Black Isle tomato sauce

I have been enjoying local vegetable goodness, turning it into tomato sauce for the freezer.  Finding a veg box was one of the first things I did when we moved.  I'm not sure why I felt the need to do so within days of arriving, perhaps somehow it helped me feel a kind of belonging to the area. Our veg comes from Knockfarrel fortnightly, and I really couldn't be more pleased with it. We have a medium box, last week's shown below, and while it doesn't keep us going the whole fortnight it does meet a lot of our veg needs and it is a simple task to plan round what's in the box, especially since we get a message a few days ahead so that we know what is coming. It is very seasonal, with changes from week to week depending on what is at it's peak, and it really couldn't be more fresh.  There'll be a break from January to June, and I know that next spring I'll be desperate for it to start back up again.

A couple of weeks ago we finished our last jar of chutney and I had a wee grumble to mum, who was visiting, that I wouldn't be able to make any this year.......brand new gardens aren't very helpful on the chutney front.  But then it occurred to us both that Knockfarrel might have a glut of some of their veg, or some seconds that wouldn't make it into their boxes and restaurant deliveries......a quick email later and I had fixed up some extra glorious goodness.  That wonderful load of tomatoes, onions, garlic, beetroot and marjoram, in the photo below, came to just £10 - I couldn't help working out what the tomatoes alone (all 7kg of them) would have cost me at the supermarket, and lets just say it would have been an awful lot more.



I had a wee change of plan though, once the box arrived.  When I said to Jo, as he dropped off the veg, that I'd be popping into the Co-op with fingers crossed for some courgettes, and some apples too, to round out the chutney he commented he hadn't thought to mention I could have those too.  So I decided to hang fire on the chutney until the next delivery, when I'll be asking for tomatoes, onions, garlic and courgette (and meanwhile wishing I could get my hands on some of the apples that are simply pouring off the trees in local gardens, mostly completely ignored). And I made tomato sauce instead. 

 

You can probably imagine the endless amounts of tomato sauce we get through..........used in pasta, stews, pizza and soups to name just a few.  I'm sure I could make the same amount again many times over to keep us fully stocked for the winter, but I have frozen enough local goodness to keep us going for quite a while.  I  cobbled together a recipe after a wee look around online and think I came up with a good general-purpose sauce - I've shared it below just in case you manage to get your hands on a load of tomatoes, and also so I can remember what on earth I did next time round!  Let me know what you think if you do try it, or I'd love to know if you have a favourite recipe you'd be happy to share. 

 

And what do you put in your chutney?  Maybe there's something else I should be asking Jo to bring next Thursday?!



 

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Tomato Sauce (adjust according to the weight of tomatoes you have!)

Several large glugs of olive oil
7 onions chopped
1 head of garlic finely chopped
1 fat red chilli finely chopped
1 tbsp. each rosemary, thyme and marjoram, roughly shredded
7kg tomatoes chopped
2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. tomato puree
3 tbsp. basil roughly shredded

I think the correct procedure would be to peel and core the tomatoes, I'm afraid I don't bother!

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pan (I used my jam pan and it was only just big enough).  Add the onion and garlic and cook gently until onions are soft.  Add the rosemary, thyme and marjoram for a few more minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes and salt and gently heat until boiling.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for around 1 hour until tomatoes are soft and pulpy, stirring occasionally.
3. Puree with a stick blender - take care as it is very hot.
4. Stir in the sugar, vinegar, tomato puree and basil and simmer gently (still uncovered) until it reaches a thickness that suits.  I left mine for around 3 hours.
5.  Allow to cool a little before freezing.

I'd love to freeze in glass jars but unfortunately we struggle for freezer space so I use good quality freezer bags instead.

 

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Weekending

We have just had a wonderfully full weekend.  We spent Friday night camping near my parent's house. 'Wild' camping but with the luxury of being able to run into the house to brush teeth and so on.  This was my niece and nephew's first experience of camping.....little baby L took his mummy off to the house to sleep, maybe next year he'll be big enough to try the tent.  We had such a lovely afternoon and evening.  All the bigger children, and Katie intermittently, made a den - complete with a hole for the loo!  Leaves made a comfy floor and it was just the right size for anyone aged 10 or under.  We had a fire to toast marshmallows, and got through quite a few chocolate digestives in turning them into s'mores.

