Blackcurrant jam & blackcurrant booze!

This begins with maths. Maths and some improvising. The lbs of blackcurrants I picked were languishing in the fridge and I didn't want them to spoil so I had to do something with them. I really wanted to make a blackcurrant chutney, something different, but I've not found a recipe yet. I'll keep hunting and if you know one, let me know. Anyway, maths. There seems to be a fair few different ways to make b/c jam so I picked one which seemed most sensible and worked my brain to calculate how much sugar and water I needed, hence the numbers on the piece of paper in the 1st photo. I think I must've got it right as the jam seemed to turn out to a T.

Voila! Scrummy b/c jam on toast. Delish! Still got another bunch of b/c's to pick so more jam perhaps, or finally some b/c chutney. Might have to make up a recipe!

With the rest of the b/c's I made some b/c booze. I thought I had some plain vodka knocking about but no, I had to make do with raspberry vodka (not homemade). I think this is no bad thing and look forward to trying this in, alas, 6 months. Well, it will be a good Christmas! I kinda made this up from various research on b/c booze, so just stuffed the bottles with b/c's, squidged it down with the end of a wooden spoon and topped up with vodka. The bigger bottle I threw in some sugar too but I don't know if it will need it as the raspberry vodka is already pretty sweet.

Roll on Christmas!

Strawberry & Fudge Cheesecake / Strawberry Curd Recipes

What to make with lots of strawberries? Well, with my first batch I made this awesome strawberry & fudge cheesecake.

• 75g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
• 250g HobNobs biscuits 
• 250g vanilla fudge 
• 300g mascarpone  
• 400ml double cream, softly whipped 
• 250g strawberries, sliced
• 2 tsp icing sugar

1. Lightly butter a 23cm springform cake tin. Pulse the biscuits to crumbs in a food processor. Add the melted butter and pulse until combined and clumped together. Tip into the base of the tin and press down evenly. Chill.

2. Meanwhile, put 200g of the fudge in a large bowl and melt in a microwave for 1 minute on High, or until it forms a soft paste (or alternatively melt in a pan over a very low heat). Cool slightly. Beat the mascarpone in a bowl with a wooden spoon until soft, then add to the melted fudge and mix until combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream.

3. Chop the remaining fudge into small chunks and stir into the filling. Add a few chopped strawberries too. Spoon over the chilled biscuit base, smoothing the top. Cover and chill for 6 hours or overnight – the fudge will set the cheesecake.

4. Once set, put the strawberries in a bowl and toss with the icing sugar. Set aside to macerate for 20 minutes. Cover the top of the cheesecake with these strawberries.

Serve chilled.
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This is my work-in-progress shot...

And the final thing, ready to take to share at work.

I also made strawberry curd. Only made lemon curd before so wasn't sure how it would turn out. It isn't as set as a lemon curd but thickened ok and tastes amazing - actually just like a strawberry cheesecake!

 

• 500g (1lb) strawberries, washed, hulled & halved
• 100g (3 1/2 oz) white granulated sugar
• 60g (2 oz) salted butter, roughly chopped
• 2 large eggs, beaten

1. Place strawberries plus 2 tbsp of water in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Cover and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the strawberries are really soft.

2. Pour into a mesh sieve over a clean, heatproof bowl and use the back of a spoon to push the strawberry pulp through into the liquid. 

3. Place the heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water on medium heat. Make sure the bowl fits snugly and that the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Add the sugar, beaten eggs and butter to the bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until the butter melts. Continue to stir constantly for about 10 minutes.

4. Turn the heat up and continue to stir for another 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens. It's important to keep stirring otherwise the mixture could curdle.

5. Carefully pour mixture into hot sterilized jars and seal.    (Makes 2 jam jars)

Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

Happy harvests

Harevsting is starting to pick up at the allotment with lots of goodies ready for picking. The garlic I planted before Christmas is finally ready so I've hung that out to dry. Looking forward to using this. Not as big as I was expecting but I am happy with the results. I think next year I will plant double the amount.

The first proper strawberry harvest weighed in at about 2lbs. Not quite as many this year as last from the looks of the plants, but that is probably my fault for not sorting out the bed early enough so they had a lot of competition from the weeds. I think I need to plant out some additional plants to boost the health of the row. Lots more strawberries ready for picking soon. This batch got made into a strawberry & fudge cheesecake and 2 jars of my very first strawberry curd.

Amongst the harvest were some freaky-looking strawberries! These made me laugh. Tasted just as nice as the others, though you wouldn't see these in the shops. I wonder how many cosmetically-challenged strawberries get wasted...?

My first mangetout (left) and first kelvedon peas were tasty, eaten whole and super fresh.

 

I've got a BUMPER harvest of blackcurrants this year again. This haul was from just 2 bushes and only half of what is there. I didn't bother netting these so just imagine how much more I'd have if I did! I wouldn't be able to move for blackcurrants!

Courgettes are ready for picking. I wonder if they'll be as prolific this year as last. Probably! At least I now have courgette recipes :)

Post-holiday catch up

So, what is happening at lottie? Well...

The view from the road is looking good. Nick's been doing a great job looking after things whilst I was away & now things are really coming along. He even edged this big bed. Bless.

