Ah, late Summer – I love it. The Boys are back at school, the days are still long and warm and the bounty of the hedgerows is at its peak.
This week’s Sunday Sevens is more about the kitchen than the studio and, if you want to join in or find out more, visit Nat’s blog at Threads & Bobbins but, basically, it’s about showing seven photos of your week that may not be worth a full blog post in their own right. Oh, and it keeps you blogging when you’ve got nothing to say!
1. The first basket of elderberries picked – I had to be quick taking this photo before the hens came over to help themselves!
2. No.3 Son helping to strain the cooked elderberries ready to make jam. Wearing a white onesie is NOT the best choice.
3. An early morning photo showing the freshly made hay bales in the field which is usually the cue to take the pool down and pack it away for next year, except it was so hot yesterday that The Boys were swimming in it still!
4. We did, however, deconstruct the outdoor gazebo area. The dogs promptly curled up on the quilts that came in for washing.
5. The sloes from last year’s sloe gin were kept in the fridge (alcohol is a great preserver) and Mr H-L made Sloe Port from them using red wine and brandy.
6. I have this wonderful book which was a gift received soon after we started keeping hens. It has a brilliant recipe for hollandaise sauce which I use often.
7. My appetite whetted by Camilla’s photo, I made Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and the aforementioned hollandaise sauce. Delicious!
8. Of course, I had to make some butter first…..!
9. Oops, this is photo number nine but I had to include it to show that I am still beavering away at Christmas presents – this is the fifth out of seven luxury scarves I am making.
The rest of the week will no doubt be spent preserving more hedgerow goodies whilst they’re there for the taking.
Is anybody else busy making jam/chutney/liqueurs with the September harvest?
September 13, 2015 at 12:25 pm
Oh yum MY! Those eggs look so good! I am busy with the bean harvest, apples and blackberries
September is one of my favourite months.
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September 13, 2015 at 1:48 pm
Mine too, and one of the busiest if you’re a keen forager like me!
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September 13, 2015 at 1:06 pm
That scarf is going to be stunning! Hoping to pick some blackberries today.
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September 13, 2015 at 1:50 pm
Thank you, as a collection the scarves look wonderful – I dont know how I’ll be able to give them away! Blackberries have got to be the best free harvest there is, I think. I try to fill my freezer with them so we can make jam and crumble all year round.
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September 13, 2015 at 2:28 pm
Wow what a busy week in the kitchen. I haven’t got a clue how to make jams!! If we pick blackberries can I shove them in the freezer just like that can you tell me?!
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September 13, 2015 at 2:46 pm
Yes, straight off the bush to use at a later date. I freeze as many as I can so we’ve got them all year round. You should try making jam – there’s nothing quite like the homemade kind:)
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September 13, 2015 at 3:19 pm
Thank you, that’s easy! I love my grandma’s homemade jam/jelly but she doesn’t make it anymore 😥
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September 13, 2015 at 3:33 pm
Once you start making your own, it becomes addictive:)
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September 13, 2015 at 2:47 pm
I have been harvesting cucumbers and making fermented bread and butter pickles. Here is my post about it. https://arlenedavidsully.wordpress.com/2015/08/20/what-to-do-with-all-these-cucumbers/
I really like that scarf. How do you work with such thin yarn? I can barely work with 3ply sport weight. Lol
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September 13, 2015 at 4:34 pm
Such a lovely scarf–I really need to get on your Christmas list! And lots of delicious things happening in your kitchen these days. I’ve been slacking and haven’t made any freezer jam this summer, but the local apples will be ready soon and I’ll stock up on apple butter for the winter.
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September 14, 2015 at 7:38 am
What’s apple butter? I’ve never heard of it but it sounds interesting. We’ve got a good crop of dessert apples on our tree this year and my mother is overladen with cookers so a new recipe would be good.
