Hello there ..
hope everyone is safe and well ... here in the UK we have had a huge storm.
Luckily we saw little of it here on Anglesey .. but some poor people haven't fared so well ... the reports on the news are upsetting.
Mother Nature can be a nasty piece of work at times.
So today ...
I've been washing and ironing ... ans starching some lovely lacy linen.
I bought a boxful from one of the clearance guys .. it was all crumpled and a bit grubby ... but it was cheap enough.
The clearance guys don't know what to do with it .. they are happy to move it on quickly.
So I cart the box home and sort the good from the bad .. and give it a good soaking .. and a good boil wash ... and iron and starch it up ... then its all ready for sale
... ready to grace someone's table this Christmas tide.
A lot of work ... but its nice to bring these lovely old linens back to life .
It looks a bit like a chinese laundry
... and probably smells like one
...I just love that starchy linen smell.
In between washing and ironing I had to do something with all these bags of fruit from out of the freezer.
It being a bumper year for fruit .. the freezer is full of the stuff ...we only have a smallish freezer (there only being the two of us ... that being the logic a couple of years ago .. when we were 'simplyfying ' things!).
Anyway .... Sunday trading was good for us ... and we talked of stocking up for winter with meat ... sacks of spuds etc.
I stopped at the butchers van as he and we were preparing to pack up ... and got a bit of a good deal.
Loads of meat for my £25 ...
As you can see ... Black Pudding (a huge one ) a tray of Tomato Sausage ... 6 chicken breasts ... 7 pork chops .. a good 'dinner' of minty lamb chops (Hubby P's favourite ) and a small joint of nice looking beef.
Wonderful ... bargain!
But where to put it all ....?
So thus we come to the pan full of frozen fruit ... it had to come out of the freezer to make room for the meat.
At least the fruit wont be wasted ... I just tipped it all in the pan together .. it was mostly apple and gooseberry ... and jammed it.
I just about had enough random looking jars ... I made quite a 'loose' sorta jam and not too sweet
... it still has that nice tartness you get with gooseberries.
I will eat this as a jelly/sauce with meat and cheese as well as all the other useful things jam can be put to.
For tea .... well I had to try the tomato sausage .. so I made a hearty 'toad in the hole '... I had one carrot left and a stump of a cabbage .. so that was veg.
Its trading day tomorrow so I will see my friendly greengrocer and see what he has that looks good .. or cheap!
I tried a bit of the new jam with my toad in the hole... very nice ... not that anything would persuade Hubby P to eat jam with sausages!
Are you a jam and sausages type of person ...or is it just me...!?
xx
That linen looks lovely. As you say, a lot of work but it was worth it.
ReplyDeleteI am, and this sounds lovely, we always have a bit of what we call pickle relish with meat and cheese, the linen makes me swoon, it really does and that smell is my favorite, I have a drying rack just like yours! Garry made it!
ReplyDeleteOur house always smelt of lovely clean laundry and ironing on mondays when i was little,takes me back.
ReplyDeleteI like a bit of chutney or mustard with my sausages and i love tomato sausages,yum.
I've just made a batch of chilli jam it's hot stuff.
Twiggy x
I like bacon in a toasted sandwich with peanut butter and strawberry jam. Cheese and blackcurrant jam go well together and any meat likes a dollop of plum jam. BTW Humpty has landed, many thanks for the fabric, some of it is cut already.
ReplyDeleteThe linen looks very lovely. The meat not so much! Can you tell I'm not a meat-eater? Never have been even as a child. But JAM, now that's something I do love on hot buttery toast. That plus coffee is what gets me out of bed each morning.
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely linen. You just turned that load of sow's ears into beautiful silk purses!(metaphorically speaking) Some people don't see the potential do they ? You should do well with those.
ReplyDeleteGill
x
Loving those linens, they look absolutely beautiful!
ReplyDeletexx
I used to spend hours washing and then starching lovely old linens for my shop, ah the smell of the spray starch and a warm steamed up ironing area, and that feeling that all the little hairs in your nose have been starched too :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful seeing screwed up, stained linens coming back to life.
My Lovely Hubby will put sweet with savoury every time and would have no problem with jam on his sausages. In fact he uses my Plum Jam as plum sauce on all sorts of meat.
Love the linen , i absolutely adore antique linen , keep looking for it at jumble sale but haven't found any yet , two years ago i sold a suitcase full to a friend of mine for £50 , it was a great regret but we needed the money , if you have any stubborn stains try oxy stain remover from poundland xxx
ReplyDeleteI'm definately not a sweet and savoury person.Hubby on the other hand eats most things.We've got sausages tonight, and I just made marrow and ginger jam that hasn't set so we're calling it marrow and ginger puree.He may well try them together!
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely to see the linens all clean and pressed,so pretty and ready for someone else to use.
I've never heard of eating jam with sausages before. I live and learn. I think I'd prefer mustard.
ReplyDeleteLove from Mum
xx
Beautiful linen, well worth all that work just to see it hanging on your wooden airer, it looks like the laundry in a National Trust property.
ReplyDeleteLots of yummyness made with those apples. I love your resourcefulness.
Sausages look delicious too x
I found your blog this morning after blog-hopping. I would like to thank you for the inspiration for the Bacon and Egg Pie you made (see my effort on CodlinsandCream2.blogspot.co.uk) That should keep my husband and son fed for a couple of days now!
ReplyDeleteI love the look of your linen - my husband and I do Fleamarkets and in summer, car boot sales too, and I always try to have some textiles on the stall. How refreshing it is to read about someone else doing similar.
love the linen, and the drying rack!
ReplyDeletebet the jam will be wonderful!
Not jam and sausages but I really love cheese and marmalade
ReplyDeleteThis is really fascinating, You are a very professional blogger. I have joined your rss feed and stay up for searching for extra of your great post. Also, I've shared your website in my social networks!
ReplyDeleteCccam Server