Live on £4,000 for a year - 2009, Part 3

sophiesmum_2

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NYK


Hope you are enjoying your lie in this morning despite capt beaky and warhammer being so noisy

cw18

cw18

I had to turn the heat off under my chutney so I could go to bed last night - but it still wasn't reduced as far as I wanted. So it's been back on the heat and simmering for over an hour this morning, and is now looking close to being ready for bottling (also all in one pan now ).

Also tastes better than last years :T I reduced the sugar from 1.5lbs per batch to just 1lb/batch (it was too sweet for me to be happy with on sandwiches, but fine with a salad ), and I've also put the chilli seeds in as well as the pods (as recommended in Economy Gastronomy to add heat to a meal)


Need to go and wash a load of pots and pans, and then find enough jars for the chutney and get them washed and sterilised..........

mama67

:bdaycake: :bdaycake::bdaycake::bdaycake::bdaycake::bdaycake:


Happy Birthday Nyk

lyndasharp

Happy Birthday Nyk!

I can't believe I'm asking this, but where have people been buying chicken coops from? I've finally given in to the suggestion of sablepoot bantams...

We went blackberrying and got nearly 3lb. Some frozen, some is now blackberry and apple jam. We've got some rose hips to make into jam too, should have a go at that today.

Blairweech

Happy birthday Nyk!! Hope you have a great day _party_

Will reply to everyone else later, am just on my way to work now (on triple time :j)

sophiesmum_2

Blairweech wrote: »

Happy birthday Nyk!! Hope you have a great day _party_

Will reply to everyone else later, am just on my way to work now (on triple time :j)

Work seems quite nice on triple time BW have a good day:D My OH is working triple time today and a day in lieu, I am just having a days paid leave but that will do fine:D

Frugaldom

Hi fruguys and gals, many thanks for all the birthday wishes. It's Janey's birthday, too, so I hope she's still reading to see we haven't forgotten about her.

I'm hoping that the rain is going to clear away a bit to let us out into the garden to sort out hen runs. Lynda, ours were all renovated, salvaged and homemade but we've now managed to buy a couple of brand new coops and houses - got them via €Bay! Have a look at the chicken thread here and there are a few hints, tips and piccies posted. Will get the link and edit it in here for you.

CW - well done with the chutney. I find it really inspiring to read about what others are preserving and home cooking, it's like a welcoming committee that makes attempting these things far less daunting. I guess it's like having our very own online support group. I'm much more likely to try making stuff now than if I wasn't privvy to what my fellow frugalers were doing.

Blairweech - TRIPLE time? Make the most of that! It isn't even a bank holiday here, we get the first Monday in August and I don't know anyone that actually gets the holiday as even the bank doesn't shut all day.

Edited in - here's the link to the post with photo of the first of our new hen coops. We now have a total of 3 of these after HS decided to invest in 2 more. The run is 6' long and the birds come out to play for extra grass etc. We're just about to set down slabs for getting the coops off the ground to make them completely weasel-proof.

lingojingo

Happy Birthday Nyk :bdaycake: and Janey :bdaycake:

Hugs BB :grouphug:

cw18

Happy Birthday Janey




Chutney now bottled......

According to the recipe, one quantity makes 8lb - so a double should be 16lb. But I dropped 1lb of sugar between the two batches, so potentially 15lb? Have ended up with a shade under 10.5lb - so I must like mine thicker than it's supposed to be, which also seems to explain why I have to cook it for closer to 4-5hrs than the 1-1.5hrs stated on the recipe :rolleyes2

But I've still got a couple of jars left from last year, so as long as I don't get through more than 1lb/month I should have enough to last until next years batch gets made