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September 14, 2015 at 5:18 pm
Apple butter is sort of an old-timey American thing that not too many people make any more, but it’s really good. It’s basically applesauce cooked down to make sort of an apple jam. The recipe I use is here: http://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/whiskey-raisin-apple-butter/. I like it best made with a combination of apples, so I usually use a mix of Granny Smith (sour baking apple) and a sweeter “eating” apple like Fuji or Gala. Give it a try–it’s delicious!
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September 14, 2015 at 5:27 pm
Thanks – I’m definitely going to give this a go, it sounds delicious! The recipe looks straightforward too, thanks for the link:)
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September 14, 2015 at 5:35 pm
Don’t forget these are American measures, though, so slightly different!
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September 13, 2015 at 5:43 pm
A lovely week! I was happy to get a mention – I could happily eat that dish a couple of times a week at least! So nice to see you making the most of the season – I picked blackberries today for a crumble. Your dogs look like little sweethearts ❤️❤️
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September 14, 2015 at 7:46 am
I’m picking wild damsons today for damson and port jam which is to die for! I’ve already made loads of blackberry and apple jam so any more blackberries will go in the freezer. Dogs always love to curl up on dirty laundry, don’t they? it must be very comforting, all those familiar smells. I’ve lost count of the pairs of knickers that have ended up in the dog’s box!
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September 13, 2015 at 5:46 pm
Beautiful scarf – what’s the patter? Love the look of that book too – hoping to have cleared enough of the garden to have hens next year and by then Lovely Husband should have caved in and agreed with the idea.
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September 14, 2015 at 7:55 am
I can’t remember where I got the pattern from but I’ll look it up as it”s a lovely design. It’s laceweight yarn on 4.5mm needles so knits up quickly and is perfect for Christmas presents, hence the reason I’m making seven in different colours! They only take one 25g skein each which and 38 Swarovski beads at a total cost of less than £4 per scarf too, which certainly helps at this time of year:)
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September 14, 2015 at 9:10 am
Thank you, that would be great 🙂
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September 13, 2015 at 6:06 pm
Lovely basket of berries! Have had to enjoy them from the grocer as I’ve no idea where (if?) they could be found near-by. Made strawberry jam a zillion years ago, but never got beyond that. How lovely to have hedgerows and be able to enjoy their bounty! (Although picking can be hot, prickly & stainy work!). 😉
Is that mohair in the scarf? Beautifully done! Am nowhere near a gift list, alas, as other things have advanced. But there’s a proj that can be done, even last minute, if needed… 😉
Enjoy your Autumn & thanks for keeping us posted!!!
Blowing this across the pond to you! 😘
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September 14, 2015 at 8:02 am
I hadn’t thought twice about our hedgerows and completely take them for granted. I suppose we’re quite unique in having them lining every road (apart from the cities) so foraging for berries is just a case of stepping outside the front door. The scarves are a mix of mohair for softness and silk for comfort – no itchiness around the neck, which is quite important for a scarf!
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September 13, 2015 at 9:18 pm
I used to make jams and pickles and preserve fruit and tomatoes and such like …… Long hot summer evenings over the kitchen stove then running to jump in the pool at midnight to cool off 🙂 Those days are long gone now, but your post reminded me of them. It seems like another life – it was another life! The scarf looks just beautiful – please take a shot of all of them together to inspire us all 🙂
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September 14, 2015 at 8:06 am
It certainly is a busy few weeks as everything ripens at the same time! My ‘larder’ is stocking up nicely though and I’m out to collect wild damsons this morning for more jam. The scarves look gorgeous all together and I’ll definitely photograph them in a pile for maximum effect – only 2 1/2 more to go!
