When's a jar not a jar?

When it is a vase!

Again, today I have been neck deep in trying to sort out the stuff for my daughters naming ceremony and I had my first panic when sitting discussing the arrangements for the day.

So? Have you decided on the table decoration?
Yes. Giraffe themed tags to go on the tea cups and brown and yellow table gems.
And centre pieces? What about the flowers?

Damn, I thought. I hadn't thought of those!

At this time of year the roads and gardens are filled with daffodils so at least that would make things easier... It was just finding something for them to stand in.

After raiding my garden cupboard I found three jam jars that were all the same and gave them a quick rinse (who knows what kind of insects and bugs had been living in them!)

I then measured a length of giraffe print felt which fitted around the circumference of the jar and cut it to size. I also took a length of giraffe print ribbon (the same as the ones on the name tags!) and stuck that to the felt.

I then stuck the felt to the jar and stuck a fimo giraffe to it.

I can't wait for the ceremony now... A giraffe themed afternoon tea - what more could a 7 month old wish for?!

Turning a pest into a sauce...

As discussed on my gardening blog (use link at the side!) I am still over run with horseradish even though I have tried to exterminate the crop from my herb bed.

When I dug up a massive root of it I knew it was to be turned into horseradish sauce.

The recipe came from 'The Preserving Book' again as it has been the only recipe so far that actually keeps the horseradish fresh and useable for up to two months!

This sauce needed:

300ml white wine vinegar
8 tbsp double cream (at room temperature!)
150g grated raw horseradish
4 tbsp sugar
4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
12 whole peppercorns

The white wine vinegar, sugar, cloves, bay leaf and peppercorns is put in a large pan and heated until the sugar has dissolved. It is then boiled for 5 mins until the liquid has reduced by half.

The cream is added and boiled for 1 minute until it looks smooth.

The liquid is then passed through a sieve ( to remove the cloves, peppercorns and bay leaf) and then left to stand to cool.

Once cooled add the horseradish and season (with salt only) to taste! Pour into pre sterilised  jars!

Ragu time ...

Last year was a wonderful time for surplus tomatoes. We had had a particularly bountiful year as my husbands grandfather (a master of all things green and growing) had given us a couple of tomato plants and they had thrived on the patio outside. We also had a single courgette that had survived the onslaught of slugs which also seemed to thrive in my garden.

I wanted to preserve them in some way and ended up buying a book helpfully called 'The Preserving Book' (see link below!)

This recipe makes a Vegetable and Tomato Relish.

You need:
1 kg ripe tomatoes (I used cherry)
2 onions roughly chopped
3 courgettes roughly chopped
1 yellow pepper de seeded and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
2 red chillies (I didn't use these as my husband doesn't do chilli!)
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp English mustard powder (I used normal English mustard)
300ml malt or cider vinegar (I used some locally made cider vinegar)
150g granulated sugar

The tomatoes, onions, courgettes, pepper and garlic were first chopped by hand (although they do say you could use a food processor if you don't want chunks in your relish but as I was going to use this as a ragu base I wanted it chunky!) At this point you can add the chilli too but I never put it in and it tasted great without it!

All the chopped vegetables then go into a large pan (I used my jam pan as it has a heavy bottom) but any preserving pan that is stainless steel would do.

Stir in the tomato purée, mustard and then add the vinegar and sugar.

Simmer the mixture, stirring continuously until the sugar has dissolved. Then turn the heat up and cook the mixture for 40 minutes to an hour. Make sure it is stirred frequently over this time as it might stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook until the mixture begins to thicken.

Have your jars ready and sterile but warm and then ladle the mixture into them. Make sure the seals are vinegar proof!

Store in a cool dark place. I use the cupboard in my shed which is perfect.

Let it mature for a month before using in pasta sauce or similar. It is very, very good!

It's pumpkin night tonight!

Last year I was fortunate enough that my husband dug me out a vegetable patch of my very own. It had been one of my many dreams. I wanted to be able to grow and then make stuff with the vegetables that I grew.

However, last January I fell pregnant which kind of put the dampners on anything that involved a lot of bending down for long periods of time so I needed to plant stuff that would be easy to maintain.

I also had a major store of vegetable seeds that I had been hoarding for as long as me and my husband had been living together (at that time three years!) and couldn't wait to see what I could grow.

The most successful vegetable of the patch was also the one that managed to take over most of the surrounding lawn too - my pumpkins!


Out of the patch I managed to get two huge pumpkins.
The problem with pumpkins is that they take hours to carve up and it also takes time trying to find different recipes to try to use it!

I was given a book for Christmas from my dad which is 'Jams, Pickles and Chutneys' by Midge Thomas - from a series of books by the WI. (See link below!) The ingredients needed were:
1.5 kg pumpkin flesh (no pith or seeds)
1.3kg granulated sugar
675g prepared oranges
675g prepared lemons
1 litre of water
Ginger

I adjusted the recipe and swopped the ginger for cinnamon as I am not a big fan of ginger.

Also needed is a jam pan, jam funnel, wooden spoon and jars.

So the original recipe requires you to prepare your lemons and oranges. I have to admit that I don't want to faff too much so bought my oranges and lemons in tin form... Just as good!

The pumpkin, oranges, lemons and water go into the pan together and then are brought to the boil and then the heat is turned down to a simmer.

This simmer is to soften the pumpkin though in the original recipe it is to soften the peel of the citrus fruits.

Once the pumpkin softened I added the sugar and then turned the heat up to bring it to a boil again. Once boiling I brought the heat down to a medium heat and then waited.

I needed to wait for the mixture to thicken enough for the spoon to leave a clear path at the bottom of the pan ... I didn't wait that long to be honest as I wasn't sure if the fact that I had used tinned oranges and lemons might have affected its setting point so I experimented with how quickly it set on a back of a cold spoon and was satisfied that it would set once jarred up.

The jars had been sterilised earlier in the process in my daughters bottle steriliser (so little hassle!) and were ready to be filled.

I am pleased with the finished product - though it seemed to take a lot longer than the recipe specified. The marmalade tastes good on toast.

Thank you WI for this amazing recipe for using a monster of a pumpkin!
P.s. I love the Kilner range of preserving stuff so that is why I have put links for them here too!

When's a door not a door?

I have always found Easter one of the hardest holidays to prepare for. It usually falls just when my students are preparing for many many exams and I end up panic buying Easter eggs from the supermarket and none of creative juices are given the chance to flow!

So this year while on maternity leave I thought I would start early and thought I could use up my surplus collection of jars which seemed to be over taking the shed.  I started by buying mini eggs of different brands as my family have very individual tastes when it comes to their favourite egg. I also added a small Lindt bunny for everyone except my husband (he doesn't do posh chocolate!)

I cut out a circle of fabric from my huge stash of scraps and then wrapped silver thread to secure the fabric over the lid. The chick was then glued to the top.

Really simple but nicely effective.

Next year I hope to be as organised as this one!

Quick note: For all of my sewing projects I use gutermann threads. Personally, I have found this the most trustworthy brand and it always comes in an amazing array of colours.