Itty bitty day

I'm having one of those days where I'm catching up with all sorts of odd jobs. I can normally tell if im having an eclectic day by the items on my draining board. Today, we have a peeler, a small knife, a saucepan and lid, a measuring jug, the glass from a frame, a paintbrush, a funnel, a large plastic container and a small frying pan. (That reminds me of that game you used to play at parties where you had to remember the items in a tray so you could work out which one had been removed when the towel was put over it. Anyone remember that too?)

This diverse pile of objects derives from...

Fried eggs for breakfast
Peeling and stewing the last of the apples
Painting a recycled frame for my youngest to hang a picture she likes
Making handwash and funnelling into the containers

I've also rung the solicitor - things are moving slowly along with Mums estate - these things aren't rapid are they?!
Jet's bedding has been washed and his dew claws have been clipped
I have taken the two CD storage shelving units to a second hand furniture shop this morning and received £5 for them, so not only were my new shelves completely free, I also got an extra fiver - bargain! I'm thinking bottle of wine.....

I'm off out to lunch with a friend later and then I think I'll have a quiet afternoon reading my latest book club book, so a pleasant day all round! How about you all? What kind of day are you having?

Pear and lemon jam

This is actually three kilos - the last of the crop.

Ok, this really is the final batch. Quite frankly I'm a bit fed up of making jam now anyway. As with so many fruits this year, we have had a super crop of pears. Only two of us in the house will eat them, so I needed to find an alternative way of using them. I googled and decided this sounded like a winner. It's the first time of making it, so who knows .....

(I'm writing this as an afterthought because I have now made the 'jam'. I had it boiling for an hour and a half and it still wasn't really set very well. I'd added some more pectin too. Still, it tastes nice despite it being more like a syrupy sauce than a jam. Personally, if I were making it again, I would half the water in the recipe below and maybe add some apple quarters or crab apples in the cooking stage to up the pectin levels)

2 kilo pears, peeled, cored and chopped
3 lemons, grated zest and strained juice of
1 kilo granulated sugar
Liquid pectin
1 litre water (please see note above)

I add this picture because I had to laugh. I'm normally a very tidy cook, but for whatever reason (hormones I suspect) I made an absolute mess. Fortunately I was wearing an apron, but zest still managed to get down my top :( 

Prepare the fruit and put in large pan. Add lemon zest, juice and water. Boil gently until the fruit is soft. Add the sugar and pectin (see label for quantity). Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Keep at a rolling boil for 15 mins. Test for set.

I had read that this jam was very difficult to set. Mine took 90  mins in total and still wasn't really set like a proper jam.
Decant into warm sterilised jars.

After 30 mins rolling boil. Still a lot of liquid left at this stage. 

Taste wise, this was half way between a jam and a marmelade. The lemon juice added a fresh tartness that was the perfect foil for the sweet pears. Personally, I think even non pear lovers will like this, but I'll test it out on Mr D and let you know!

I had a delivery whilst I was cooking and the young delivery man commented on how lovely the music was .... Cimarosa's Requiem! Who would have thought it? It took me back to the days when I used to play Gregorian chants to my bottom set year 10 French class (almost all boys) to help them concentrate. One lad, who was not well known for his classical tastes, said "it's actually not that bad miss". It pleased me no end :)

Fun and games!

We seem to have accumulated rather a lot of CDs. And boy is it an eclectic collection. Everything from 15th century Gregorian chant to Iron Maiden, with 70s disco in between.

I think the sunlight made this photo look all soft focus?

When we moved in, 21 years ago, we had none - not even a CD player. We were given our first CD by a friend who didn't like it, but now have rather a lot! At one point, they all fitted neatly in two slender, tall CD racks either side of the piano, but as our collection grew, they were starting to spread and look untidy.

I didn't count them, but it's about 200 or so. This was the sorting stage which was therapeutic.

Friends of ours moved house recently and passed on some bits of wood, knowing I am a secret hoarder of all things useful! My house is clear of clutter, the shed however ......but that's a whole other story.
BUT, those stashed away bits of wood, have meant that i could build some shelves for the CDs for free.
I actually think I need a fourth shelf, because it would look neater to have all the CDs on shelves and the top of the bureau clear, but I'll work on that.
The most fun I had was alphabetising the CDs - very zen for me!
The least fun I had was drilling holes in old walls - you start with a small hole and before you know it, half the blinking wall has fallen out in dust all over your feet! Aargh! Fortunately, for me, the neighbours and the walls, I went out for lunch half way through so had a chance to calm down before finishing off the job.
One day maybe, I'll do things in straight lines? Or maybe I'll buy an even older house where wonky is fashionable......yes, that's a much better idea!
Still, it all made a nice change from making jam.

Ps. I had a letter addressed to Mum today, forwarded from her house. It was from the pensions office telling her they were going to visit her and giving a date and time. I left them a curt message pointing out how difficult they may find that! They did, at least have the courtesy to ring me back and

apologise. Inefficiency irritates me.

Quince jam

I made just over the eight jars above from one plant. 

I'm nearly there on the jam making for the year. I seem to have made silly amounts, but no doubt after Christmas,  I will find our stocks are at a slightly more sensible level.
Today it was the turn of the quinces. Mine are a Japanese Quince rather than the old fashioned English quince, but they still make good jam.
It's a bit of a faff due to the rather unforgiving nature of the raw fruit, but the end result is well worth a try.