Boys and fire

We did have proper food too.....do you spot the natural gravitation shown by the photos?  Boys, playing with sticks and fire and bigger boys holding beers around the fire.  Girls sorting out food.  I'm sure I could probably try to say something profound but I don't think I will!

Girls helping Auntie Karen cook

Back home on Saturday we had a five year old and 3 year old staying overnight.  They are the children of close friends but we were a little nervous because of their age.  We needn't have been as everyone had a lot of fun and, eventually, all the small people went to sleep to let me and John relax a little.

Other friends had gifted us huge amounts of plums from their overflowing trees.  This year seems to have been such a good one for fruit, certainly around here.  We ate as many as we could manage but they were ripening fast so I made a batch of Spicy Plum Chutney and another of Plum Jam. 

The jam isn't quite so pretty as the Strawberry Jam I made earlier in the summer but I am quite fond of the slighty softer colour although I don't know how you would describe it.  Any ideas?

*I think I have finished tinkering with the blog for now.  Special thanks to Annie for her very gratefully received tips and help.  Amongst other things I had set it too wide for viewing on ipads and other smaller devices.  I think it now fits.......but if it doesn't please do tell me!

Summery makes - a sunny baby blanket and strawberry jam

I've just completed a commission for a lovely lady - she was given one of my baby blankets for her own wee boy and asked me to make one for a friend's new born.  Needless to say I was delighted - it is so good to know that something I made has been enjoyed enough to warrant commissioning another.
And here's the wee blanket I made  - for a wee girl gorgeously named 'Eve Tiger Mae'.  I particularly enjoyed making this one, the colours are so happy, sunny and summery.  Some of my recent makes have been quite muted, for me at least, so it was extra fun to work with such vibrant oranges, pinks and reds.

I've also been enjoying seeing the sun shine through my newly made jars of strawberry jam.  Isn't that a happy sight?  They have been, and still are, sitting on the dining room window sill waiting for me to clean up the sticky bits and label them.  I hadn't planned to make any this year as we still have some bramble jam from last autumn........but we made a visit to our local fruit farm last week, when Finn had a friend over, and they picked so many that I didn't have much choice!  I'm sure it will get eaten and I may just give a few away as presents over the winter.

Have you been enjoying any summery sights or colours recently?

Stockpiling, should I be worried?

I glanced around the kitchen earlier today, trying to work out where to put the newly cooked muffins to cool.   There wasn't a lot of room which isn't all that surprising given the kitchen's size, but the main culprit for lack of space was baking and washed-up baking bowls and so on.  And as I looked round I remembered the baking I have stored away in the freezer (a dozen or so banana muffins, two un-iced carrot cakes and an apple cake) - and again we don't have much freezer space.

So the question is, is this normal?  And, should I be worried?  Does anyone else stockpile baking?  Admittedly some of it is going to Islay's school tomorrow for a PTA fundraising event.  And I don't buy biscuits or cakes any more - we only eat home-made sweet things (with the odd exception but it is rare).

I can understand why my Grannie tended to hoard food.  She still had a cupboard full of my grandad's honey several years after he died and I seem to remember that mum found pickled eggs, probably dating from the 1940s, when she cleared Grannie's house.  But she did live through two world wars when access to food supplies was rather different to today.  But I'm really not sure why I'm doing it, is there some deep-seated meaning to it?

I think perhaps we should eat some of my freezer hoard before I have another baking session!

I tried a new recipe of a different kind today - for Cloud Dough.  I came a cross the idea a few weeks ago and thought Islay and my niece would enjoy it.  And they really did.  They both played with it for a good 45 minutes and my niece had to be 'persuaded' to stop when my brother came to pick her up.  Definitely a success.  I'll try it tomorrow with my nephew.  He's two and a half so it will be interesting to see what he makes of it (.....and I'll need to watch he doesn't try eating it).

Cloud Dough is a mixture of one part baby oil mixed with eight parts flour.  I thought it might be hard to mix but it came together really easily, in fact the girls did it with just a little supervision from me. The texture is a little like smooth sand, if you can imagine that.  I find it very tactile, it sticks together when squeezed but crumbles when touched.  It is somehow very soothing to work with.  I'm not sure how to store it and how long it will keep for.  Of course, I won't try the freezer since that is full of cakes but perhaps an airtight box in the fridge might work?

