5 OS Pleasures in your Day Today part 2

Broomstick

Hey, Sparrer, don't know if you'll get this before you go to bed but I'm so sorry to hear about your friend, but I'm glad he's in a good place and I'm really glad you got to speak to him. (((((Hugs))))) to you too.

Frith

5 for Saturday.

1) Getting our entries over to the village show in the nick of time! Bigger son got a 1st for his art work and a 3rd for his muffins. Smaller son got a 2nd for his muffins. :-)

2) Changing the beds and doing FOUR loads of washing and drying.

3) Going over to feed my sister's cat and findng him in fine fettle.

4) Sitting quietly during the evening watching old Billy Connolly documentaries and talking to my younger cat.

5) MrN popping in for 5 minutes after having a busy day. :-)

marmiterulesok

Ladyhawk,here are the recipes:

Marrow,Ginger and Apple Jam:

I adapted the quantities as I had 770g of marrow left.

770g marrow
430g cooking apples
90g crystalised ginger
1200g sugar or jam sugar
gelling agent-I buy it in sachets-don't know if available in UK

Peel marrow,discard seeds and cube.
Peel,core and cube apple.
Steam marrow and apple for 20-30 minutes.
Drain and mash marrow and apple,add finely chopped ginger.
Bring to the boil and add sugar.

I've just had some this morning,it's very nice,quite mild,but not bland.I decided to add apples,thinking that if I do this,it can't possilby not set.I'll have it on bread or with yoghurt-first time I've made this.

Slow-Cooked Spiced Apple Butter

This is from 'Slow Cooking for Vegetarians' by Annette Yates.

Makes approx.450g

1kg Bramley apples
100g golden caster/muscovado sugar
120mls apple juice
1/2tsp mixed spice
finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

Quarter the apples,core and then slice.
Put all the ingredients in the SC,stir and level.
Cover and cook on Low for 8-10 hours or overnight.
Stir and mash apples,then cook on High for 4-6 hours or until very thick.
Strain the apple mass to remove the skins and spoon into warm,sterilized jars.Leaving the skins on til the last minute will give more flavour.
Use within 4 weeks and keep in fridge.

She suggests using this as a spread.This is also the first time I've made it,and think it'd be nice with bread and butter,in yoghurt,maybe with cheese and bread.

It's now a lovely,thick,deep brown mass bubbling away,can't wait to try it!It smells heavenly.

I'm hoping that it'll be as yummy as Jersey Black Butter.Anyone else tried this?

Let me know how you get on.*hurries off the inspect the butter-again*....

savingforoz

Sparrer, sorry about your friend, thinking of you x

Recent pleasures for me:

1. Finally getting my butt in gear and clearing the front/back of the house of weeds (some fairly vicious thistles there!) and doing a minor paint job at the front of the house. It wasn't a pleasure, but knowing it's all done certainly is!

2. Sorting my Myanmar visa and generally moving things along on the "going off travelling" front.

3. NCIS and CSI on TV.

4. The smell of my bread baking - I never tire of it.

5. Making a big pot of golden lentil soup.

6. Using a Tesco voucher to get rice, fruit and vegetables for 25p.

That'll do for now - hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Sunday.

lola34

1. Washing blowing on the line
2. Harvested first crop of potatoes for dinner - delicious
3. Sun is shining
4. Watching butterflies in the garden
5. Its a NSD

PetuliaGristle

CCP so sorry to hear about your grandmother, thinking of you and your family at this sad time
Ladyhawk hope your cat feels better soon
Broomstick love the quote, can you post a link?
sparrer my sympathies, glad you have the opportunity to speak to your friend
Welcome all new posters

1) we've adopted two kittens from Bath Cats & Dogs home, they're so cute and dd is over the moon
2) cuddles from dd when she's not talking to kittens, watching kittens, playing with kittens... We are making sure she doesn't tire them out too much
3) getting some time exercising on the Wii
4) making a difficult decision about a situation at work. Also updated and posted my CV across several websites this week. Good to have an alternative option, though hoping it won't come to that
5) having roast chicken dinner tonight, we signed up for Riverford vege box delivery again after a couple of years so having yummy organic veg on the side!

savingforoz

GirlySquare wrote: »

1) we've adopted two kittens from Bath Cats & Dogs home, they're so cute and dd is over the moon

Link to piccies, please, Girlysquare! Not much cuter than kittens in this life! (you can probably guess that from my avatar).

marmiterulesok

Ladyhawk wrote: »

"Wee" certainly is the operative word!!! Poor mite!

Sorry,but the pun wasn't intended!

Sparrer-sorry to hear about your friend.

Girlysquare-how lovely to have adopted two kittens.Are they from the same litter?How old are they?I hope they are toilet trained and that you get some sleep tonight!

I just wanted to say that the apple butter is lovely.I had it on Low for 10 hours then on High for 4 hours with the lid off.I probably could have left it cooking a bit longer,but it was nice and thick.It's like a very thick,dark and spicy apple compote.

My 5 for today are:

1 Listening to some Mozart.

2 Baked today,a carrot cake in a loaf tin,and a chocolate and courgette cake,cut up like parkin.I didn't have enough courgette,so it's a courgette and carrot mix.It's light and has a melt-in-your- mouth yumminess!

3 The apple butter.

4 My wee cat was very lively today and she's had a lot of attention.

5 Gave myself a much needed manicure.

Have a nice evening.

Patchwork_Quilt

CORN BREAD RECIPE - can be made as muffins or in the pan.

Preheat oven to 180C. Put a dot of oil in each of 12 muffin tins or a blob of oil in a heavy pan suitable to go in the oven. Put in the oven to heat up.

Mix together

2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 cups of flour - works well with gluten free too
2 teasp vegetable stock powder
2 teasp baking powder
1 teasp baking soda
3 beaten eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 cup oil

Get the muffin tins/pan from the oven and tip to coat the sides with the hot oil. Pour the batter in and bake until brown. I used grated cheese on the top of the muffins and it came out nicely. Eat when hot with soup or chilli. Can reheat the next day in microwave to refresh.


Can't credit it, sorry, because I found it on the Internet ages ago.

Patchwork_Quilt

I like the idea of apple butter too. Thanks, Marmite.

1) Listening to DD singing in church this morning. They were short of singers this week so they asked if she'd step in at the front.
2) Lunch was some yellow-stickered ham and various bits from the fridge. Didn't have enough flapjack so I just cut it into smaller fingers. Nobody seemed very upset.
3) Expedition to see my brother and SIL. They are finishing the renovation of a student house in our home town and it's amazing. They have worked all their nights and weekends for a year but they will soon have the income from five students coming in for their efforts.
4) Fish and chips for tea. It doesn't seem very OS but it was a great pleasure not to have to make another meal. Clearing away was easy too!
5) Bought a couple of necklaces for my MILs birthday. She had asked for specific ones and I couldn't make up my mind which to buy her so I got both but then my Mum asked if I could think of anything MIL would like for her birthday ... So we're giving one each and Mum is paying half the bill.