Hello there ....
Yes .. I know ... its all or nothing with me ...
two posts in as many days !
its just the way I rumble ... he he ....
Well ... like I said ... apples need using up ...
I went outside all of a purpose ... to pick up the apples that had fallen off the tree ...
Like a mad woman I gripped said tree and gave it a mighty shake ... apples came raining down...
Large juicy apples ... a bit battered ... but not to be wasted.
Whilst I was out there I picked the last of the courgettes ... well a bit like marrows really ... but I am sure we can use them up ... saves on pennies buying veg ... and good wholesome fare.
I am getting good at disguising them in dishes ... Hubby P doesn't know the half of what he is eating!
I have given up picking the runner beans ... we have a freezer full.
I'm hoping these will keep on growing and we can harvest them for the beans.
Still a few pretty flowers about ... I love roses in all their guises.
Michaelmas Daisies ... so rustically pretty!
Anyway back to the apples...
I peel and chopped.. discarding all the bruised bits ... and the earwigs!
* I had a pan ... for all clean peel and cores and some chopped apple .... to boil up/pulp for apple jelly.
* A bowl for diced apple ... for the chutney.
* And a bowl for sliced apple ... enough for a couple of bags to put in the freezer for crumbles etc.
I also had these beauties given to me (lovely eating apples from my sisters tree). I went through them and chopped etc any 'iffy' ones for the chutney.
I put the pulp on to cook .... put the bags into the freezer and set about scouring the cupboards for 'chutney like' stuff.
I found the last of the tomatoes ... they went in the pan with the apple.
Some chopped courgette ... of course!
Couple of onions... end of a celery ... half an old packet of prunes ... chopped.
A couple of handfuls of sultanas ... then I started rooting through the spice tin .. not a lot there really ... good sprinkle of fennel seeds... cumin .. some dried ginger ... some cinnamon powder... bit of salt ... I think that is all there was.
Then the last 1/4 of a bag of dark sugar ... some good old white granulated and a glug or two of basic malt vinegar.
I brought it to the boil and simmered for a couple of hours until it was thick and gloopy ... and put it in hot jars.
Doesn't sound very proper does it ... but I'm sure it will taste just fine and fruity in a few weeks .... nice with a bit of cheese.
The apple pulp I put through a jelly bag ... boiled the 'juice' with some sugar ... I got 1 1/4 pints of juice so I added 1 lb 4 oz of sugar ... threw in a couple of bits of rosemary (which I took out before bottling ... it was 'cooked' and dreary looking) ... when I put the jelly in hot jars I added a fresh piece of rosemary ... to look pretty!
So ... good turnout from a few windfall apples.
Four jars of Apple and Rosemary jelly ... I eat this sort of jelly with anything ... love the stuff.
And six jars of End of Summer Chutney ... a real scraping together of store cupboard stuff ....
But no doubt we will be glad of a bit of the fruity stuff come winter!
Winter! .... how far is that away?
Dare I ask ... are you starting to prepare for the colder months ... am I the only one who has reached down the extra quilt from its summer resting place?
Bye for now x