The californian poppies look great with the gladioli. They make me smile :)

And this bed of flowers is coming into bloom.

The sweetcorn block is really growing and the oriental salad I put around the bottom is nearly ready for picking.

I planted out some leeks I grew from seed before I went away. They all seem to be doing well. I could, perhaps, have planted too many! Hey ho. I do like leeks ;)

The shed end is also going great guns. The cornflowers are working well with the sugarsnaps, giving them something to hold on to whilst looking pretty!

Back at home the seeds I planted out on my balcony are also growing well. The borage is on the verge of flowering (I nearly lost it when I was away but luckily a good soak revived it), the rocket and coriander will be harvested soon & the bellboy pepper is starting to produce.

My replacement tumbling tom tomatoes, grown from seed, are also doing well. Thank goodness for that!

Construction keeps boys happy!

Unfortunately, somewhat of a disappointment on the seedling front. Lots of droopy and singed seedlings found today. :( What is still looking alive has been salvaged. All this effort can so easily be undone when it comes to growing from seed. So many things against you. I will post photos of what did survive and where I put it soon but the light faded before I took snaps.

I did, however, set my little bro and Nick a task at lottie today whilst I got on with weeding, watering, planting etc. The raspberries are now netted thanks to their teamwork and construction skills. I defy any bird to get into my rasberries now! Little bro was well pleased with his efforts and, I think, enjoyed building something :)

Look, he even built in a door :)

Thanks boys!

Digging, raking, building, weeding, sowing

As I understand it, it was the first day of Spring this weekend. Lucky for me then as Sunday was the first day of me sowing some seeds at the allotment :)

First things first though...

During the week, my friend Nick has been busy sorting out some palettes, breaking them up and lining the beds. He'd actually only meant to be coming with me in my car to pick them up after work on Tuesday. However, I got a message before I got home he'd already taken 4 palettes to my allotment - avoiding race traffic (Gold Cup week). Fair dos, thanks Nick. :) The next day I was due to go out with some friends to the cinema, as I usually do on Wednesdays. Nick sent me a message to say he knew I was busy but was off to the allotment to break up the 4 palettes and line the beds! Well, he did that too. Very kind of him. Thank you so much, Nick! :D When I arrived on Sunday, this is how the 1st of the new beds looked...

Very nice! Having a bit o' wood around the beds makes them much more smart. This should mean I won't have to keep edging them every now and then.

I also bought a new rake and put it to good use, thwacking the spade-dug soil and raking through the lumps to finish the 2 beds Nick and I sorted out last weekend. The soil is in really good condition so it was relatively easy (and theraputic!).

I also fashioned a seedling area using a big pane of glass and the props left over from the broken palettes. This still needs some work. You can see the row of compost bins we sorted last time, with the newly raked bed in front of one. The bed to its left is my spring flowers/garlic/onion bed. There is a bit of wood ready to line this one next.

Next I tackled the little bed in front of the shed. This has some lovely Pulmonarias in it which were in full flower when I took the lottie over last April. They look full of buds....

There is just one crocus left in flower there now. But what a stunner!

Next I constructed a support for my peas. I think I'll plant either side of this little trellis with the same variety, then do the same sort of thing with the different types I've got. It might be a teeny bit too short but I can wind the peas around the frame. I've not planted any yet.

Then I built some supports for my sunflowers. I'd planned to grow them next to the shed, and I have planted some 'Black Magic' in there, but I didn't want to block out too much light from the window, so I popped them in the next bed over. I'm hoping the bamboo will be enough support. If not, I can tie them onto the post.

I put a few 'Black Magic' in here and some of the mixed ones.

The garlic I put in before Xmas is going great guns and now you can just about make out the onions breaking through the soil. Beyond them are the 3 tree onions.

 

This bit all looks very unimpressive, but most of the bulbs I planted here are starting to come through, with the tulips doing particularly well (to the left of the flowerpot).

The larger of the two new beds was also kindly wood-lined by Nick and I raked over 2/3rds of this before I got too tired to do it anymore. And LOOK...

The daffs are finally out :)

The goosberry is starting to show signs of Spring.

As is the blackcurrant.

The blueberry is in bud.

And so are the raspberries.

Unfortunately, this is how the 'road end' currently looks. Messy! Well, it actually isn't too bad. The beds either end were dug over last year so they just need some light work. However the section in the middle might need the attention of a certain someone and his trusty spade...! I am thinking of having two or three thinner beds here. Eventually I want all the beds wood-lined.

In contrast to the messy 'road end', the 'shed end' is really coming along. I am proud of how it is shaping up :)

Speaking of mess though, this is the sorry state of John's plot next door. This is where his 2 sheds were, the contents of which are still lying about. I wonder why he's given up...? See the hammer on the blue water butt in the front? That's Nick's. He left it. Doh!

When I was digging the little shed bed I spotted this pulmonaria that had sprung up seperately from the 2 main plants. I know my mum wanted one of these so I have potted it up for her garden. I shall try to keep it alive until Easter...!

Finally, here's a better look at the seed bed with its glass cover, and the sunflower stakes.

I hope you had a good weekend. We had loads of rain Saturday but Sunday was lovely :)