I did some sewing and it is give away time!

Crickey, we're still a bit hectic around here.  But, fingers crossed, everyone seems to be on the mend.  Including me, I can now speak without croaking and can blow my nose without my ears whistling (that was very disconcerting!) - I'm hoping that I won't cough so much tonight and that I'll be able to sleep properly, that would be really lovely.

But it is a beautiful sunny day and I'm feeling energetic for the first time in a few weeks so life is good!

I've made a few little gifts for friends over the last month or so.  Pot holders made with some of my favourite scraps.  I love eking out the last of special fabrics.  I tried a spiral quilting pattern and really liked it. I would love to try it on a proper quilt but I'm not sure I'm brave enough.

This little pencil case is for my mum's great niece (also known as my cousin's daughter!) for her Christmas - mum and I reckon she's quite a grown-up little girl so I tried to make it girly without being babyish.

Remember the green tomatoes?  They did get turned into chutney.  We've just opened the first jar (the recipe recommended waiting a couple of months, at least, before eating) and it is yummy.  I picked the remaining tomatoes towards the end of October and made another batch of chutney today.  I think some will be given as Christmas gifts.

I bought this wonderful glittery fabric to make a dress (Made by Rae's Washi dress - I'll post about it separately).  The fabric is Gilt Trip - Buds in Metallic by Dear Stella, and it came from The Village Haberdashery.  It isn't at all typical for me but there's something I just love about it - maybe the buds?  I'm rarely a glittery, and almost never a gold, sort of person.  But, hey, it is good to be a bit different for a change. I have some left over.  Most of it will be a Christmas twirly skirt for Islay, some went to make this pouch which is a gift and the rest................

...............made another zip pouch for my give away.  Yay, finally!

For the give away there is the zip pouch and a little lavender bag - stuffed full of lavender and made with Liberty on one side and linen on the other.  I wanted to add a couple of other goodies and so found some treats from local small businesses  - the most delicious raw chocolate by Ailey Mae (and bought at local deli Hilary's) and gorgeous cold pressed soap by The Edinburgh Natural Skincare Company (bought at Haddington Herbals).  Four local businesses supported!

And to win all you have to do is leave a comment and hope that Mr Random Number Generator likes your comment number.

The give away is a small way to say thank you to all the lovely people who visit my wee blog.  I love my bloggy friends and comments often make my day.  I love writing this little blog, and I get so much pleasure from reading other people's too - I know for sure that my sewing wouldn't have improved the way it has done over the last couple of years without the blog world, there's so much inspiration and help out there.

But, please, if you are a first-time visitor or long time lurker don't be shy about entering too - I'd love to hear from you, even if only this once. I'm a dreadful lurker on other blogs and I would be delighted if you fancied de-lurking!

I'll leave comments open until a week today (Wednesday 13 November) and I'll let you know the winner soon after.  Good luck!

This and that

Written 2 Saturdays ago::
It's a beautiful day here today.  The sun is shining and the air has a wonderful crispy autumn feel to it.  Later, one of my university friends is getting married in Edinburgh.  Wedding, Edinburgh , friends, sunshine.  A good combination, I think.

This last week has been quite a long one.  Baby Kitty Cat (poor girl has a lot of nicknames - Tiny Fat Sport, Seal Pup, Sausage, Squirt - Kitty Cat is my favourite, we've yet to learn what hers is!) has been poorly........bad cold, teething, upset tummy, I'm not sure where one started and the other ended but the combination hasn't been a happy one.

The nights are turning colder so I have harvested my tomatoes.  Not much sign of red is there?  They flowered and fruited very late.  I did hang them up in the kitchen for a few days but I think I really knew there was no chance of ripening.  There's a similar number outside which I'll bring in soon.  And I think I'll be making a few jars of green tomato chutney.

 I was quite proud of how tidy and pretty my kitchen looks in the above shot but thought I'd be honest and show a wider view!  Kid magazine, mail, kid camera, baby listener, lists, raspberries for supper, dishes, broccoli stalk for Freddie the rabbit......and so on.  The kitchen is small, this is most of one side - but it does have a very big window, which I love, forming one end to the right of the sink.  The other long side of the galley shape has a little more surface space plus the cooker - I try to keep that side clear as I hate clutter while I'm cooking.  It would be good to have more space but, hey, it is bright and it does the job.

