Put away your purse & become debt-averse

crazy_cat_lady

I think I need some of that gin in my life. :beer: I will be visiting your neck of the woods between now and Christmas so will find you and steal it :rotfl:

foxgloves

I don't know about 'clever', Toni's friend.....fruit gins & vodkas are so easy to do. It really is just a case of chucking it all in a big very airtight jar & shaking it every couple of days until the sugar dissolves, then leaving it till December before straining & bottling. I started years ago with sloe gin, as even when I was very spendy, I liked a bit of foraging. Now I tend to use what I've got. I did blackberry & pear vodka last year, which we enjoyed. Last year I had a huge pear crop so was putting them in everything. This year, we have more apples & I fancied some gin! As you're tarting it up with other ingredients, there's no need to buy premium or branded spirits, I just get whatever's cheapest.
F x

foxgloves

Lol, CCL! You should have a go at making some one year. Would be good for your home-made Christmas, though only if you have gin-loving friends or you might have to yum it all yourself & that would be terrible!
F x

crazy_cat_lady

I am a teacher - I have hundreds of gin loving friends :rotfl:
What is the sugar to alcohol ratio? It sounds sciency and I might have a go (and hope it will be better than my attempt at jam yesterday).

Honeysucklelou2

I've made blackberry gin before but never thought of apple and blackberry gin. Of course, the perfect combination!

foxgloves

Well now, CCL, as a totally non-sciencey person, I suppose I'd have to agree it is a little bit sciencey. I use 400g white granulated sugar, 350g blackberries & 2 peeled, cored & chopped apples to 1 litre of gin. It needs around 3 months (ish) so if you get a batch going now, you can be sampling it at Christmas. One of our friends bought mr f a set of those little bottles of coffee syrups & we saved them for refilling with fruit gins for gifts. Actual amounts vary a bit - prob due to moisture content of fruit? I don't know, but I usually manage to re-fill the original gin bottle plus 3 little ones.
Don't worry about naughty chilli jam. It can be tricky to set. I usually make apple, cider & chilli jelly.......it's maybe cheating a bit but the pectin from the apples helps with setting.
Anyway, slurp up m'duck!
F x

joeyjimbles

Another vote here for the lovely sounding apple and blackberry gin. And I have both apples and blackberries in the freezer...hmmm. But I have 2kg of Sloes picked just hours before the storms brought most of them down in the woods so would be a shame not to use them. Some are earmarked for a friend who was disappointed by finding them all on the ground after Ali had done it's worst. Lots of possibilities.

crazy_cat_lady

Thanks Foxgloves
One of my friends from work has started bringing apples from his garden into the staffroom for people to help themselves to so I might just... I have a massive jar. Sounds easy (ish) and my home made Christmas just starts looking better and better :T

foxgloves

You know you're a stressed money saver when.....
*You tell your cat off for asking for two breakfasts before realising you haven't fed him at all this morning.
*You decide to make bread rather than cycle down to the shop to buy a loaf because you have all the stuff in for baking. Then you wonder why it isn't rising & remember you didn't put any yeast in it! In my own defence, I do usually make sourdough loaves, so don't need to add commercial yeast. Anyway, was determined not to waste my dough, especially as I'd used the last of a nice seedy mix in it, so I mixed up the yeast in a half ramekin of warm water, sprinkled it on, then worked it in. That should work.
I'm usually so organised, but I can tell my stress levels are affecting my normal levels of efficiency & togetherness now.
Difficult family times come to us all, don't they? And we can't be Mrs Efficiency all the time. I am telling myself that old saying 'This too will pass' and am taking things a day at a time.
And now I'm going to make some cheese on toast for lunch......perhaps I'll even remember to put the cheese on!
F x

Chrystal

Can't say anything that will help with the stress so sending you ((((hugs)))) XX