I asked you yesterday if you could guess what I was up to later on, well in this case it was Pickling Beetroot. Sorry if you thought I would use my Spurtle, but it would have dyed it a rather unfetching shade of red as it hasn't finished seasoning yet! As it was by the time I had finished I had lovely red hands, nails, chopping board and wooden spoons. Luckily by this morning the kitchen has scrubbed up quite well, and I have the above jars as reward for my efforts.
~
I've been a bit of a busy girl over the last few days. This time of year it seems everything is crying out to be stored, cooked, frozen or bottled all at once. I've been freezing and bottling away for all I'm worth. Our new big chest freezer if getting fuller by the day, the list of contents of the homegrown/produced stock is in the sidebar. I have now run out of recycled jars (and space in the cupboard), so today I am going to squeeze some more batches of sauces and some more veg into the freezer.It will be interesting to compare the quality of the food from the two preserving methods as we eat them.
This I made the other day from a glut of red peppers and tomatoes. I just love the bright colour of it, it's almost jewel-like, so much so I held off from putting labels on for a while so I could admire the jars whenever I went in the kitchen.
But of course I had to label in the end, or I would be guaranteed to forget the contents sooner or later. ~
There are fat juicy blackberries appearing on all the Bramble bushes around the farm, and although on the lanes and roads in the village there are people busy picking away, I am lucky enough to have acres of hedgerows far from the maddening crowd that are mine and mine only. So later today I will walk the dogs and start gathering them in, and then popping them straight in the freezer to be dealt with en masse when I have spare time. Likewise with the Damsons that are just about ready on the trees around the henhouses.
~
Luckily I have a new stash of jam jars that I treated myself to from Lakeland, an extravagance I know, but nice jam deserves nice jars!!
Sue xx
All your preserves look absolutely delicious Sue :0) It will be really interesting to compare your preserving methods. I do hope you share them with us.
ReplyDeleteYou're so lucky to have all those blackberries round by you..I've drawn the short straw with blackberries this year, they seem rather few and far between round here, even over the New Forest. Crab apples and sloes are rife though..
Have a good day berrying...
Donna x
*pinches jar of scrummy looking sauce*
ReplyDeleteHave been preserving here to - though on a much smaller scale - jams & chutneys :) Am slowly adding to my blackberry collection - almost enough for another jam making session.
I seem to have loads of jars this year- I think everyone saves them for me now!
yummy ! I had a diasterous attempt at roasting courgettes etc to make a sauce ! Have been eating A LOT of ratatouille recently.
ReplyDeleteWhat a delicious rainbow!
ReplyDeleteNice new shiney jars will be lovely and no doubt you will continue to use them for many years too.
take care
Sarah x
It all looks lovely Sue. Blackberries haven't done as well this year down here, but maybe a lte bit of sun will help. x
ReplyDeleteHi Sue
ReplyDeleteJust out of interest, how long does your sauce keep in jars?
Donnax
It keeps indefinitely as long as the lid 'depresses' as it cools. Put hot sauce into hot jars and seal imediately to cause this to happen. You will hear the lid 'pop' as it cools down later.
ReplyDeleteWe are still eating sauces made last year and they are perfectly fresh (and yummy).
Sue xx
I can sense the urgency of preserving from here! September is as full of the smells of sugar and vinegar as much as leaf-fall and wet earth! It looks as if you have a good supply going there Sue.
ReplyDelete