September's catchup ...

Toadstools in the woods

 (Belatedly) September saw everyone heading back to school and one to college and us getting used to a different, quieter routine with plenty of work in the day and family time squished into busy evenings.

We scrounged medlars from a friend which are now happily maturing on the driveway ...

Medlar

Canned green beans and a token egg :~)

 I had another go at canning allotment produce, this time it was green french beans. I tried raw packing them and it was so easy! Basically, just heat the clean jars in the oven, wash and chop the beans straight into the hot jars. Fill with boiling water and process in the canner. Simples :~) I haven't tried them yet but they look wonderful ... every time I look at them I think of winter stew and dumplings.

I'm really pleased about the beans after the goldengage (not-quite-a) disaster because this was exactly what I bought the canner for ... to preserve our allotment gluts cheaply, easily and not worry about it taking up precious freezer space. Have you ever frozen homegrown beans? Bleugh ... the canned ones look far better!

Next year, I'll be growing about five times the amount at least!

September seedhead

Blue sky and autumn sun

 We've had plenty of woodland walks and foraged plenty ... one walk saw two buckets filled to the brim with crabapples! If you fancy trying out some crabapple jelly, look here.

So, far there have been about three lots of crabapple foragings and about 11 or 12 jars of jelly. The last lot was combined with rosehips in a beautiful autumnal mixture of goodness :~) The recipe was baed on the usual crabapple one (mentioned above) but just used part rosehips weight for weight.

Rosy crabapple

Crabapple nibbled by a grateful mouse ... so sweet!

Rosehips

Sunset

 We've had some splendid autumn storms with rainbows, the tail end of a hurricane and torrential rain.

Rainbow after the storm

Stormy sky

Stormy sunset

Rain-drenched lane

Watercress soup

 I visited a local farmshop to buy ten bunches of watercress (yes, ten) and found that they sold raw cream ... wonderful, so buttery.

We've also been frantically seed saving ... peas, borlotti beans and wartime heirloom beans. There's something deeply satisfying and soul-pleasing about seed saving and generally squirreling the harvest away :~)

Wartime heirloom beans ... love the colour!

 We also scrounged a fair few damsons off a friend to make damson jam. It took many hours to make but was so worth it! Perfect in rice pudding ...

New young lettuce plants

Foraging crabapples

Man o'the woods foraging fallen crabapples in January :~)

I thought I'd add a post about last month's crabapple find while I'm on a bit of a roll ... in this house you have to make the most of opportunities when they arise as they evaporate pretty fast and the chaos takes over again!

On a walk through the woods last month (January), we stumbled across alot of fallen crabapples nestling in the leaves. We only had one jar of crabapple jelly left from the previous batch in 2009 so more needed making pretty quickly!

Crabapple hiding in the leaves

Crabapple jelly recipe
4lb crabapples
2 pints water
6 cloves
Sugar

It's such an easy recipe so don't be put off thinking it's tricky! Wash and quarter the crabapples, cutting out any bruised or damaged parts. Don't bother to peel or core the fruit. Put the fruit in the pan with the water and cloves. Bring to the boil and simmer until soft. Mashing with a regular potato masher helps to break them down too.

When the crabapples are completely mushed, strain them through a jelly bag (or tea towel/muslin tie between the legs of an upturned chair). Don't squeeze of hurry the juice or you'll push some of the solids into the jelly which will make it cloudy.

Measure the juice. For each pint of juice add 1lb of ordinary sugar. Place in a pan and heat gently until the  sugar is completely dissolved. Boil it hard to setting point then pour into small hot jars and cover. 

The finished jelly