Now::
Well the last 10 days or so have flown past!  I fully intended finishing that post before going to the wedding.  Completely unrealistic.  The wedding was lovely.  So much fun to see my friend and her new hubby looking so happy.  And Edinburgh was very beautiful.

I've been hoping to show a few pictures of the present we gave Katie for her birthday.  A one year old with three older siblings doesn't really need anything, but we wanted to get her something.  Not least because those same older siblings wanted to give her presents.

Her favourite book at the moment is Dear Zoo.  It is such a lovely book, great animals and very simple.  She makes a brilliant snake sound. Ssssssssss!

We decided to get the 8 animals from the book.  Elephant, giraffe, lion, camel, snake, monkey, frog and dog.  They came from Myriad Natural Toys and Crafts - some are Holtziger and some are Ostheimer.  I've used Myriad a few times over the years.  They stock the most wonderful selection of natural, often wooden, toys - I love pretty much everything they have.  Most of the toys are handmade and so are expensive compared to many others - but theirs offer so much more.  For a start they just feel so much better and they are the sorts of toys that will last and last and will be played with for years.  We often ask my bothers or John's family to club together to buy some of the bigger items.

At the moment I'm keeping Katie's basket out of reach so that they are special toys to play with while we're reading the book.  She loves to hold the relevant animal while we're on the page and then put it into the basket ready to find the next one.

I'm sure things will change over time and that we'll play with them differently as Katie develops.  But I think it will be many years before she out grows them.

And in other news::
I'm planning a give-away in the next week or two.  I don't want to predict exactly when as the chances are I wouldn't keep to it.  But do keep an eye out as I will definitely be holding one........the goodies are ready and waiting (but it isn't a basket of gorgeous wooden animals, sorry!).

And I did get the chutney made.  Yummy.  I have a similar number of tomatoes still outside but should really get them in this week and make another batch - again, there's little chance of them ripening.

Weekending

 Before, just, we start on the coming weekend I wanted to record* a little from our last weekend.  Sunday was a gorgeous warm day and we decided to make the most of it with a walk and picnic at Woodhall Dean.

The Dean is only a handful of miles inland but as we drove back home, heading down towards the coast, we could see a thick bank of haar along the coastal fringe.  It didn't extend far inland this time so we were clear at home too - but some days we can be contending with cold, cloudy and damp weather knowing fine well that if we were a little further inland we would be fine - and on others we can gleefully relax in the sun's rays with the haar not quite reaching us.  One of the downsides of east coast Scotland, I guess.

Anyhow we had another lovely walk.  Only meeting a few other people and enjoying the wonderful vibrant greenery and spring flowers.  The bluebells were still going strong.

A few trees were climbed.

Some sticks were lugged and thrown.  And there was time to paddle and mess around in the burn. 

We collected wild garlic and a variety of greens but mostly stinging nettle and dead nettle so that I could make 'Nettle Revenge'.  I have posted about this walk several times but in this one (gosh the children have changed in the 2 years since then!) I recorded Angus' tumble off the path into a huge bank of nettles (he is rather prone to falling off and into things - usually water, so nettles at least made a change!).  

I used the greens to make Salsa Verde (tasty but not hugely exciting - recipe found in Alys Fowler's The Thrift Forager)....which the kids all ate surprisingly well.  I think Angus especially enjoyed the opportunity to get his revenge on the nettles!

The wild garlic has been made into pesto and we'll be scoffing it with pasta at some stage over the weekend.

And, of course, we enjoyed some yummy picnic.  Katie tried to supplement hers with worm and bracken but luckily we intercepted both before they made it into her mouth.  She's now almost crawling and pretty proficient at backwards commando manoeuvres.....something tells me she is going to be trouble!

8 1/2 months

Here's to a fantastic holiday weekend.  I hope you have a lovely time - wherever you are and whatever you are doing.  xxx
* I took these photos with our video recorder.  I didn't fancy carrying it as well as our camera.  The quality isn't so good but it did make life easier.