Spiced Apple Chutney

Yesterday I made apple chutney in a successful effort to reduce the glut of windfalls. So, at last, a recipe to share!

Spiced Apple Chutney

5 red onions chopped

4lbs peeled and cored apples chopped

4 cloves of garlic finely chopped

4 green chillies finely chopped

6 oz raisins

1 tbsp Worcester Sauce

1 tbsp mustard seeds

1 1/2 pints vinegar

3 lbs sugar

I use my whizzy machine to do all the chopping. Put everything except the sugar in a jam pan or large saucepan and warm it as you give everything a good stir. Add the sugar and continue to stir occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved - do not let the mixture come to the boil until all the sugar crystals are gone! Then bring it to the boil and simmer gently until the chutney has changed colour and lost most of it's liquid - when you run your spoon through it the channel should not fill with liquid. Pack into sterilised jars and store in a cool dark place for at least 6 weeks. After that the chutney goes really well with cheese or cold meats, and is also a useful addition to such things as Shepherd's Pie.

I used a mixture of malt and white wine vinegar, and a mixture of caster and dark brown sugar on this occasion. What you use will effect the end result, but I enjoy the experiment!

But the picture is clearly of Raspberry Jam! Yes I know, but it is so much prettier than the jar of chutney, and I did make that yesterday too. Chutney always takes longer than I'm expecting, so on this occasion I rustled up some jam.

Raspberry Jam

I used 500g of raspberries from our allotment and 500g of preserving sugar (the sort that has pectin in it). Put them in a large bowl in the microwave. Cook on HIGH for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep going until all the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to the boil and continue to cook until setting point is reached. This is surprisingly fast so be careful or you'll end up with jelly. Leave to stand for 10 minutes then stir and pot into warm sterilised jars. Eat it warm on fresh bread straight away!

Why blog?

Absolutely staggered this morning to find I have a comment: I've been found out in my bottom drawer in the cellar! Was carefully refraining from commenting on anyone else's blog so I wouldn't be discovered... Not that I don't want to be read, just thought that there would come a moment when I would be saying something beautifully and not just randomly rambling. I wonder how I'd know?

I've been surfing to see who else might be out there and was amused to find a kuche full of hausfraus! I've added the two I enjoyed most to my list of blogs to follow. Also went to look for seamstresses, but almost everyone seemed to embroider or knit. I've had my moments - embroidery as part of my O and A level Needlework, and a bit for pleasure, and knitting with everyone else when we went through a phase at school - but my ability doesn't really lie in that direction. I like the speed with which a garment can be produced from ready made fabric and am too lazy to knit the bits first.

The blog I fell in love with when I was following my nose is Gluten-Free Girl. Her writing style is lovely and I've decided to send her book to my wheat intolerant friend on the strength of her blog. Will let you know. I may have to loose one of the hausfraus as I was horrified to read that she had made coconut macaroons with chocolate ganache. It sounds just too sweet to me, I can't think why you'd make anything other than the classic almond mixture with just an almond on top. On that note I'm off to make an apricot and almond cake full of gluten and completely delicious!

In business-ish..

Have got no further with a business plan and rather think I won't bother for the moment. I guess if I was going to go into a major life changing type living off my earnings project I would need to be professional and do the work, but it is more about finding a useful and interesting way to spend my time. I realise that makes me lucky, but since I'm still the chief cook and bottle washer, not to mention decorator, cleaner and taxi driver extraordinaire I don't think I need to feel too guilty.

I've been having a very stitchy summer - and if I was cleverer I'd be adding lovely photos - but you will have to imagine for the moment! I made a pair of curtains for Youngest from an old short pair trimmed with a duvet cover and am now engaged playing with matching scraps to make cushions for her bed. Then I created a curtain to cover a shelf of shoes, cushions, laundry bag and heart for H to go in her new student room in Cardiff in a beautiful grey/blue spotty classic cotton. Next I produced yet more curtains and cushions (baby blue with white spots) for the girls' 'playroom' which I have newly painted in a classic cream in a successful attempt to lighten their north facing room with dark blue carpet. Decorating with hearts and squares from co-ordinating scraps so very little money spent.

Have also done some mending for a friend for which I was paid actual money- not going to make my fortune, but enough to more than cover the cost of the girls' fabric. Two pairs of suit trousers shortened for her husband, and two skirts shortened for her so she might actually wear them!

My lovely hairdresser came yesterday and brought my hair under control. Turns out she has decided to marry her partner and father of her impending offspring, so I dropped in the fact that I might be able to help. She got all excited and insisted on seeing my wedding dress and then went through my scrap book of makes... She's on a tight budget, but that wouldn't necessarily be a problem if it got me some business would it?!

What shall I do

Blogging is a secret, guilty addiction. At least, surfing them is. Writing them is something I think about but am never convinced I have something as interesting to say as that which I have read.. Did anyone else listen to Stephen Fry on pronunciation and correct English? (No one will answer because, as I said, this is a private space where no one else visits.) So long as I resist the temptation to comment on anyone's writing, no one will find me. So what's the point?

