The sister of the Mrs was around so as soon as the kids were in bed she was off to the Hare. Left home alone, I had a chance to catch up in the Kitchen. Joshua’s birthday looms and like that of his mother, it will be a four day affair with events each day to celebrate. So there is cooking for that to do plus the storing of other produce for the Autumn.
First up there is a summer pudding with fresh raspberries and blackberries and strawberries frozen from earlier this year. It is now chilling in the fridge for 24 hours and next to it is the juice from the fruit which has , already today, started to be turned into summer pudding ice cream, a new recipe to try out.
The currants, raisins and sultanas as soaking in black tea and will today become two loaves of Bara Brith. Finally, cooking apples from the rack were unwrapped and the newspaper had done its work, they were perfectly preserved. With fresh blackberries they are now apple and blackberry jam. Seven small jars like the ne you can see below plus a one litre pot were sterilised and filled and there was just enough left over to half fill another jar allowing everyone to sample at breakfast. In terms of consistency and flavour I say, in all modesty, that this us the best of the four jams (strawbrry,blackcurrnt and damson) made so far this year.