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September 13, 2015 at 11:11 pm
Another mouth watering Sunday sevens! Really like the pool photo; I bet the summer evenings have been lovely in there 🙂 Got to confess though…I’ve never eaten an elderberry :-0
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September 14, 2015 at 8:12 am
Sadly, the pool hasn’t had much use this year due to the lack of any real Summer. I can’t believe you’ve never tasted an elderberry! The next batch will be used to make elder rob, a dessert sauce/cordial which you can also take neat as a tonic due to it’s amazing healing and anti-carcinogenic properties. What with the elderflower cordial I made in May, the Elderberry bush is the most useful one in the garden/wild:)
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September 13, 2015 at 11:54 pm
You seem to have such an abundance of berries nearby, it’s great to know that you make the most of them each year 😉 I’m sure Mr. H-L’s Port will be a perfect after Christmas dinner drink 🙂
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September 14, 2015 at 7:35 am
I certainly try to gather what I can in the next few weeks – it really makes a difference to our larder as it’s all stuff you can’t readily buy. It helps that I only have to venture into the surrounding fields or the garden and even the sloe gin tastes so much nicer than the commercial variety.
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September 14, 2015 at 6:39 pm
It must be so satisfying to have all that fruity goodness available and for free 😉
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September 14, 2015 at 8:55 am
Wow, you have been busy. No preserves here yet this year, I just haven’t been well enough to get out and about picking! Usually I take my scooter with Josh and get a load of blackberries but we are getting a bit late for that now! Hopefully some chutney might get made later in the year 🙂 x
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September 14, 2015 at 12:53 pm
Maybe Josh would go and pick the blackberries by himself if there’s a promise of a nice crumble or jam at the end of it? No.1 Son helped pick the sloes with the promise of some sloe gin at Christmas:)
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September 14, 2015 at 8:55 pm
I could try it, He did pick one batch but I wasn’t allowed to use them as he wanted to juice them all, we were rewarded with a very bitter cup of juice!! He comes home from school with a rather juicy mouth as he picks and eats on the way home. I’ll have to send him with an extra large lunchbox and ask him to fill it for me! 🙂
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September 14, 2015 at 10:30 am
Love this post of pics. I know I have said it before but #3 son has the sweetest smile. Wonderful genes with the making of all of the kiddos for sure. 🙂 I so love eggs with the yolks spot on as in your pic! How can you pass up eggs with toast… oh yummy!!
Lots of love to all the family. xxxx
Robin
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September 14, 2015 at 12:59 pm
Thanks Robin, he looks like an angel and is, most of the time, but has a fiery side to him and then – watch out! We get so many eggs that I have to get quite inventive in ways to use them and this is one of my favourites:)
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September 14, 2015 at 9:10 pm
Your #3 son sounds just like my #1 grand daughter. Oh my….
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September 14, 2015 at 11:07 am
You’ve been busy! All the pics are just great, but especially the one with the berries! Yum!!
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September 14, 2015 at 12:55 pm
Thanks, harvest time is just great – I love to see rows and rows of preserves stacked up on the shelves:)
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September 15, 2015 at 11:13 am
I don’t blame you!
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September 14, 2015 at 12:38 pm
I always have such great intentions but this year my spare time seems even more sparse then usually. I am determined to get out for blackberries. I’ve seen a great spot this weekend whilst out on my bike.
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September 14, 2015 at 12:57 pm
I have to admit that I set a time in my diary for making jam etc., otherwise it probably wouldn’t get prioritised, although everyone’s quick to moan if we run out!
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September 14, 2015 at 8:55 pm
Looks like it’s all hands to the deck in your house! I’m afraid we’re not so productive in my kitchen. It’s meals and the odd batch of buns. But of a shame really as I’ve seen loads of blackberries whilst out doing my walking/running.
I’ve never had eggs Benedict but I should try it as I love everything that goes into it. Soon……..😀
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September 15, 2015 at 10:17 pm
I just love your Sunday Sevens! Also, your post made me hungry between looking at the jam, eggs, and butter! ❤
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September 16, 2015 at 12:33 pm
Oops, sorry about that, but it was all about the food this week!
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September 17, 2015 at 7:08 am
Eggs Benedict is my favourites! Looks fab, lovely photos all round. You still seem to be enjoying a lot better weather than us up North! 🙂
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September 17, 2015 at 7:52 am
Well, the heavens emptied a month’s worth of rain over our house the last two days, but it’s blue skies all the way this morning. What a difference it makes to your mood to wake up to sunshine! Builders in today though, so that will soon change….
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