Monday 17 November 2014

Marmalade

Welcome to Vanessa Charles via Bloglovin and Winters End Rambler via here.

Well done and thanks Andy for stepping in to give us some tennis to watch last night. I love seeing you play in exhibition matches where you are more relaxed and smiling and laughing.

I have just updated our menu page with our latest meals.

Back to preparations for Christmas! We like to give some home made marmalade as gifts to N. our chiropractor and C. my massage therapist. Plus some always goes to FDiL's parents amongst other things. In return, we get a few things that they have made:
The three at the back and the one on the left are Brandy and Ginger, the front right just plain. I also had enough left over to half fill our marmalade pot.

Earlier in the year, I trialled putting Damsons into Brandy see here. They were strained and the resulting (very powerful but lovely) red liquid put into whatever bottles/jars I could find (as we will keep it rather than it go as presents):
Most of the recipes I found had what appeared to us, to be far too much sugar. This tastes just about right, maybe another tablespoon or so would make it just right, I shall have to adapt the recipe. The skins of the damsons are quite firm but they were like little bullets when we prepared them from the wild. Maybe bought damsons would be better, especially the larger variety, but we never find them to buy.

We have had a few of the damsons with Parkin and custard, the last few I am going to chop up and put into a pudding.


4 comments:

  1. My family don't make anything, me I love to make and give home made gifts.

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    Replies
    1. I think there is something rather special about giving and receiving home made gifts any time of the year. I try to do the same for birthdays as well. One year I started very early and did small jam jar lid tapestries and just gave the empty jar with the decorated lid to those I knew would use it. I didn't have the time to fill them as DS was very ill as that time.

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  2. I like the sound of Brandy and Ginger marmalade and very seasonal too. P x

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  3. Going to give the marmalade a go. Made damson jam earlier this year, our neighbour had a tree laiden with them but doesnt like them .

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