Kitchen Notes Monday 29 August 2016

All done and dusted;

5 large jars Bottled cherry tomatoes

7 large jars Bottled whole medium sized tomatoes

Outlay 5 x nets cherry tomatoes and 4 pots of tomatoes from the greengrocers total £9.00

6 jars mixed summer fruit in syrup

10 jars of mixed berry jam

total outlay =£19.00 including sugar and fruit.  The jars of mixed fruit if you bought them in the shop and not the size I made them would probably cost you anywhere of £4.00 apiece or more so that six jars at £4.00 each = £24 just for the six jars.

Will look lovely over ice cream like a sauce or drained and on top of a cheesecake or panacotta or even mixed with some fresh apple and made into a sponge pudding or drained and added to a home made chocolate or vanilla sponge with fresh whipped cream to create your own "gateau" or in a Swiss roll. There is so much potential there.   And do not forget the strained juice you can add some lemonade or soda to it and use it as a cordial.  Do not waste a drop. The colour is just absolutely glorious. And then of course I have ten jars of mixed berry jam.

So making your own can pay off in the longer run.  The mixed fruits are more expensive than usual ingredients but at the end of the day if it gives your family something different and that it is going to be used that is all that matters.  However how much would you pay for a tin of mixed fruit or a jar and you would probably only have half the amount that I have.  Its swings and roundabouts at the end of the day.  If I could get to a grow your own farm I would go there but in the absence of that I use the offers going on in the shops weighing up how much the fruit is and how much is actually in a pack.  I buy blueberries this way and as blueberries are good for you full of antioxidants that help fight any kind of antibodies caused by rheumatism and the similar auto-immune disease. I have plans to make a lot of little pots to have with breakfast i.e served with yogurt on home made muesli or granola.  yogurt is home made too.  

I am off to get some more mixed fruit during the week from the market and that will be another batch of fruit to put up to make meals more interesting and colourful during the winter months.

Then of course I have

5 jars of greengage jam

10 jars of greengage jelly

total outlay £5.00 for fruit and three bags of sugar on offer at 50p per bag = £6.50

I have also picked 1lb of wilding blackberries today and so am going to add some eating apples to them to make some blackberry and apple jam which is lovely on toast.

Still to do

Roasted tomato pasta sauce

Tomato salsa

Apple and Tomato chutney

More cherry tomatoes to bottle

Victoria plum jam

Victoria plum jelly

Bottled Victoria plums in syrup

Chinese style plum sauce

Plum Chutney

Plum mincemeat

First batch of Piccalilli started in brine.

Pickled Red Cabbage.  Two beautiful large red cabbages shredded down and brined overnight.  To be washed through and drained then vinegar added tomorrow.

Mint jelly

Cranberry jam

Mixed fruit salad

Pears in syrup

Have the remains of a net of onions to use up so may make some onion and garlic marmalade.  This really is a short term preserve but it soon goes so I do not mind making little batches of this as it is a waste not want not recipe which goes well with all sorts of cooked meats and pies really perks them up.

Lots to do as usual.

Catch you later.

PP