Curing olives

A month or so ago a friend was telling me about her daughter olive trees and that they are laden with little black olives, but when they tried them they were disgusting. I told her that the had to be brined or cured before you could eat them, but didn't really know much more than that. While researching recipes for my CDWM a few weeks ago, I came across a recipe for brined olives and I mentioned it to her.

Today she presented me with a bag of tiny black olives, so of course I had to give it a go. It's mainly about soaking them in water for a while, then a brine solution for a while. However the recipes all said you needed to slit the olives to allow the brine and water to penetrate them and remove the oleuropein which is the bitter tasting compound in fresh olives.

What I didn't realise is that the process would stain my hands a lovely blacky purple colour, not an attractive look!😒

Rhubarb Schnapps

A while ago I said I wanted to have a go at a rhubarb vodka/ schnapps type recipe, having looked on the internet there are numerous versions, including all sorts of spices and seasonings. I've decided to go with a basic recipe, which is in Nigella Lawson's Domestic Goddess book under the title Rhubarb Schnapps.

 basic recipe is :

1 kg rhubarb, washed, dried and chopped

300g caster sugar- didn't bother using caster, just used granulated

1 ltr vodka

Put everything in clean jars, it says sterilised, but I've not bothered, they are perfectly clean, and the vodka can do the rest, seal, then keep somewhere cool and dark, shaking the jar whenever you remember, ideally every day for the first month or so...hmm, not going to remember that every day.

Anytime between 6 weeks and 6 months, strain and bottle up.

My recipe hasn't quite filled the jars, and I think I'll add a bit more rhubarb when it's grown a bit more, I've been using quite a lot of it lately, either that or I'll get a bit more vodka and top it up.

Nigella  stuff looks lovely and pink and I wonder if she used the early forced rhubarb rather than the rather large chunky stems I used, so may need to add a bit more sugar too. Anyway..here goes.

                  

And this is it on on day 3, love the colour

 A quick note to myself..and I. Suppose to anyone reading this. The vodka/schnapps finally got filtered and it's gorgeous. Definitely need to make more of this next year, beautiful rounded flavour, I had read somewhere about only leave it sitting steeping for a few weeks, otherwise it will go bitter, well that's definitely not the case, wonderful stuff, just stewing up the pickled rhubarb now and will see how that tastes, either for pie fillings or a jam, undecided yet.

Cottage annual seeds planted

Just a note to myself that I finally got round to scattering - planting is not quite the right word for chucking around a few handfuls of mixed seeds.

Heavy rain is forecast overnight, so I'm hoping they get a good soaking in.

Exhausted

Wow, what a day that was, I was up at 6 and filling macarons, whipping cream for the gateau and reheating scones before away for 8.30 to pick up pal and get away to the fair. Now 6am may not be early for many, but it is for me, I'm much more a night owl than an early bird, or so I thought, and have always said if asked.

However, I did enjoy being up early and on the rare occasions that I do rise early, always enjoy the feeling, however, at the other end of the day, I can never go to bed early, as it seems such a waste of the day when there are things I can still be doing.

I wish I were one of these people who could survive on 3 hours sleep a night, but I always need at least 6, relatively consistently anyway. Anyway I've run out of steam today and am having to get an early-ish night for me.

Got gardening jobs booked for tomorrow but there is heavy rain forecast, so won't be too disappointed if it arrives.

Cake stall

So tomorrow a friend and I are running a cake stall at a local village gala day. This morning I've made a couple of chocolate cakes plus I have chocolate fudge brownies in the oven now and am melting chocolate to make rice crispy cakes, can I be bothered to make flapjacks too? Not sure yet, when I got up the rain was really coming down, which was sorely needed in the garden, but it's now brightening up and so I want to be outside rather than stuck in the kitchen.

I've got the fillings to make for the cakes plus the fillings for the macarons that I made earlier and also some scones and meringues that I've got. That's at least another hours work, so I think I'll call it a day at that point and get few hours out in the garden this afternoon.

Update 11.15pm, ran out of time and energy around 8pm, still got macarons to fill and cream to whip for meringues, but have just set alarm for 7am and will get up to do it then. 

Had a visit from step son and grandkids this afternoon which delayed me, but was lovely to see them, they had lots of fun emptying out and refilling a old water feature that we have, they went home soaking wet but happy.

Excellent viewing for Tour de Yorkshire

Am at a craft fair today in the centre of York, it's either going to be absolutely dead, or packed out due to the closure of the city centre due to the bike races. However one of the unexpected pluses of my position on the first floor, is the view I have out of the window. This was the ladies race this morning. The main race will be coming through around 2.30 this afternoon. 

However, on the down side, I've had to carry all my boxes of preserves up two flights of stairs. 

Reboil needed

Had a busy day today, so no time for a blog this morning, got a craft fair tomorrow so on top of everything else, I needed to pack the car and deliver my stuff to the venue. It's in York town centre and all roads are closed tomorrow from 8-5 due to the Tour de Yorkshire, while sorting out my jams and chutneys I noticed a couple of the shredless marmalade  are still not set, so might have to re oil again on Sunday. I think I will also give the amaretto apple another boil up, I think it's just a bit too runny
We're having supermarket curry for tea tonight, too tired to make anything, but I've just been eating samosas and bhaji with my home made mango and pineapple chutney, was very impressed with it.
Feet up tonight I think, I'm tired, my back aches, my knees ache and I've got a very early ( for me) start in the morning.