I've been full of good intentions lately regarding the garden but just haven't made it out there yet. It is pretty grey, and cold and miserable out and I have a heap of things to be doing inside. We did get a batch of apple chutney made last week. Our neighbour across the road had some left over cooking apples from his orchard and brought them over. Although it's supposed to be stored in a cool, dark place for 3-4 months prior to opening, I couldn't wait that long (I'm like this with presents too!) Thought I'd share the recipe which I found it online as it's pretty yummy.
Ingredients
225g/8oz onions, chopped
900g/2lb apples, cored and chopped
110g/4oz sultanas, raisins or chopped dates
15g/½oz ground coriander
15g/½oz paprika
15g/½oz mixed spice
15g/½oz salt
340g/12oz granulated sugar
750ml/1¼ pints malt vinegar
Method
1. Put all the ingredients into a preserving pan. Slowly bring to the boil until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Simmer for 1½-2 hours, stirring from time to time to stop the chutney sticking to the pan.
3. When it is very thick and you can draw a wooden spoon across the base of the pan so that it leaves a channel behind it that does not immediately fill with liquid, the chutney is ready.
4. Turn into sterilised jars, seal and cool.
5. Store in a cool, dark cupboard for two to three months (ha ha) before eating.
Since moving here late 2006, we've been slowly renovating the house as cash flow permits. I'm a self confessed bargain hunter! When we came to the kitchen, I'd planned to pick up old second hand dressers but there was nothing out there. Last summer I was in a local shop and found a dresser and low unit made from recycled pallets. Green product but had to be shipped from Indonesia. One can only hope that the craftsmen get fair wages.
.jpg)
In September I designed these shelves (modelled on an existing shelf in the kitchen above the range) and hubby made them.
.jpg){kind=link}
Here they still needed the wood putty sanded off. They are great for housing my odds and ends tin collection that I pick up in a shop here which buys surplus/old stock from shops and sells on at a fraction of the price.
Drawing inspiration (copying lol) from my friend Jane's kitchen, hubby finally finished the sink area of the kitchen last week. The piers are made from reclaimed bricks which he built up. The unit we pulled out was at least 40 years old and the doors were falling off. The tap kept flying off too so we'd have a water feature in the kitchen!
End result. It is great having the extra space as I only have the table to work at. Last week my daughter and I found some red and white gingham fabric in town so tomorrow will sew some little curtains for beneath the bench, time permitting!
.jpg)
.jpg)
I lost all details of this blog but discovered it online when 'random blogging'. Had started up another but I think I should keep going with this one.
Will give a brief update on our failures and successes!
.jpg)
We did go away in August and September and the polytunnel did not fare well. In between trips, AJ and I salvaged his tomatoes and we made a batch of green tomato and apple chutney. By October, it was a jungle. Being 8 months pregnant, I wasn't really able to get out there and weed although the kids did do a bit. It will need a lot of work to get it back into shape for spring planting. 
The hens started to lay when fed 'layers mash' but stopped again and have done nothing since. I had hoped to free range them and only give them wheat but it doesn't seem to be working.
Regarding the preserving jars, I managed to figure it out and in September we picked the plums and preserved them in a light syrup.
AJ's corn before we left for holidays
My new years resolution is to be more active and disciplined so we will hopefully do better in 2008!
This is what happens when you send your 10 year old and his 15 month old brother out to play. It started off with a car track apparently and rapidly turned into a mud bath once they turned the sprinklers on for fun. Some folks pay good money to get plastered in mud!
This is one of AJ's 'marrow on steroids' as he calls them. Last night, he and his younger brother cleared some beds and presented me with some marrows and great onions. He'd tried growing onions outside in our last place but they didn't really do that well, so he was pretty chuffed with the result.
I've had a go at making marrow jam and am currently looking for other marrow recipes. Found one online which I think I'll try - marrow rings, deseeded and stuffed with a breadcrumb, mushroom, mince mixture. If you have any marrow recipes, please feel free to share. It's not a veg that I've used before.
This weekend we attempted to install a sprinkler system in the tunnel which was pretty disastrous. I'd seen one online but the company were pretty unhelpful so hubby decided to try and buy the equivalent in store (against his good wife's advice I might add.) 
The result was a timer that only comes on once in 24 hours - to give him his dues it did look the same as the online one which comes on four times a day - and sprinklers which don't really cover much of the garden at all.
Master EJ however was in his element and had a blast playing in the water. Next week I'm going to try and source some high pressure jets to try and connect to the main hose and see how that goes. We leave for a home exchange in Germany on the 20th but are going to England first for TG's review at a center for brain injured kids the week before the family arrive here. Will have to figure something out soon.
This is Elijah our youngest, with our four hens. At 16 months, he is fearless despite having had a few pecks and shoos them with his hands which is pretty funny. Have to be careful though as he tries to catch them by the tail feathers.
They are great therapy for TG, his big sister who sits and watches all the antics from her chair. T (or Gracie) our super duper kid, has Down's syndrome and a cardiac condition but sustained a severe brain injury at 3mths while in hospital which resulted in cerebral palsy.
I have another family blog at blogspot which I've had to make invitation only. If anyone wants to stop by, please leave details and I'll get in touch. If I get the time, I hope to start one at homeschool blogger to keep a record of our education journey.
I recently purchased a load of preserving jars being really ignorant about the whole process. I've seen 'canners' on American websites but despite buying the jars here in the UK, cannot find the equivalent.
Is it possible (I'll excuse you all for laughing if this is a daft idea) to use a regular stainless steel pot and place the jars on some sort of trivet?
Welcoming any tips and suggestions. D
June 2007
While not exactly home steaders, we are a family who are trying to get back to basics and have started off by experimenting with veg and some hens. Ideally we'd love more outdoor space - an eco house is our dream and to be totally self sufficient, but in the next couple of years, we aim to work the half acre we have to the max.
We only moved to this place last October and have been kept busy with the inside. In order to get the outside space required, we had to look for a house needing major work. Baby number six is also on the way plus all the kids are educated at home, so I guess I shouldn't beat myself up too much for not having the garden as I'd envisaged at this point.
We purchased a polytunnel in February and AJ our eldest son who is passionate about gardening, has several raised beds built with various crops on the go. It really does extend the growing season - we had spinach and lettuce in April (unheard of in Ireland) and harvested our first crop of peas, potatos, cabbages, beetroot , courgettes and carrots this month. All the kids are pretty involved which is great.
Last Monday we made some marrow jam and elderflower champagne and hope to preserve some plums from the trees in the garden this autumn - something I haven't undertaken before.
Elderflower Champagne
8 litres (2 gallons) water
1.25 kg (2.5 lb/5 cups) sugar
8 large elderflower heads
4 lemons
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Method:
Boil the water and pour in the sugar to dissolve it. Cool and add the elderflower, juice of two lemons and slices of the other two and the vinegar. Cover with cloth and leave for a day. Strain with fine sieve or muslin cloth, squeezing the flowers as you do so to release some more of the flavour. Store in screw top bottles. Ready in around 10 days but should be drunk within one month.