Wow… March!
Thanks for sticking with me! I clearly haven’t gotten any better at time management. I am thinking once this month is done, cruise ship markets done, everything should settle back to something more sensible.
I did a quick stroll around the shabby garden yesterday to get some updated pics to be able to write a quick blog
Tomatoes – Magnificent!
Hothouse? Not so magnificent haha
Oh dear
I have an insane Black Russian Cherry Tomato plant that has grown all over the place and the fruit is gorgeous
I’ve squeezed in some time to make a couple of relish batches
Our visitor, Yuri got totally addicted to the relish! She wanted it on every meal!
The potato patch is probably ready for a full harvest… When I have time
All looking a bit shabby but boy oh boy are the new potatoes tasty!
And a slightly hilarious meal photo… not restaurant worthy, but home made rissoles and some salad and eggs and damn its good! (and relish)(and yes, erm… tinned pineapple because I love it)
And another less than artistic meal photo… potato bake and the first of the corn which is soooo sweet and amazing. And a lame salad because I was too lazy to do anything else.
So many meals in the above pic!
Below, my butternut pumpkins have happily taken over this space and I’ve got 4 or 5 of them growing that I’ve spotted so far. (The other rampant plant in there are a multitude of cape gooseberry bushes!)(I am never going to get rid of those!)
Hiding in the oregano and lemon balm!
Cousin Jeff has dropped off a couple of loads of wood and Husband Jeff has been collecting wood as well on his hikes – and he cut/stacked it all! Usually thats my job so I am pretty happy about that!
We will do some more collecting soon. I want to be over stocked this year!
The outside tomatoes that I grew from laterals have just started to ripen.
Most are yellow. The bamboo trellis has worked pretty well
What a mess tho!
Oh well… I’ll get to it eventually!
Fat bottomed mutant zucchini…
Golden nugget pumpkins…
Um… random egg?
Weird chickens
Coco. All these are tablet photos… so not exactly the usual quality but… thought you’d like to say hello to the chooks!
I’ve not made time to get back to photoshop to go through all our adventure hiking photos that we did with Yuri.
We had a fantastic time and I am looking forward to sorting the pictures.
Might get some sunflowers soon!!
I did plan a day of slothing finally on tuesday… then it turned out I needed a tooth extracted!! (Back molar) So it really wasnt the relaxing day I was aiming at!!!
I’ve tried to take it at a bit less of a frantic pace.
I’ve booked in to the last three cruise ship markets which is in the latter part of March. I made up some extra soap batches that should be cured to use by then.
It gives me a bit of a break from those – but I have Steamfest on the 9th, 10th and 11th March which Maureen and I go up to Sheffield and stay. We plan to set up our space on Friday. The lovely thing being that we dont have to take it down every day… they just lock the big shed.
So the cruise ship markets have been a fabulous success as far as I am concerned! Saving all the $$ to get Jeff and I back to Japan later in the year (goals)
I really am looking forward to winter though! Some long evenings in front of the fire – movies and basket weaving!! Crochet?
Anyway, I have a list I need to work through today so I better get my butt moving!
Hope everyone is doing fabulously well
xxx
(Espresso!!)
Those tomatoes look fabulous! We’re eating not quite ready for prime time hot house tomatoes, but grateful to have them to brighten a sandwich. I have a question about the relish canning. It looks like you reuse supermarket jars… how do you seal them so the food won’t go bad. Here was have a hot water bath canner and mason jars with new lids that seal in the hot water processing. I’ve always wondered the process you use to seal and protect the food in a reused store jar. Love your soap goals to find another Japan trip.
🤣 I could hear Queen singing about the Fat Bottomed mutant zucchini! 🤣🤣 Thanks for the laugh today ❤️
haha… fat bottomed zukes sung to Queen! I love it!
how nice to get some early tomatoes! makes a difference eating the home grown. End of winter early spring we are fanging for some real tasting tomatoes!
Re relish. Yep… I’ve never learned how to do the waterbath canning – and dont have the stuff.
I heat the jars up in the oven… about 100C and put the relish or jam in hot. The lids I’ve washed and dried well, and just sealed. I cant ever remember having an oopsie with the results. I think the heat sucks the lids down as they cool. They aren’t screw top (threaded) lids. Just the usual ones you get at the supermarket on jars? Id have to take a picture. Sometimes I use new lids sometimes reuse as long as they are in good condition.
Everything lasts an eon.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! xx
Thanks for the canning explanation and helping me learn something new today! In the past, canning rules in America were different (more like what you’re process is) than they are now. Now we do a hot water bath for acidic foods and a pressure canner for non-acidic. I have both, but non-acidic makes me nervous for food safety and for that scary pressure canner. 😉🤣
Hi… lol. Yes!! Scary pressure canner. A whole new world I havent explored!
I am guessing your canning rules only apply if you are doing stuff to sell?
And sorry this took an eon to reply
I finally got in to play with blog and… um. seems I was out of action while I worked out how to pay up for the hosting for another 12 months
Guess that means I need to kick my own bottom and blog more!