Marmalade

I've been wanting to make some marmalade for quite a while but have not found the time to make it.  So this morning I decided today was the day!

Have you seen these easy to make cans from Lakeland ?

The oranges are prepared for you and all you need to do is add sugar and water....simple

First off I warmed my clean jam jars in the oven

I emptied the tin of oranges into my jam pan and added 4lbs of sugar and 3/4 pint of water.

Stirred the mixture until the sugar melted

Brought it to a rolling boil and boiled for about 18 minutes, and this is what I ended up with....jars of delicious marmalade.

I'm going to take my mum a jar when I visit tomorrow....hope she enjoys it spread on her toast.

A Treat for The Weekend..

It's been such a dreary, wet day today that I fancied making us a treat for the weekend.  I have made this dessert before and believe me not only is it sooooo easy to make but it tastes absolutely delicious.

Key Lime Pie

75g butter

225g crushed gingernut biscuits (you could use digestives instead)

1 Medium Carton Double Cream

Juice of 4 Limes 

397g can of condensed milk

I start off my weighing out my butter and popping it into the microwave to melt.

Meanwhile I blitz the gingernuts in the processer until they resemble breadcrumbs

Next mix the biscuits and melted butter together and press into the base of your tin.  The tin is then popped into the fridge to chill.

Whilst the base is chilling prepare the filling.  I always pop my limes into the microwave for about 40 seconds as this helps to maximise the juice from them. 

Place the condensed milk, double cream and the lime juice together in a bowl and whisk until thick and creamy.  This happens in a very short time probably less than a minute.

Spoon the cream mixture onto the chilled biscuit base and pop into the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight if you prefer

I decorated the top with chocolate flakes but sliced fruit works equally as good. 

Enjoy!!

Brrrrrr...It's So Cold

The last couple of days have been so cold!  Hubby wasn't happy at having to leave the house a little earlier than usual so that he could scrape the frost from the windscreen before his journey to work and we have below freezing temperatures forecast again for tonight.  I have already seen the gritters out helping to make the roads safe and it certainly feels like Winter is well and truly here.

Monday's are always a busy day for me....I do very little housework over the weekend so Monday is my day for cleaning upstairs and down....changing bed linen and doing the laundry.  I always feel a great sense of satisfaction when the house is looking spic and span.

I also made a rice pudding in my slow cooker...although I use my slow cooker on a very regular basis it's the first time I have made a rice pudding in there.  It was so easy to make and tastes so delicious....a perfect dessert for a cold winter's day and there is ample left for tomorrow too..what more could I ask for :-)

Still Here, Still Knitting

I'm afraid I have been guilty of neglecting my blog.....life kinda caught up with me!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a great start to the New Year.  I caught the dreaded Infulenza virus a couple of weeks before the big event but thankfully come Christmas Day I was feeling much more 'human' and an enjoyable day was spent with family.

I've just started working on a new crochet granny square throw for the sofa in shades of burnt orange, cream, coffee and chocolate brown, it may take me some time as I am going to make it in my spare time and my aim is to do a couple of squares a day.  

The knitting needles have also been busy with knitting orders  and I've been beavering away  to ensure the outfits are ready for the babies once they are born. (pics to follow soon)
 It's been  very chilly here today with a real nip in the air.  I cooked a traditional Sunday lunch with Roast Beef, Roast Potatoes, vegetables and Yorkshire Puddings with lashings of gravy...it went down a treat!  Homemade apple pie with custard to follow and I was so full I didn't feel like moving off the sofa for the rest of the afternoon...but after a little crochet time hubby and I wrapped up well and went for a walk to blow the cobwebs & the calories away :-)

Homemade Strawberry Jam

My strawberry harvest has been fantastic this year, unfortunately I am the only one that likes them....so what to do with all the strawberries???  I decided to make strawberry jam

I looked around for a good recipe and came across this one on the Good Food Channel Site:
Strawberry Jam Recipe

I halved the amount of strawberries and added vanilla seeds but then followed the recipe as suggested.

Chopped and ready to simmer with the lemon juice

I scraped the seeds from the vanilla pod and put those into the pan too

Simmering away to soften the strawberries

Jars ready to go into the oven to sterilise

Time to add the sugar and to turn up the heat

Jam boiling away to reach 104 degrees

And the finished result.....six jars of delicious strawberry and vanilla jam

Pottering About

I spent Friday pottering about the house and garden.  It was quite a bright day just perfect for getting little jobs done that have had to be put off all week because of the rain.

Here's my new mint plant which I managed to get potted up today....mint is such a vigorous grower and I love to use it chopped up over boiled new potatoes.

When I was a little girl I have fond memories of being at my Nan's house for Sunday lunch and being asked to go into the garden and gather mint leaves.....I would then bring them into the kitchen and chop them as finally as I could, put them into a small jug, add a teaspoon of sugar, a dash of boiling water and top up with vinegar and I would then have the most delicious jug of homemade mint sauce to go with the roast lamb.  I still use this method today to make yummy mint sauce.

Domesticity

Have spent much of the last two days catching up with housework and the 'dreaded' ironing.  I quite enjoy the routine of cleaning house but really don't like the ironing or the 'putting away'...but I can't bear to wear un-ironed clothes so I'll have to keep doing it.  I've started to put a few drops of lavender oil in the water and the gorgeous aroma as I iron makes it a much more pleasurable chore.

I even got around to doing a little baking this afternoon and made a homemade steak pie which was quite delicious and a trifle for afterwards.

I'm hoping the weather will be a little brighter tomorrow as I want to get out in the garden to do some potting up.

This is a mint cutting that I have been cultivating in a glass of water

It amazes me how quickly little roots form and once potted up you have a new plant which has cost nothing.

Tentatively Dipping My Toe!!

My first blog...yikes

Not able to do much crafting today due to a problem with my shoulder from tooooo much crocheting so I thought I would have a go at creating my own blog.  I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed with it all to be honest but I'm sure in time I will find my way around. 

It's a rather dull and overcast day here in the North West of England and quite chilly for the time of year.  I thought I would share with you  a few pictures from my garden which I took a couple of weeks back when the weather was much brighter.

These beautiful little rockery flowers are called Aubrieta and I love them, they are so bright and cheery

My rhubarb is growing great this year and soon I'm looking forward to making a rhubarb crumble with lashings of homemade custard!