I'm not entirely sure, but it's partly about wanting to write something, anything, and partly a place to put ideas and think about whether they're any good. Like everyone I hope there's a book in me somewhere, but I've never got beyond a short story or two. I originally thought I could write something interesting about the life of an old fashioned sort of stay at home wife, but I find that I can't offer tips about housewifely chores because they're not something I get around to much. Not convinced about cooking tips either, though friends have suggested I could give chutney and jam lessons. Apparently there is the possibility of earning some money doing this? Or, more appealing to me (in that I at least have some qualifications in it), sewing lessons.

The next big thing, now that we're all growing our own food, ought to be making our own clothes, or at least mending the ones we've got. Make do and Mend. How to use your sewing machine. Mending for beginners.

I wonder where you would start? Business plan I guess...

And what do you do?

I'm reading a novel with that title, and it was particularly relevant last week as I attended a works do with Husband. Being a 'wife of' is something I'm used to, and throughout Husband's career has simply been part of military life: lots of military wives don't have paid work. We spend alot of time moving house and needing to establish the family wherever we end up. Some people manage it, but they seem to take manual type jobs, or they do something everyone needs: teachers, doctors, nurses.. the sort of thing that can be relatively easily transferred - 'though I still think they must be tremendously organised to get their families up and running AND work. But last night, because of the current job, there were lots of civilians, and they generally seem to lead much more settled lives, and not working is distinctly odd...

It's not that I don't do any work! We have a house, garden and alotment to maintain. I am not particularly house proud, but I do try to keep on top of the worst of the family's mess and to do minor repairs or organise to get a man in when neccessary. The alotments is Husband's project really, but produce doesn't know he can only do weekends, so when things are growing they need regular picking too, and that means me. Gardening is one of my favorite activities, but it is a guilty pleasure in that I have always preferred it to housework. Our two children get themselves to school and back on a bus, but they both have a number of after school clubs and commitments that require a taxi service 4 nights a week. Clearly it is my job to keep everyone in clean and mended clothes, and to know where everything they lose is. In my spare time I'm a school governor and I've been Chair for 2 years. I am on call throughout the week for the Headteacher, or anyone else with a school issue. I wonder how the world will continue to run when all the people who volunteer for things have proper jobs instead?


And I'm giving that one up: I've collected too many t-shirts and am getting more and more annoyed by the ammount of work the goverment thinks it can put in the way of schools. But I'm not going to ruin my mood by going there! I was just wondering what I'll say now to provide a suitable answer to the dreaded question...

Busy being idle

Counting down to the end of term; picking lovely fresh produce from our allotment; watching the buddleia coming into flower; looking forward to sports days, end of term productions, and final assemblies; thinking about the summer holidays and how to entertain the family. It's that time of year!



They're busy rehearsing in the primary schools so I'm off to sports day this afternoon. (Why is it sports day when it's generally just an afternoon?) And again tomorrow. Luckily parents aren't required to attend the equivalent event in the girls' secondary school. I am dutiful but not engaged! I will go to the dress rehearsals of the primary schools' plays, and this year I can support Youngest in her school play. They seem to always do a musical, and it is so popular that they end up having a huge gang of 'extra' children providing entertainment pre show, in the interval and then joining in with the finale. She seems pleased, but it sounds like an awful lot of hanging around to me. By Friday night she'll be exhausted - I picked her up when the show finished at 10pm last night...



Still got to get through my last governors meeting, and get our Financial Management in Schools forms into County, and write a last governors' newsletter; but I'm definitely counting down now! Thoughts are turning to how to entertain Eldest on her 15th birthday at the end of the month, and what on earth to give her - apparently she doesn't actually 'need' anything and therefore can't produce a list of things she might realistically expect anyone to get her!



Husband is back tonight so some tidying and cooking are in order to provide both a welcome home and evidence that I haven't idled away the last few days....

My Fete

Having been reading my favourite blogs, and generally mooching around the web I realise I'm going to have to work much harder to get something anyone else wants to read if they ever came across me...

That fete seems to be occupying everyone. I suspect we put too much work into it, but since that may be why it turns out to be a pretty good party I guess we'll have to keep it up. Everyone did brilliantly this year, and we did indeed break that record of 2 years ago, but then it was only just more! (And ,no we didn't put the entry prices up John.) I was put in charge of trinkets 5 years ago, (and it was a huge honour after being alowed to guess the number of sweets in the jar and name the chicks my first year), and I'd confess to a buzz when selling my collection each year, but sometimes I hanker after something more glamorous like cakes (which sells out early), or Pimms (which probably has other benefits) or even plants (which may also be grubby, but in a more earthy way). Trinkets is slightly less grubby than White Elephant, even in our lovely village and these greener times.