Saturday night catch up

Saturday night was spent in the kitchen processing the tomatoes, onion and leak - with the onion making my eyes run  all for the making of home made pasta sauce.  No nasties in this sauce whatsoever.  I did three batches in all. Its not a strong sauce but it is tasty and it is made from fresh veggies - depending on what I am making I add extra flavour when it comes to the cooking of the sauce tailored to that recipe. I also add lemon juice to each bottle.  However once the canner arrives!

I will make tomato and apple chutney tomorrow.  The  recipe is located and later on I will have two batches of chutney on the go side by side.  A batch of tomato chutney (it does have apples and other things in it) and also plum chutney.  I also have apple and pear chutneys to make as well.  The longer a chutney gets to mature in my mind makes all the difference.  There are a couple of new chutney recipes I want to try as well.

I think I have prepared about 6kg of tomatoes this evening.   Its all worth it in the end though knowing that I have ingredients to add to meals and complement them (and which hopefully when the canner arrives I will be able to can meat, fish, soups etc).  Simple meals like bread and cheese and cold meats and pork pie can be pepped up with a little chutney, piccalilli, pickled shallots and onions which can also be popped into casseroles.  Chutneys can also be added to casseroles and stews to pep the flavour up.  As I have said before if you can find a way to use it that works for you then that is all that matters.

OH has asked for some pickled Jalapeno's so I am going to look into that as well.  Its not something I am keen on but its something he likes.  So I may well pay a visit to the market this week and see what I can find.  I need to make sweet chilli sauce and chilli jam in any event.  Oh and I want to prepare some chilli vodka as well as home made tomato sauce for making home made "Bloody Mary's".  So if I can find them it looks like it will be a bulk purchase of chillis.  I also want some more long thin chillis for drying.

Pickled cabbage I leave as late as I can to make as it does not have the shelf life of other preserves.  Pickled cabbage we use a lot to pep up a winter salad and in the colder months it looks quite stunning and cheerful mixed in with green leaves.  Even in the winter months we have salad.

I also have a couple of very large jars of pickled eggs to do at some point.  Yet again not something I am keen on but OH does like them.


Tomorrow I have quite a bit to do so technically will not get to the preserving until the afternoon.   As I am writing this it is chucking it down with rain here and has been for a good couple of hours so that could put a damper on what I had planned we will see what happens in the morning.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

P.S.  I have bottled 9 jars of pasta sauce with a quantity left over to make home made Lasagna.  I have mince in the fridge and some strong cheddar that needs using up. Thats 9 Lasagna's or pasta type dishes.  I must just mention that this sauce comes up an orangey red as there are no additives or colourings added.  I hope to get more tomatoes at the end of the week and do some more.  Its very satisfying preparing things for the pantry shelf.  There is also mixed fruit cordial soaking in the fridge.

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