Listening to the rain beating upon my bedroom window last night I decided that as there would be no working in the garden I would spend the day making some of the last preserves of the year, chutney. Jam jars have been a problem this year and I thought that I should have just enough to bottle one batch. I finally fell asleep at about two in the morning and slept well.
True to form Pa played up rather badly this morning, for some reason he is always like this when my son is away of if he knows that I am busy or at all unwell. I suspect that he feels insecure at such times for which I am sorry but it is a trial I could well do without.
Not only did he refuse to get up which would have been bad enough, he also treated me to one of his Who am I? What am I ?Where am I? turns complete with much groaning and thrashing about. This would have alarmed me in the past, this morning I just placed his coffee on the bedside table, told him to pull himself together and marched off!
Although this sounds harsh it does work, and within half an hour he had drunk his coffee and was getting dressed and although the lateness of the hour meant that breakfast had to be boiled eggs instead of the eggs Florentine I had promised to make all went well after that and by twelve I was busy peeling the apples and onions ready to begin the chutney.
CHRISTMAS CHUTNEY
This chutney must be made in September as it needs to mature for three months.
4 lb of cooking apples peeled cored and chopped
1lb onions, peeled and chopped
2 pints of malt vinegar
2lb granulated sugar
I lb dark brown Muscavado sugar
1 oz garlic peeled and crushed
Place these ingredients in a large pan and bring to the boil then simmer until pulpy then add
1teaspoon of ground allspice
1 oz of ground ginger
12 oz chopped pitted dates
1lb sultanas or raisins
1 oz black mustard seeds
Simmer until the mixture thickens then bottle in sterile jars . Store in a dark place until Christmas, this chutney combines all the spicy seasonal aromas with a sweet sharpness that goes well with cheeses of cold meats. It is worth making plenty as it makes a great Christmas gift. In properly sterile heated jars this will keep for over a year, if it lasts thatlong.
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With about half a pound of left over mashed potato and a little flour and melted butter I made some potato cakes which we ate for dinner with some crispy panchetta,eggs and mushrooms and very nice it was too. Having spent the afternoon in an atmosphere of boiling vinegar and onions I needed to cook something quick and tasty so this fitted the bill perfectly and Iced cream for afters finished the meal.
Yesterday I bottled some wild cherry brandy and some blueberry vodka and I now have about a pound of alcoholic cherries and the mass of blueberries. Tomorrow shall make a very boozy cherry pie for which I must remember to buy cream and the following day a blueberry sponge
these treats are a nice by-product of making home made liqueurs and we look forward to them very much.
How the wind did howl about the house today and the rain lashed down without ceasing, our poor little cat, deeply grieved at being unable to venture outdoors sat disconsolate watching the rain drops run down the windows and the windblown leaves driven before the stormy blasts. She would have dearly loved to be outside chasing them about the garden, eventually she drifted off to my sons room to be miserable about something different for a while....poor old puss!
My son spent the day in Hungerford browsing around the many antique shops, we may move there one day. We spent a year living in Newbury and often spent our Sundays in Hungerford, a pretty little town with wonderful Savernake Forest close by, not to mention Avebury .
Sleepy now I shall soon take a bath and then as soon as Pa is settled I shall cuddle up under my snug quilt and hope to sleep but should I not I have a couple of good films to watch , maybe the cat will join me,if I can prise her off my sons bed for a while. Good night all.
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