Looking through the freezer for ideas for tea I came across three HUGE bags of blackberries, picked from the prolific crops on all the bushes around the farm last year. Knowing that I also had a cupboard full of empty jam jars and another cupboard with SIX bags of jam making sugar in, I suddenly thought - 'time to make Jam, that'll make some space'......so we have Space Jam!!
~
I don't know why, but yesterday I just wasn't thinking straight, I started cooking the blackberries from ice cold, I tipped in cold sugar and ice cold lemon juice straight from the fridge, obviously this meant a long, long cooking time and I'm very lucky I even got to setting point before Aggy Aga decided to lose all her heat and turned from the hot cast iron box that warms our house to the feebly lukewarm hunk of metal she was at the end. Half way through I had to call it a day, so we have seven jars and a bowlful of lovely Bramble Jam up to now. Today I've had the sugar warming and the other half of the blackberries sat in the jam pan on top of the Aga all morning, the lemon juice has been taken out of the fridge and later on I will do it all again......only much, much quicker!
~
Outside things are looking nice and orderly in the Kitchen Garden.
~
We've just had a nice heavy shower of rain, so they could start getting more rampant very soon.
~
The herbs by the back door are looking good and taste even more so.
~
Molly, Lovely and Big Lovely
~
We've just had a nice heavy shower of rain, so they could start getting more rampant very soon.
~
The herbs by the back door are looking good and taste even more so.
~
Molly, Lovely and Big Lovely
But sad news, after living on for a week after this Blog post, Molly died in her sleep last night. She just missed her friend too much to go on without her. This morning watching the chickens, I notice Jemima, the last of our original ten girls mingling in with the others, and going about her business with her friends and it hit me just how much Molly always hung around with Lovely, she was never on her own. So now they are reunited, chicken friends in Chicken Heaven.
~
RIP Molly, we'll miss you on the farm. The chicken that always wanted to be with people, that was always first into the house if the door was left open. The only bird that was ever a 'frozen chicken', and lived to tell the tale. She of short stumpy feathers, always looking messy, but always, always lovable and 'cuddleable'.
~
Sue xx
The jam looks fabulous - I am in the middle of a tidy up & sort out - and it is SO exciting to rediscover forgotten treasures lurking in shelves and freezer drawers!
ReplyDeleteblessings x
Hi Sue
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to here about your Molly.
WE still have a pot of brandy flavoured damson Jam and 2 one litre bottles of damson brandy,
made from the damsons you gave us last autumn.
Love you both lots Mum XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx
Very impressed with your garden beds - mine are still surrounded with grass and I don't know the best way to get rid of it as it is constantly invading the beds, and I hate it! What did you do?
ReplyDeleteAnother question - could you share how you made the jar of pasta sauce you had in one of your challenge posts? I think it had courgette and tomatoes in it - I'd love to know about making sauces that I could store in jars as I am running out of room in the freezers!
Lovely blog, and I am very sorry to read about Molly.
Oh,poor Molly..but now she is with her friend again.
ReplyDeleteWe are hoping for a bumper crop of apples this year because I am down to the last jar of apple jam. We had no appples last year, the blossoms were frozen off!
Jane x
RIP Molly, brave little hen.
ReplyDeleteSandie xx
Awww, poor Molly!
ReplyDeleteLovely, lovely jam and I like your name for it :)
oh that's so sad about Molly and Lovely. I don't think any of my girls have a bond with another. Breeze has stopped bossing Roxy around since her ordeal with a neighbour's dog & Roxy lets me pick her up for a cuddle now. Not getting so many eggs these days but very fond of my girls & talk to them all the time. They are penned in now so can't walk into the kitchen which is a shame.
ReplyDeleteIt was so many years ago that I can't remember her name but i want to say it was Henny Penny, but my brother had a chicken and when she was still rather young he was having a hard time telling the difference between her and the other girls, so he tied a string round her leg and before anyone who could have told him better knew what he had done the poor girl lost her one foot... she lived quite a long time though and reminds me very much of your Molly.. RIP Molly.
ReplyDelete