Homemade Tomato Chutney

 

 

Its that time of year again! Holidays are over, children back to school. All thoughts are now on,

dare I say CHRISTMAS.

 

 

So I thought I would share with you my Homemade Tomato Chutney. I make this every year for use at home and some for extra treats for family and friends.

 

 

 

If  you would like to make your own here is the recipe.

 

 

2 -1/2 lbs of tomatoes

 

2-1/2 lbs of cooking apples

 

2 lbs of onions

 

1 lb of raisins

 

1 lb 6 oz of sugar

 

2 level dessert spoons of ginger

 

half a tea spoon of cayenne pepper

 

3 pints of already spiced vinegar ( can use plain dark vinegar and add mixed spice)

 

suitable glass jars with metal screw type lids

 

 

 







 

 

Wash your tomatoes and cut into quarters. Peel and cut into small pieces your cooking apples and onions. Put them all into a large pan with the raisins. Then add the cayenne, ginger and sugar.

Last but not least pour in your vinegar and give a good stir.

Bring the mixture to boil, then simmer for approx 3 hours, occasionally stirring.

 

 

 

 

It is ready when most of the vinegar has been adsorbed . Next you wash your jars and put them in the oven for a couple of minutes to sterilise them. Put the lids into a bowl of boiling water then drain.

Take your jars out (be very careful they will be red hot). Fill with your chutney. I use a large ladle and metal jam sprout, it makes filling the jars less messy. Fill to the top and screw lids tightly down..

Put to one side to cool down.

 

 

 

Now you have delicious Chutney for yourself and a few extras for perhaps Christmas gifts.

 

                                                                 ENJOY1

 

















My Lucky Find Of The Day - Avery Scales.

    

                                            Look what I found at a Boot Fair!

 

A beautiful Vintage Avery Scales. A could not believe it. There they were on the grass, surrounded by

odds and bobs.

 

 

I had to jump in quick because I wasn"t the only one interested. With a bit of  haggling I got them for

£40. A bargain I think....

 

 

 

They weigh in the old lbs and ounces, up to 2lbs. I prefer this as I"m old school. Never quite got the hang of kilos. They are very large and very heavy. I had trouble carrying them back to the car.

 

 

 

 

As you can see they are taking pride of place in  my kitchen. They fit in perfectly. I have already used

them for baking cakes. Here to many more happy days of baking!

















Day Out at a Country Fair.

It was a lovely sunny weekend for visiting this well attended country fair. It is only on for one day and is a medium local show.This year it had been postponed until 8th September because of the bad weather. It is held each year at Merrymeet in Liskeard Cornwall.

 

You have the usual tents with all the entries for best cake, craft etc .I enjoyed browsing.
 Just look at these cakes, makes me want to go home and bake....

The children's entries are always so colourful. This year a lot of the entries focused on the Olympics.

Do you remember paper mache? Lots of hard work to make their cups. I could not pick a favourite.

The above  horses were very sweet. They had batteries in the middle so I assume they moved. What a good idea!





The adult entries were a very high standard. Look at those corgis,and beautiful flowers.

Yet more corgis but this time with the queen. All the little details made this. Is her necklace made up of diamonds? Her crown made of gold?

More  Olympic themed entries.The character's were knitted. The rings were made up from flowers. The medals looked like they were sweets. Made by a very artistic person.

Outside you have a main ring where there are lots of displays all day long. Above are the heavy horses
getting ready to enter the ring for their display. There were also a lovely row of vintage tractors all cleaned and polished for the day.

This year  donkey rides were going around the showground. They looked very gentle.

                                             The fair is always popular for all ages!

The craft tents are always busy. You can buy almost anything. Lots of hearts, teddies, flowers , candles you name it its here. Great for present shopping, and getting ideas for your next craft project!

In the food tent they had at one end , cookery demonstrations going  on. This year it was all done in an Aga. Not easy  I know as I have one.

There is always a large variety of local food to buy and try. I brought some fantastic homemade fudge
from the Gingham Chicken. It was so delicious I could not stop eating it......Fudge is a favourite of mine.

Above is one of the fun acts entertaining the crowds in the main show ring. There is also horse events and of course a dog show. You will also find poultry and other livestock. My favourite is the pets corner. Where you can get up close...

Hope you have enjoyed looking at my day out in Sunny Cornwall. Looking forward to next years show.

Charming Florals

 

 

I love floral of all shapes and sizes.  So I thought I would share some with you.

Above is a enamel jug, which I picked up from France. It is a bit battered and chipped.
But this adds to its charm. The flowers are all from my garden.

 

 

This plate is very pretty with its pink and blue flowers with a gold background. I was lucky to pick this up from a car boot.

 

 

My Laura Ashley teddy 2007. I had to include him because he is so cute and cuddly.
He has floral pads on his feet. and takes pride of place on my bedroom shelf.

 

 

My makeup bag is even floral. I was lucky to be given this as a gift at Christmas.

 

 

Two jewellery boxes. One is metal with a glass top with a rose. The other is a padded floral material box. They both have lovely pink roses on.

 

This is a plain canvas covered with left over fabric from my curtains.

 

 

My pots are still blooming, thus adding colour to the corners of my garden.

 

 

 

Today I planted our sunflower plants. We grew them in pots from seeds. Hopefully if the sun keeps shining we will have a lovely display by the veg plot.

 



 

I picked this up from a charity shop.The flowers are a lovely muted colour.

 

 

 

I love bunting. It always looks so special. I have two rows of bunting up in my kitchen. This is one of them. I brought this one from e-bay. 

 

I hope you have enjoyed sharing some of my floral treasures.