Once the fruit has been harvested, give it all a good wash. I then cut it into quarters (being very careful as its a hard fruit and the knife could easily slip!), then slice diagonally across the core to remove the pips. I don't peel them. In fact, I'm not sure it would be possible to anyway!

After prep, I was left with about 2kg fruit

I place the prepared fruit into a large pan with about a litre of hot water and simmer until the fruit is soft and pulpy. I let it cool for a bit, then strain through a metal colander into another large pan, thereby removing any hard bits of core/skin. (I gave the unwanted quince mush to the chickens who devoured it!).

  

To the strained quince purée, I added 1kg of sugar for the 2kg prepared fruit weight and 1 large teaspoon of nutmeg. The nutmeg is optional or you could add vanilla. I am imagining serving my quince jam with cheese, so liked the idea of a savoury twist.

The strained quince purée

Boil until  it has reached setting point - mine took about 15 minutes in total. Decant into warm, sterilised jars. Add lids and labels. Store as per any other jam.

I made this last year and found that it darkened and solidified more after about a month, so I would suggest that you wait this long before eating it to allow the full flavour to develop. As I say, it's lovely with cheese, like a Spanish membrillo, but equally nice on toast or muffins.

Not a straight line in sight!

Daughter number two has gone off to Anerica for the year, so after giving her room a thorough clean, I moved in my sewing machine. It had been downstairs on the computer table, but there wasn't room or sufficient light, so I'm borrowing her room for a while. I have never been much good at sewing - I think my craft skills lie elsewhere! To be frank, my mother could barely sew a button on so wasn't the best example either. Undeterred, I decided I wanted to give it a go. I love patchwork, but quite sensibly realised that starting with a quilt was going to be beyond me, so my first project was a more realistic cushion cover.
After multiple false starts and a deepening sense of stupidity at my inability to understand the basic principle of placing the squares right side together before sewing, I managed a very higgeldy piggeldy first attempt. I don't think that any of the seams meet up properly and the border is slightly skewiff but I like it all the more because of that - it's jolly, imperfect and handmade by me.

Many moons ago I bought a wicker chair from a certain Swedish superstore to go in one of the bedrooms. It has then been moved from pillar to post before ending up in the conservatory. With two settees and two armchairs in there already it was somewhat unnecessary. Daughter number two had requested a very striking cushion for her birthday, but it needed a neutral backdrop, so the chair had a spray paint makeover and is now residing in my new sewing room. 

Before 

After in its new little space in the corner. The cushion is designed by Ian Snow, in a style similar to that of the artist Frida Kahlo.

An orange kind of day..

I finally got out and bought the cheap vodka to make my Arancello. I made this last year, along with the more well known limoncello and it was divine. I don't drink vodka as a rule, but if you pour a little shot of this straight from the deep freeze, it is warming, in-your-face sunshine in a glass!!

The recipe is simplicity itself.

6 /7 oranges
Two 70cl bottles of cheap vodka
500g White Sugar
500ml Water

Sterilise two large kilner jars. Wash and peel the oranges, taking care not to remove the bitter pith. I use a vegetable peeler successfully for this. Place half the orange pith in one Kilmer jar and half in the other. Pour one bottle of vodka in each jar. Shake well. Leave to stand and infuse for at least 4 weeks, longer if possible, giving it a friendly jiggle every now and again. After the allotted time, the vodka will have turned a wonderful sunset orange.
Add the sugar and water to a saucepan and melt over a gentle heat to form a syrup. Pour half the syrup in each jar on top of the orangey vodka. Give it all a good shake. Leave for another week or two. When ready to decant, strain the Arancello into sterilised bottles (I keep the original vodka bottles although you'll need more than just the two obviously). Make pretty labels. This is best served icy cold, so keep in the fridge, but then pop in the deepfreeze for at least an hour before serving. Enjoy :)

I then had seven oranges minus their peel, so I decided to make orange curd. I use the microwave method as I find it sets well.
Obviously, this recipe can be halved, but I had a lot of oranges....

Squeeze the juice of six oranges (I ate the other one to give me strength!)
200g butter
1kg sugar
8 eggs beaten

Put all of the ingredients in a large microwaveable bowl and heat at 2 minute increments, stirring each time until thickening. When it starts to thicken, heat at one minute intervals, stirring each time, until set. It can t ale quite a while (15 mins plus) to thicken, but of course it does thicken again once refrigerated. Pour into warm, sterilised jars, as per making jam. Label once cool. Store in a dark cupboard and then the fridge, once opened.

Ps: just for good measure, I have already thought that I will finely mince the vodka soaked orange peel when I strain the Arancello and add it to some of my Christmas truffles. My mouth is watering at the very thought!

Cut by a third in one fell swoop!

I had all my chicks back in the nest this weekend, which was lovely. Eldest daughter came back from Uni for the weekend to say goodbye to daughter number two, who has just taken off on her flight to America for a year. We had a lovely weekend, helped by the gorgeous weather. Lots of leisurely meals, dog walks in the woods and along the Thames followed by more food and relaxed chat. There was laughter and a wonderful sense of quality family time.

I'm at the front - they're all taller than me now! 

We have just returned from Heathrow having gone, en famille, to see her off. She was so excited! A few tears were shed by us though!
Back home now for a quick tea before eldest daughter catches the train back up to Derby. So we will have gone from six down to three in the space of a few hours :(
It will feel very quiet again and I imagine my ever present 'cloak' will feel rather heavier this week, but I have lots on my to do list, so I shall keep myself busy. A sense of progress always helps keep me positive.