So this is the new one. I was visiting a cat shelter for an unrelated issue about 3 weeks ago and met this chap, and adopted him today. He is called Jaz. He’s a Bengal. He only has 3 legs. This hasn’t stopped him running about like a loon since we got home!

The plan is for Spocky, Jaz and me to live in PB together – Jaz and Spock haven’t met yet – they’ll have to meet this weekend as it’s Ding’s Hen Do and Jazzy has to come home with me then, so that’ll be interesting!

For some reason I can’t quite mentally cope with which ones are blackberries (which in my head should be singular fruits) and blackcurrants (which in my head should be aggregate fruits). They are in fact the other way around. I was in Tesco’s today, carrying a bag of jam sugar that said “suitable for blackberries” and comparing with a bag of preserving sugar that said “suitable for blackcurrants” and ended up going to the veg aisle and finding a box of blackberries to confirm which one I wanted. I double checked this later on by also looking at a bottle of Ribena – blackcurrant, yet not aggregate. Learn, brain!

I went to my old house (where I incidentally have sort have moved back into, kinda) and picked 475g of blackberries from the overgrown jungle of a garden (figured brambles should be harvested before they are forcibly removed), and with the help of 475g of jam sugar, turned it into perfect blackberry jam! Bits and all. Heat up the berries to turn them into a pulp, then sieve them to crush the last few stubborn berries, and because I like bits then add the stuff that wouldn’t sieve back as well. Once heated and pulpy, add the same weight in jam jelly, and after about 5 minutes of a rolling boil you have jam! That’s it! (You know it’s finished because when you put a drop on a cold saucer it sets into jam). So much better than my chutney (which ended up very sweet and distinctly jam-like itself…)

Tomorrow or the day after I shall be making scones, and we can have homemade blackberry jam on homemade scones with distinctly not homemade clotted cream. Superb. And joyously the brambles are full of unripe fruit – so more to come! Plus as the bug has bitten I may have to go blackberrying.

Tutti Frutti!

Elderberries! 1.5kg gathered and currently freezing. To be turned into wine once I have wine making equipment. I missed making anything of the Elderflowers as I was away and missed them, so the berries aren’t going to escape. Probably should have harvested these a little sooner as many are shrivelling now.

Chutney! Made from damson plums that were too overripe to make jam with (books say damsons ripen in Sept/Oct, mine are rotting on the ground mid-August). So Chutney with onion and a carrot. Wrong type of sugar used (caster instead of brown), and I “followed” a recipe that intentionally had no quantities, so who knows what’s going to happen! It’s bubbling away downstairs as I type. Must harvest sooner for jam etc. as the pectin needed for jam is highest in underripe fruit.

Potatoes! Nothing huge, but they were starting to rot (grown in a an old Hessian shopping bag of mum’s) so had to stop now. They were grown from new potatoes that had sprouted in AW’s fridge so perhaps only right they be new potatoes themselves. Notice the “One Bite Wonders” that are the diameter of a 5p piece.

Chillies! All still green – as I like them hot I’m leaving them on til they turn red. I got a load of smaller chillies from cousin D yesterday which will be made into lazy chillies I think (chillies chopped in oil, ready for cooking with).

Standard tomatoes! Finally on the turn, there’s loads of these of various sizes so lots of tomato chutney to come no doubt!

Plum tomatoes! These have been producing a steady supply for a couple of weeks now – only four plants so not masses of them, but enough to enjoy them.

Cherry tomatoes! These have been on the go for some weeks now – we have a bowlful in the fridge. Happy little things – like translucent orange gems currently!

Cat producing bush! Almost ripe.