Friday, October 28, 2011

Apple and Tomato Chutney

Every recipe I found online seemed to require far more tomatoes than my little plant ever produced as well as far more apples than I had to use up. So I made one up instead.

250g (1/2lb) Tomatoes (all red, all green or a mixture of red and green, I used a mix of red and green cherry tomatoes)
350g (12oz) Apples
1 small/medium onion
60 (2oz) of mixed sultanas, raisins and apricots
100g (3.5oz) soft brown sugar
300ml (1/2 pint) white wine vinegar
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt
2 bay leaves

1. Chop tomatoes into halves if cherry or quarters if larger (leave skins on). Put into a medium sized heavy bottom pan.
2. Peel and chop apples and onions. Add to pan.


3. Add rest of the ingredients to a pan, starting with the dry ingredients and pouring the vinegar over last.


4. Heat over a low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved.
5. Bring the chutney to the boil, and then reduce to a simmer.

6. In a cold oven, line the shelves with newspaper. Lay 1-3 jam jars on their sides on the newspaper, along with their lids. Heat the oven to 180C. Leave the jam jars in the hot oven until the chutney is ready. (This sterilises the jars)
7. Simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally (increasing in frequency towards the end) to prevent the chutney burning to the bottom of the pan.
8. The chutney is cooked when fairly dry (a spoon dragged across the bottom of the pan leaves a trail where you can see the bottom of the pan, which then closes up slowly).
9. Using oven gloves, remove the jam jars from the oven, being careful not to touch the rims, the insides of the jars and the insides of the lids. (This helps maintain the sterility)
10. Pour or spoon the hot chutney into the hot jars (hot into hot to avoid the glass cracking). Put the lids on straight away.
11. Leave the jars to cool before labelling.


12. Leave the chutney in a cool, dark, dry place for 1 month to mature.

Monday, October 24, 2011

A Top Secret Mission (2)

Now that the Ballerina and the Maharaja are married, I can show you the top secret mission, which was... bunting!


Sewing the binding to the flags,


clouds of bunting,


one string of bunting,


one suspended flag,


all the strings of bunting!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

All Quiet

It's been rather quiet for a while. Partly because I've been working crazy hours. Partly because the Ballerina and Maharajas' wedding is nearly upon us and partly because I don't have anything finished to show you!

This last weekend I ended up the victim of an impromptu photoshoot. The Wildlife Photographer and I went for a wildlife walk, but there was no wildlife to be seen, so I became the object of the camera's lens whilst gathering wild grasses. I have no pictures from the shoot to show you, but here are the wild grasses I gathered. Much more beautiful, clothed by God.


(please excuse the blur, forgot to adjust shutter speed)

Saturday, October 01, 2011

A Top Secret Mission

This week has been mostly about completing a mission. It involves bias binding.


And pins. Lots of pins.


And it's for the Ballerina and the Maharaja. More than that cannot yet be revealed.