Paul completed day 4 of his 9 day epic journey across Britain today. Half way through tomorrow he is half way to the finish - and half way to being home!
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Hello again Mr Map! |
HOME
We have settled into a little rhythm and I am finding my comfort zone - helped by Bebe really enjoying the time she is spending at school. As with everything in life, this week hasn't been as hard on my own as I thought it would be. I have amazing friends and I have so much support - so much so that I have been able to run and swim, and in terms of nourishment, I am being looked after in all senses of the word!
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Here I am, sweaty running Sarah, looking forward to getting back and chowing down on.. Still in awe of my ability to just go out for a run.. When does it become the norm? |
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Peanut Rocky Road chocolate amazingness + Gingerbread skulls = heaven. Thank you Vikki x |
MINCEMEAT
This evening I hosted the first of what I hope will become an annual event, a 'Mincemeat Bash', basically all my friends came round, we chatted and made mincemeat. Simples. I really enjoyed myself - I hope they did too!
The trees have not really fruited this year - normally I struggle to use the whole crop, but this year I have only really got enough for the mincemeat - sad times! |
I pull the apples off with the claw, the children collect them in |
Peeling, coring and de-bruising 4kgs of apples is time consuming - perfect for a bit of a gossip! (Lets note the festive table cloth and my bike, Amy, joining in in the back ground!) |
We simmered our cider to dissolve the brown sugar in two pans |
Added all the other ingredients and simmered for half an hour - the house smelt AMAZING! |
We then poured both pans into one large bowl to make sure all the quantities were equally mixed and added rum |
Before jarring it all up - the best bit of all? By sharing out the cost, and getting the apples from the garden, it cost £3 each - HUGE BARGAIN! |
I make this mincemeat every year and its fool proof - tastes better the longer you leave it!
Hettie Potter’s suet-free Mincemeat
Makes about 2kg (doubled this evening)
250g soft dark sugar
250ml medium dry cider
1 kg cooking apples, peeled, halved and quartered
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
250g currants
250g raisins
75g glace cherries, roughly chopped
75g blanched almonds, finely chopped
rind and juice of 1/2 lemon
6 tbsp brandy or rum
In large saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the cider over a gentle heat. Add the roughly chopped apples to the saucepan. Add all the ingredients, apart from brandy/rum and simmer for around 30 min until everything has a pulpy consistency. Take off the heat and when it has cooled slightly stir in brandy/rum.
I always quadruple the spice and cinnamon quantities, and double the lemon, but half the rum. Yummers!
GREENBEANS
And lastly, all the green beans were harvested yesterday. I trimmed, topped, tailed, chopped and blanched them and now have 12 portions in the freezer! Ticked all my homemaker boxes!
Wow! You got so much done! I love that you used apples from your garden. Sounds like fun :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks so good - I can almost taste the mince pies!! What a great idea :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Plumpetals, I love that you join in - I will be over to do the same!
ReplyDeleteHolls! Welcome home! I love that my inbox has just filled up with all your comments as you catch up on my little old blog x x
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah. Loving the blog! I wanted to, no wait.... HAD to comment on your blog as you mentioned the delicious word taht is "chai". Nothing better than a chai tea or a chai latte!!! Mmmmmnnnn! Lunch looks pretty tasty too :) Keep on blogging!
ReplyDeleteHi Vikki, thanks for getting involved - Peeps, Vikki is in the mincemeat pic above, feeding her daughter Olivia. Vikki is also the supplier of the rocky road and the gingerbread skulls x x
ReplyDelete