cooking

It's coming towards the end of August, so we're now into what I like to call "jam and chutney season". Admittedly you can start making jam much earlier in the year if you want to and of course the same is true of chutneys. However, being a little more traditional, I associate this time of year with tomatoes, apples and blackberries. Last year I made a variety of different … [Read more...] about Jam and Chutney Season

Back in August I made my first attempts at making chutney. At the time I was trying to use up ripe fruit as I knew I'd be away for several days on a business trip. Fast forward to now and I've essentially ended up with shelves and boxes covered in jars of various chutneys and vegetable based jams. So what happened? Well the tomato crop was good. It was way better … [Read more...] about So Much Chutney and Other Preserves

I've always liked chutney. When I was a child my mother used to make a "no cook" apple chutney from the apples in the orchard. We always had way more apples than we knew what to do with, so she'd make lots of different things with them during the season. The "no cook" chutney was a big hit, though, as it was just so simple. Unfortunately she's misplaced the recipe. I've … [Read more...] about Preserving Fruit as Chutney

It's the beginning of August, so it's a real bumper time in the garden. I'm already onto my 3rd round of carrots, which I'm hoping will be ready in the next couple of weeks. The lettuce, which I planted in one of the raised beds, have gone a little wild, but are still edible. At the moment the tomatoes are ripening, as are the peppers and chillis. So in practical … [Read more...] about Fresh Produce From the Garden!

When the weather is nice this country really can look absolutely glorious. In this kind of weather the moniker "sunny south east" is fairly accurate! So far this weekend has been absolutely lovely and the countryside has been looking picture postcard perfect! Athy is picturesque no matter what the weather, but when it's a sunny day the castle and the river look so … [Read more...] about Finally Some Decent Weather