Never look a Gift Horse in the Mouth

 Month 9 - Bite 4

We were out visiting and were offered some plums as they were going to be wasted. What an offer! The answer just had to be yes. So we drove home having picked about 8 pounds of ripe Victoria plums, all from one little tree.

One year we even got to go to the local community orchard apple day and returned with pockets stuffed with lots of different varieties along with some rather nice apple juice that we'd seen being pressed.

Fruit presents like these are always welcome and get preserved (as long as they're not eaten first) for later consumption.

We put our bounty to one side as there was another plan for the following day...

Month 9 - Bite 5

Hedgerow picking today then. The blackberries on one of the coastal lanes are plentiful and just begging to be picked. The lane is very lightly used by traffic, so pollution isn't a huge issue. We went in search of sloes too, but they weren't quite ready so that'll be another afternoon walk later on.

Some of the blackberries got frozen on a large baking sheet to keep them separate, before being packed into tubs for the freezer. I've got plans for the others!

Month 9 - Bite 6

A long hot day of jam making, but oh, won't it be worth it. First those plums, followed by the brambles.

Yes, the sugar had to be bought - I don't use quite as much sugar as the recipe states as the jam is more fruity and less sweet that way while still setting well. The gas for cooking needs to be paid for too, but the cost and taste are both in our favour when compared with shop bought!

Some pots are destined for gift giving (to the owners of the plum tree for example or for hamper presents at Christmas). The rest are sitting waiting in the cupboard.

Month 9 - Bite 7

Before I leave the subject of food for now, I'm setting myself one last task for today. I want to start trying some new recipes with less meat to make the money go further. So tonight, I'm going to have a go at a Moroccan lamb type casserole/bake. Most of it will be vegetables and fruit which I've got in the fridge (although I have bought some sweet potatoes specially) and I'm going to use a couple of small lamb steaks that are left from another meal to see if I can stretch them into a couple of full portions.

From now on this needs to be a regular occurrence with me trying something like this more often. I've got plenty of recipe books gathering dust as I think I've shown before, so they need to start earning their place on the bookshelves!