Going to see Mum
We're going up to Northampton from East Sussex soon to see my Mum who is an amazing 97 years old. She lives with my sister who looks after her really well so I don't have to worry about her. Mum is of that generation that makes light of health issues and has to be dragged kicking and screaming to the doctor. Well, not literally, you know what I mean. She broke her ribs once in a fall at a swimming pool and insisted it was nothing!
Here is Mum with the contents of a monthly Hotel Chocolat hamper that I send to her - she really looks forward to it!
Mum has had home grown runner beans all her life and really misses them now my Dad has gone. I'll be taking her as many as I can from the runners in the garden - she'll LOVE that! And some tomatoes for my sister - Mum doesn't like tomatoes.
Runner beans and tomatoes
The runner beans and tomatoes are now in full swing. It's been such a funny year for fruit and veg in the garden. Everything has been late, and nothing looks very happy.
We've had no rhubarb at all this year, it's just laid down like it does at the end of the season - and it's not for lack of rain! I've bought some from the greengrocer and frozen from British Frozen Fruits. They arrive with liquid nitrogen packs just running out and the fruit still frozen. I've had blackcurrants from them too, and other things. All brilliant quality.
The courgette seem to have stopped producing any flowers, so we might not get any more of those.
The apples will be coming on any day now. I picked some to take up to my sister, not really ready to eat raw, but great cooked or in a smoothie.
When they start, we're overwhelmed with them! I'll take some with me to social events of my u3a, leave some out the front of the house for people to help themselves and we have a community fridge, so I can always take them there.
Eastbourne Airbourne
We went to Eastbourne Airbourne on Friday, one of my daughter's favourite weekends. The Vulcan above is our absolute favourite. The noise of it Is utterly awesome!
It was a beautiful sunny day and we parked up by the swimming pool and walked in. I would have taken lots of cold water and a packed lunch, but it's hard enough walking with just myself to move and brolly against the sun. So we had to buy water and some lunch. Found a lovely Greek place on the pier and had a chicken souvlaki. Could have done without the chips and pitta, tasty as they were, I'm trying not to eat things like that any more.
Still we did 12,000 steps that day which is a lot for us. I find 10,000 steps as challenging as many people do theory 5 a day.
So, to some recipes
We are in jam making season now, so I thought I'd show you some of the jam recipes on Thrifty Lesley. Jam is such a useful thing to have in the larder!
Lemon Peel Jam
This preserve is made primarily using lemon carcasses that have already been used for something else. They’ve been zested and juiced and would ordinarily just be thrown away. If you don’t have any of those, it will work just as well using whole lemons, or a mix of the two.
Carrot Jam
I was looking at the leftovers in meal plan 2 and thought, with a little adjusting, I could probably get another day out of it. And right enough, I did! Very satisfying!
I love this jam, it's different! It's sweet, obviously, but not as sweet as other jams. It probably wouldn't keep for ages, so I only make 1 jar at a time, but it's so quick and easy, that I don't mind that at all.
French Apple Jam
When I was looking for inspiration to use apples in jam, I came across a recipe that included cardamom seeds. Intrigued, I thought it sounded different and interesting and worth a try. It was also called French Apple Jam, which I hadn’t heard of before. There’s not a lot about it via Google, except that it needs to contain cardamom seed to be called French Apple Jam.
Sloe and Apple Jam
Sloe jam is deeply, fruitily plummy. It sets so firm you can slice it! I was really pleased with my first attempt and will definitely be making some more this year
I used some apples from the garden. I thinned out some of the Scrumptious apples so the remaining ones can swell. They live up to their name, being truly scrumptious, and are useful to cook with, as well as eat just as they are
I published an ebook for meal plan 1 in August 2021 and am delighted that many people have thought it was worth getting. I repriced it again in June 2022 and it was still holding on, even in these scary times. Now we are in September and prices have shifted again and I've managed to get my head around WooCommerce so I can feature it on the blog and you can find it here.
I was busy recooking, photographing and updating the recipes for Meal Plan 2 and putting them into an ebook as well. The meal plan was first written in 2013 and still prices up, which is fabulous and that is finally complete. The book is done now too, prices seem to be stable enough to do it.
I've finally completed the e-book from the Stretch A Chicken To Last A Week series. Took me absolutely ages to finish it off!
Do come and say hello on the Fantastically Frugal Food Facebook group, or the Sensational Slimming Sustenance group. I'd love to see you. Lots of useful tips, recipes and ideas. The over 17,000 membership are brilliant, brimming with talent.
And don't forget Thrifty Lesley, where there are 800+ recipes of fantastically frugal food and many weekly meal plans. And Cheap Family Recipes where you can find all kinds of delicious things that don't cost much, with two family monthly meal plans.
I've also got a few YouTube videos up, not many yet, but I'm planning to do more. I've done a couple more, need to edit them now. So much to do, so little time!
With all best wishes, until next time
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