Messy day in the kitchen..

Today's been a damp miserable sort of day so I raided the freezer and got out some of last year's soft fruit for jam-making - a mix of blackberries, raspberries and redcurrants. At this point I got a bit carried away and got too much out. I should have realised this when, after boiling up and sieving, the pulp measured 7 pints.

Now, my jam-pan is quite large but as the pulp and sugar boiled together, I heard a whoosh sound followed by the splutter that comes as liquid dribbles on to the gas flames - the jam was over-flowing the pan!!

I had to let everything cool down so I could mop the hot pulp up - from the sides of the pan, the top of the cooker, drips down the front of cupboards and oddly some on my feet. 

Then I started again, heating it a little more cautiously and watching it like a hawk.

End result - 9 jars of gleaming mixed berry jam! 

Next time I'll make a smaller quantity. I certainly didn't save time or effort by making so much at once.

Marmalade and fizz

 It's been a busy, lemon-scented sort of day in the kitchen - making rhubarb and lemon marmalade (again!!)

 and another couple of bottles of elderflower fizz. I now need to find some more nice clean bottles before the elderflowers finish flowering.

An emergency project - clutch bag large enough to carry shoes!

 It was Teen's Prom this week and we thought everything was organised - the frock... the bag.... the shoe... a spare pair of flats for tired feet ...  that wouldn't fit in the clutch bag! And she discovered this the night before!


I wasn't in the mood to spend all day chasing round town for a bag that we  might not find, so rummaged through the material stash and discovered this nice black brocade from an old skirt belonging to my elder daughter and some stiffer suiting material to line it.

 It was a little flimsy so I lined all sections with heavy interfacing - and the flap with a piece of plastic! Pelmet stiffener might have been better but I was working with what I had.

 The bottom was made long and wide enough to take the shoes  - and a camera, phone and make-up. Then pleated onto a narrower band.

I didn't actually get as far as putting a fastener on because I ran out of time - finishing the hand sewing just at the last minute!

Not a useful day's sewing

  With a day of peace and quiet stretching ahead of me, when no one else would be demanding to use the dining table, I decided to get back to making clothes.
The cunning plan was to take an old stretchy top and recreate it out of an old thin cotton skirt.

Things started fine - drawing round the top and cutting out a pattern.
When I fastened the sides and shoulders together and tried it on, I discovered a problem. Perhaps obviously the cotton material wasn't stretchy so the new top appeared tighter than the old one but more importantly I seem to have cut it a lot shorter!
I'm now trying to think of a clever way to rescue it - add a contrasting hem, maybe?

'Really' finished now

I know I'd already claimed this to be finished but it was waiting for one little thing - a fastener.

It's always the little jobs that sit around waiting for the longest before I get them done but I have eventually sorted out a toggle and now the bag is ready to use.

As it would have been visible, I didn't want to use ordinary sewing cotton to attach the toggle and, after thinking of using embroidery thread or some wool, I decided to sew it on using thin ribbon. Hopefully it won't wear through quickly.

Back to baking...

Earlier this week we went to a book store event for the Clandestine Cake Club The club members meet regularly to share home-made cake and now their recipes have been collected into a book. Unfortunately, tempting as the book looked, it isn't really suitable for us as not many cake recipes are low-fat. It made me realise though that it's a while since I've made any cake so on a wet and windy day, with leftover rhubarb in the fridge, I got out the mixing bowls and cake tins and got baking. Rhubarb loaf cake for the adults, choc chip cookies for the not-grown-up-yet.

Marmalade making again!

 I picked lots of rhubarb last week in a bit of a panic about a possible overnight frost. Some was stewed to go on breakfast cereals, some was eaten raw dipped in sugar and I still had about 4lbs left!
Time for jamming - well, nearer to marmalade making because I added some of the freezer hoard of leftover lemon bits.

Having tested a little of it, it's very lemony but quite sweet, not as sharp as a marmalade.