a busy domestic blog of knitting, sewing and all kinds of needlecrafts, cooking my garden produce and preserving it

Thursday 2 August 2018

When life gives you courgettes ... make marmalade


If there's one surplus from the allotment that I hate, it's courgettes. There's only so many of them that you can eat (and to be honest I having been cooking much with the heat), and they don't freeze well.


 The only options left are chutney and marmalade - and we eat more marmalade.











It's weird, but simple, and does actually taste like marmalade once cooked. Basically, peel and chop the courgettes, getting rid of any seeds. Weigh them and put them in a jam pan with their weight in sugar, and leave overnight.
 For each pound of courgettes, add a lemon or two (I save squeezed out ones in the freezer) and a handful of frozen leftover orange rind. I boil these separately to soften, then cut up finely and add to the courgettes.



 




Next day it all just needs boiling up - gently at first to be sure the courgettes are soft (sometimes I mash them to avoid lumps) then quickly to set.

Saturday 6 January 2018

Baby shawl

For the first time in ages, I've picked up my knitting needles!


With my first grandson expected just after Christmas, I got out the ancient battered, family shawl pattern and got busy - this was round about the middle of November.

Then, I discovered it might all take longer than I thought! At 255 stitches the rows seem appallingly long, and take forever to knit, so there's no chance of doing a few in odd moments during the day.
So, I've found a Netflix boxset - or three - and settled down to many. many evenings of knitting.




At last, I have the main body of the shawl finished. Only the edging to go ...