Next steps; grip-relaxing bimbling, and avoiding the temptations

Suffolk_lass

A big day preserving food, and dealing with three visitors in the midst of it.

My flour reserves have been exhausted and I can see I am only going to get one, or at most two more loaves from it. The subscription order was placed on 4th August and there is no word - so I went in and ordered two 15kg sack which are currently due for delivery tomorrow. Then I tried to cancel the subscription one. It remains to be seen if that is possible. I may end up with three sacks. 😕 I haven't told Mr Sl. It's on a needs to know basis. 🤐

I cooked some of the apples with bitter pit or cork spot (not sure of the difference) - they have struggled to take up calcium from the soil as we have (still) had no rain of any consequence. They are no good for storing but I can gently stew them and store them in (hot sterilised) screw top jars, and they will keep for over a year (I know this as I stored too many last year, and they are still fine) - I use them instead of buying berries for winter fruity vitamins and additions to yoghurt, porridge and for crumbles or a quick pud with ice-cream or custard. And once cooked, they are free to store. I did them with Victoria plums and will do more with greengages today (Mr Sl is on peeling and cutting duties while I bake bread - he forgot to feed the sour dough starter so yesterday) I made regular focaccias with flaked of salt and Rosemary - yum! - 2 in the freezer too.

I chopped and froze bags of courgettes, and picked tomatoes, cucumbers, plums and beans and watered in the greenhouse. I didn't water outside because clearly the forecast was for thunderstorms. 🙄😪😠 well that went well and now I need to do that next while the sourdough finishes proving!

Oh and I removed the blackberries I picked at the weekend from the freezer with the intention of making something with them. It was going to be blackberry vinegar (copying @foxgloves) but it might be blackberry and apple in jars as they look better than the raspberries, which need liberating from a freezer drawer. I believe the original recipe is for raspberry vinegar. I also found (as you do) a bag of blackcurrants so they were defrosted, cooked and put through a jely bag. I have 600ml of juice with which to make hm cordial. That will be great with some fizz at Christmas for those not wanting much alcohol, instead of liqueur.

I also had £6 in the crate for deliveries and one of my Kellys ice cream boxes returned - they are the perfect size to freeze a 1lb loaf - and when I make courgette cakes I make two and freeze or gift one to the community garden. I have been gifting as they have been offering coffee and children's activities on Saturdays throughout August.

Right, enough burbling from me - back to the watering cans…

foxgloves

Well, finally the rain actually appeared here, @Suffolk_lass , after barely a drip (well about 11 drips to be precise) yesterday. I can safely say that only the greenhouse stuff will need watering today. It's gone to drizzle now but was pretty heavy consistent rain since just after breakfast - exactly what our gardens & poor old farmers need. Hope it's heading east, though think it may have swept past us on its way further north.

Yes, the orig recipe in the River Cottage preserving book is for raspberry vinegar but I just swap out the raspberries which I don't grow, for blackberries, which I do. My friend makes the raspberry version & it's very nice. I also like making focaccia topped with sea salt & rosemary, sometimes either garlic or red onion too. Turns a simple bowl of home made soup into a tasty meal for very little outlay or effort.

Suffolk_lass

I am most envious @foxgloves. We have bypassed the rain and just had an hour's drizzle. Not enough to stop me putting the laundry out. Half of it actually. My collapsible laundry basket collapsed after catching one end and tipped the (white, of course) duvet cover part out, onto the floor. Just enough to look as though I washed the floor with it. So after the pillow cases and dishcloth, tea towel and face cloth have finished, I shall have to rewash that again.

Not cross at all & absolutely no swearing here but hang on, my pants just spontaneously combusted!

I have successfully moved the frozen fruit between freezers and frozen some apple as Mr Sl attempted to cram it all in the pressure cooker of lemon water, and all the protruding fruit was going brown. Some used with the blackberries and four jars now ready for labelling, once cooled. More ready just to stew, and another pot of gages, halved and ready to go. Blackcurrany Cordial bottled too.

My focaccia today is with salt, garlic and cheese. I'll let you know. We are having some with hummus for lunch imminently.

Humdinger1

Pants spontaneously combusting?! I think in Spanish, that might be pantalones en fuego, for extra drama...all sounding good @Suffolk!

Suffolk_lass

Joined in my outer clothing by some nippy, gribbly things while trying to pick greengages from what turns out to be a sucker tree. And the remaining plums were on the ground after the rain we finally enjoyed yesterday.

Mr Sl is supposed to be going to the biggest collection of colonies today as I need to treat the two that need it. I have to open the same hives he was going to visit tomorrow to change the treatments for mites so he might want to skip it and make good my cold frames instead… off to ask

Suffolk_lass

Cold frames repaired; 2/3 needed some tweaking - one had a split piece of wood around a knot which he has pinned, the other had a caved in sheet of polypropylene where the cat from 3 doors down uses it as a springboard; now made flat and reinserted in the runners).

And it was me that ended up at the bees. Not the five big colonies, just the two small colonies that needed their 3rd of 3 treatments to reduce mites (varroa destructor - they feed on the bodies of the larvae in the capped cells, depleting their strength and making them vulnerable to disease). They are endemic here in the UK. We treat at the point where the honey is off and the temperature is below 30c - that meant waiting until two weeks ago. With all nectar having dried up I am also feeding our bees. Today I need to exchange the organic strips in the other five hives.

On Wednesday the Bee Inspector is going to inspect at my site where we had European Foulbrood and all the equipment and bees were disinfected or burned. I so hope my bees are OK now. They are such nice bees.

Back home we are having a simple supper and I hope to spend the day outside when I have been to the bees. I want to plant some autumn seeds - some to over-winter and plant out next spring (hence the cold frame) and some for a few simple late crops. I also want to move strawberry runners, and pay some attention to the dead stalks and seed heads out front - I am considering strawberries for the edge of the bed in front of the house. Anyway, some getting on with it is needed.

Have a good day all

Suffolk_lass

A little update from me after a few days of minimal activity following my op last Friday. I am still seeing evidence of interference, if I can put it that way. It took three days to feel normal after the GA and I continue to feel low on energy. Anyway, it is done and biopsy results at some point (not expecting anything nasty). My friend GPT has reassured me about the post-op evidence. I shall need to visit a SM or pharmacy today as the products I have are running low.

I also need to take some honey in to the hospital for my surgeon, who confirmed he likes it.

I did drive 50 miles each way yesterday to have lunch with some friends and it was a lovely catch-up but I needed to just relax when I got back. So much to do in the garden I feel rather frustrated, to be honest, that I still feel a bit washed out. Must not grumble though. Others in that group are failing in health terms. And, one of the more lively in the group is moving to a town about 30 minutes from me (so a couple of hours from where they are now) and we should be able to see them a bit more often!

Watty1

GA's always wipe one out more than one expects. At least they do me. Rest up, you will be back to full strength sooner than you think

Makingabobor2

I'm sure some fresh air & sunshine will help restore your energy

Suffolk_lass

So, bimbling along, I cleared the backlog of ripe tomatoes and courgettes, and added a few more winter squashes to the tray where they are curing. I might have to take a photo and post it. I also picked the second 1m long tromboncino. It's prepped and frozen now.

Chillies are producing properly now, just as the cucumbers and tomatoes are finishing. I have left a few tomatoes on the plants but removed 75% of the leaves so they are gradually ripening, but I am expecting to need to do more green tomato picking before we depart to Scotland next week until the end of the month.

Right, back to today, veg soup is simmering, and I need to make a ginger, lemon and honey cake, so that if it is any good, I can enter it in the national competition. Of course I shall tweak the recipe from the original. It needs to be mine!