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Showing posts from August, 2008

Iwade Plum Jam

Whilst walking the dog on Sunday evening I noticed some windfall plums in the old orchard at the end of my road. So after making sure my Jack Russel followed me I managed to collect about 4lbs. I collected some jars from my mum today, on the understanding that she would receive one back full of jam! And of course one for my sister Danielle. So I search the internet for recipes and came across this one on the Lakeland website. It's easy to follow so I am going to give it a try today. Makes seven 454g (1lb) jars2kg 4lb plums 500ml (¾:pt) water 4lb sugar ~ warmed on a baking tray in the oven Wash, halve and stone the plums. Crack a few of the stones; blanch, skin and halve the kernels. Cook the plums and water in a Preserving Pan for about half an hour, until the skins are soft. Stir in and dissolve the warmed sugar, then boil briskly, adding the kernels towards setting point. When a set is reached, skim if necessary. Pour into sterilised jars and seal . That's it! Happy cooking.

Carrot Cake

I was in the mood for baking this morning and searched the internet for a carrot cake recipe. I found this one and made it in under and hour. Shame it didn't last that long as it was eaten before it had time to cool properly! I took some round to my friend Paula and we ate it with a cup of tea sitting in her garden catching-up. Fool proof recipe as I have never attempted to make carrot cake before and it was really nice. I missed out the icing for my first one but will try that next time. Ingredients 175g light muscovado sugar (I used normal brown sugar!) 175ml sunflower oil 3 large eggs , lightly beaten 140g grated carrots (about 3 medium) 100g raisins grated zest of 1 large orange 175g self-raising flour 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp ground cinnamon (I used mixed all spice instead of cinnamon and nutmeg) ½ tsp grated nutmeg FOR THE FROSTING 175g icing sugar 1½-2 tbsp orange juice Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4/fan 160C. Oil and line the base and sides of an 18cm square cake tin

Summer spiced courgette chutney

Here is a good recipe I found on the BBC Good Food website this morning. I am going to make this today as I have lots of fresh courgettes and red onions from the vegetable patch. I kept a few clean jars and will buy a kiln jar to keep some for later in the year. It’s the easiest recipe that I have found so thought I would give it a try. I am leaving out the root ginger as I’m not that keen on it! 2 onions , chopped 500g tomatoes , chopped 500g courgettes , diced 300ml white wine vinegar 2 Granny Smith apples , peeled and diced 250g brown sugar 2 tsp mixed spice 1 tbsp mustard seeds thumb-sized piece root ginger , grated 4 garlic clove , crushed 1. Put all the ingredients in a large pan. Bring slowly to a simmer, stirring to stop the mixture sticking. 2. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours until dark, thick and chutney-like. Pour into sterilised jars and leave for 2-3 weeks before eating.

My week off

I've had a busy week at home. On Monday I had breakfast in Minnis Bay with some friends and walked along the beach. We took my friends nephews who really enjoyed thier day. I was really lucky as the weather was warm, sunny and dry. On Tuesday my sister came over with my niece Yazmin and we went to the Lees in Minster to do some beach combing. We found lots of shells and stones and I put some together and hung them up in the garden. A nice reminder of my beach visits this week. In the evening I took my mum to see Mama Mia, it was a brilliant film. I decided to take the dog back to the beach on Wednesday morning and we walked for an hour and a half. Moss slept for the rest of the day! On Thursday Ian's parents came over for dinner and we had a big Victoria sponge cake for Jack's 16th birthday (08-08-08). Then on Friday we visited London Zoo as we hadn't been for ages and it was one of our favourite family places to visit when Jack was little. We packed a cool bag with lun