I'm still painting the house. Not quite as much now, I'm having a bit of a break, but it has got to be done at some point. I'm filling holes, and rubbing down, and we're gradually moving forward.
We have a local farming type store that sells all kinds of things, feed troughs, cattle drench, horse stuff, agricultural implements etc. I popped down there a month ago to top up with seed for the birds, some fat balls and some black seeds that look a bit like niger seeds. I bought a ginormous box of fat balls! Well, I've barely seen a bird in the garden since then! I had to clean out the feeders yesterday. The seed was sprouting and the fat balls had gone manky.
I looked up on the RSPB site and they said there that natural food is plentiful in autumn and the birds prefer the natural food and will return later in the year, and to keep just a little food in the feeders so the birds know that it's there when they need it again. That's a relief, thought it was something I'd said!
YouTube
I mentioned the first YouTube video I'd done last time. Well I've primped it, added titles, cut out any extra bits and I'm really quite happy with it. Need to find the time to do some more now!
Falafel with sundried tomato hummus
One of the recipes I did in the video was falafel with sundried tomato hummus and vegan mayonnaise. Because the mayonnaise was vegan, that makes the whole thing vegan.
I love hummus and make it frequently, often adding another flavouring
Apples
I'm progressing well with the apple canning. I've now bought a very large catering stock pot and it's really helped with the canning. The one I had been using wasn't quite high enough, even for jam jars, and the rolling boil you have to maintain in canning, meant that water was sploshing over the top all the time.
I've been toying with the idea of getting a pressure canner. They are flipping expensive, but you can preserve ragu, ready meals and casseroles in glass jars rather than the freezer. Over time, they pay for themselves and I rather like the idea of not using energy to store food items
Just this week, I took the plunge and ordered a 23 quart Presto from America. They aren't often available here in the UK. It should arrive the first week of December and I can't wait to play with it!
Got any green tomatoes?
It’s October at the time of writing and anyone who has been growing tomatoes over the summer will be bringing the last of them indoors as they will struggle to ripen outdoors now, even in a greenhouse. The days are too short, and the sun is not hot enough
Now, you don’t need to do anything with them. Just pile them up in a bowl and they will gradually ripen. Add a ripe fruit if you want to speed it up a bit. We have been known to still be eating the last few at Christmas!
Whenever green tomato recipes are mentioned, one of two recipes come up, either a green tomato chutney recipe, or a fried green tomatoes recipe.
There is nothing wrong with either idea, but there are lots of other ways to answer the question ‘what can I do with green tomatoes‘
With all best wishes, until next time
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