Change

There hasn't been a great deal of sewing lately but things are changing around here, for instance........

Why would you settle for this, when you have little need for lawn.......

........when you could have this?

We'll start with a potato crop to help break up the soil......

We enjoy watching our veggies grow in the front yard over our morning coffee and as it is proving to be the better area to grow food crops it makes sense to us to utilise it.

He who gardens / the man of the house / the provider (call him what you will, but as my Grandfather used to say 'never late for dinner') is always looking for more space to increase our productive garden and I enjoy the reading, planning and discussions we have deciding what to grow......We both enjoy preparing (and of course eating) meals with produce just picked and experimenting with preserving the excess.

Chillis are flourishing and 'our' tangello tree is once more loaded and about to present us and the neighbourhood with ripe tangellos. (I say 'our' tree as our neighbour is quite happy to let the tree continue to grow in her yard, yet she doesn't use the fruit. We are more than happy to help her out so it has been a win-win situation so far.)

Our small lime tree (this one is really ours) has also been having a bumper year. We have frozen cubes of lime juice, used limes in cooking, made cocktails and today I've cooked a lime and raisin chutney - which at initial tasting seems like it will be a tasty side dish for a curry. (Tomorrow, possibly lime butter - just as tasty as lemon butter......)

Other things are set to change, too, so watch this space........

and this.............

................and this.......

Exciting times ahead for us - you're welcome to come along for the ride if you like as I'll be posting lots of pictures throughout.

We will also be taking a little pre-renovation detour or two before the building gets underway, but I'll tell you about those another day.

Sue xxxx

New Toy

I was in a local store looking for a gadget for chopping onions and chillis when I found this instead.......

Years ago I had my Mother's preserving kit but had to let it go due to space constraints as well as work and a young family at the time. From time to time I've made jams and pickles and frozen summer fruits for the dull time of year when choice is limited but now with more time on my hands and surplus produce from the garden (and a new kitchen in planning) it seems like time to get back to it in earnest.......

The kit is for the 'waterbath' method of preserving. It's not suitable for all kinds of produce - it apparently depends on acidity....(more research required here)......

With cucumbers popping out everywhere, 'Bread and Butter pickles' seemed a logical starting point - and here are the results. (They look like they are supposed to look - the proof will be in the eating in a few weeks time....)

(Actually I thought I would fill 3 jars but they squished down a little more than I expected.)

I have also discovered a link to a website that sells new lids for your existing jars which is a win/win for preserving seasonal bounty, reusing perfectly good jars and ensuring the produce is safe to keep longer term as well as a number of environmental considerations. (There is also a wealth of information there on making cheese and yoghurt, preserving all kinds of food and recipes.)

I have the jars so I'm off to order some lids......

Sue xxxx