Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

janb5

To the lovely person who posted the recipe for Raspberry and white chocolate gluten free tray bake- could they confirm whether it was 2 tablespoons of GF baking powder or 2 tsp. Thank you!

Bluegreen143

Hi all, hope you've had a lovely weekend.

Just nipping on with a question for all the fabulously green fingered ladies we have on here.

There's a bush in my new garden with LOTS of small very dark purple berries. I'm just wondering if they're blackcurrants? The bush and berries are quite fragrant, I tasted a berry but it just tasted very tart and I can't say I've ever encountered a blackcurrant in it's natural state before.

Here's some pics:

meanmarie

Bluegreen......they are blackcurrants, pick them and enjoy.....the birds had mine this year so I am jealous!

Marie

Lowslung

It looks like a jostaberry, which is a cross between a gooseberry and a blackcurrant.
I bought some bushes a couple of years ago thinking they were blackcurrants but when they fruited I realised they were something else. You can treat them in the same way as a blackcurrant - a lot of people prefer them. Very heavy croppers after a year or so - I have had a few berries this year
If you crush a leaf, a jostaberry leaf just smells of leaf, a blackcurrant leaf smells of cats pee! Also I have noticed a lot of the jostaberry leaves are very shiny. Whatever you have got, it's a good find in a new garden

GreyQueen

Deffo blackcurrants. They're naturally tart, not sweet. What I do with mine, after picking and rinsing, is open-freeze them on trays, then bag 'em up to eat throughout the year. Just straight from the freezer and frozen. They're like a frozen dessert option but full of goodness. Great for a pick-you-up in the cold winter months.

Have been playing on my allotment where I have dug through the ground where the October-sown broad beans were until last Thursday. Forked it thru to loosen the soil and remove various nasties, principally horsetail, bindweed and nails.

My allotment gives me a superb crop of rusty nails throughout the year, it's one thing which never fails..........:rotfl:Have planted the 6 small lavender bushes from Liddly and will be transplanting leeks any day now, they've had to kick their roots in their seedling bed waiting for the space to come free. Plus took two Ikeya blue bagfuls of carp to the tip via the pushbike. Five-ish on a Sunday is clearly the time to go to the tip, it was deserted apart from the staff and there's normally a humungous queue there at weekends.

Of course, being as I am of the cycling persuasion, traffic queues are something which other people sit it, whereas I sail past.

Righty, quick shower then I shall make do with a fridge supper and then kick back for the evening.

Bluegreen143

Thanks everyone! Oh I'm glad, I love blackcurrant jam/jelly so I think thats what I'll do with them. Although I'm tempted to make cordial too. So many blackcurranty options

Just noticed its Silvasava's wedding anniversary, hope you have a lovely day xx

[Deleted User]

When I was small we had some redcurrants in the garden and I loved it when my Dad made redcurrant jelly.Nothing tastes quite the same as Hovis with butter and a bit of hm redcurrant jelly My late Dad always made the Jam in our house .He was a chemist by trade and for some reason seemed to think it was his job:):):) My Mum didn't mind as she was quite happy to let him as it always turned out delicious. He made bramble jelly as well and a delicious apple jam from the 'fallers' at the bottom of our garden He also made his own rose hip syrup which we had spoonfuls of in the winter time.

We had a large black round cast iron 'girdle' with a hooped handle over the top, and on a Saturday night he would make soda scones on the top of the stove.The 'girdle ' had belonged to my Granny and her Mum before her and had seem years of use as my Granny had 13 children and her Mum, 9 My late Dad was born in 1890 so goodness knows how old this big black thing was I know it was very heavy and as children we wern't allowed to touch it.

Lord know what happened to it.I have a smaller one which I bought years ago in Scotland and its at the back of one of my cupboards. My soda scones never ever tasted like my Dads though. Very rarely see redcurrant jelly apart from at Christmas sometimes in 'posh shops'

vulpix

silva,what a hero,don't think I would be as up beat about a soaking!

I am bushed,haha literally.Front garden is bush free and their roots free too.Spent 2 hours bagging up gravel,till I had no bags left.You can't tell I moved any.Large rocks also removed.Have offered gravel on freeeeeeeecycle now,hope someone can use it.Once it is all gone it needs digging over and some muck adding and some compost for good measure.I am still bringing a few plants back every time I go to my Mum's.I wish I could work a bit faster,though I have met some nice people who were walking past today.Been invited to womens fellowship for a talk,so might give it a whirl.I want to get the front garden done and the sittingroom painted before my op.

i have been given some wardrobes,modern but have been expensive ones.I will give them a good wash and possibly put some mdf on the fronts and paint them for dd2 room.Sons gf gave me a lovely oak corner cupboard yesterday.I was also given a large collection of handbags.I will offer them to the grandmothers as they are good quality but not really me.I do like to share my good fortune.

Had all the family round yesterday,a lot of cooking but worth it.

I am on the lookout for a fridge freezer.My beautiful blue smeg fridge has not enjoyed the move and is trying to freeze its contents.Been 3 weeks now and it isnt improving.

Night all Vx

RicardaRacoon

Evening everyone

Did some more minimalising today, a pair of shoes (remembered why I didn't wore them for ages; they're a pain to wear and I got two blisters from wearing them for a 10 minute walk to the station...) and a tunic that makes me look pregnant went on the donating pile. Plus the curtains the lady who lived in my flat before "forgot" to take with her... Never hung them but still kept them in case I wanted to hang them... Well, didn't looked at them for two years, so they were sent flying...

Also "decluttered" my memory-box yesterday and binned all letters/cards which I got from my former best friend - who decided that she has a better best friend now and don't need me anymore... This all sounds very premature, though she is in her late 20ies... So that makes it hurt even more.
So binning all memories was not only decluttering things but also kind of mental decluttering... I got both sad and angry when looking through the letters and almost rang her to tell her what I think of her but then thought, no, wouldn't make things any better... So I watched some episodes of Muffin the Mule instead as I knew that this will cheer me up...

GQ, it is strange that when you find the right moment you're the only one in shops/at the tip/post office wherever while ten minutes later it is supercrowded. I used to go shopping at three on a Friday and the shop was always crowded. Now I work longer, so it is shopping at five. Shop is empty... I think the 9-5 crowd isn't yet in there while the pensioners and the people who don't work so long on a Friday are already gone again. Much nicer to do my groceries round now.

So, need to get lunch ready for tomorrow and finish a potato salad which will be tomorrows dinner with smoked trout. LO will be lunch on Tue with an egg or two.

Have a nice evening everyone

RicardaRacoon

Jackie, jam making and baking is also my fathers job. I don't think my mother ever made jam, though she does bake sometimes. My father loves the actual baking part where he can sit in front of the oven and have a watchful eye on everything. I burnt cookies lately and told him and he asked me where I was when they were in the oven. I said I'd tidied up the kitchen. He told me that I should have watched them for the whole 15 minute baking time....