there at the moment. I hope the weather is good at the weekend as hope to put some gherkins in to keep for use at a later date.

So for lunch I was able to have a green salad of homegrown things. How cool is that?

Oh yesterday I used up the last cooking apples and stewed them for the freezer.

There was enough for two small crumbles, to add more fruit to or to have with ice cream etc.

A good and productive day in the kitchen. Need to get outside for a little while now, once the clothes are folded!

Ok well that's it for now I think.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx