Halloween

 Photo courtesy of Sarah and her friends...

They couldn't find any pumpkins so used sweet peppers and butternut squash instead.

Yet More Pickling

The pickled onions are done... 

 ...and I've done another batch of Mixed Pickles...

 ...but  I still had plenty more chillis to do something with. Time to make this year's Razorback Sweet Chilli Sauce batch.

This year I reduced it a bit more and didn't blend it so it is a bit thicker and hotter than last year's.

I reduced this by about 1/2 to get 6 and a bit jars of the sauce.

It is a favourite of several members of the family. That's more Christmas presents sorted!

COVID-19 Nearby

Got no visits to or from friends and family in the area, so we should be all right. 😀

Solar Power?

 

A little while back I signed up to Suffolk County Council's Solar Together initiative, a group-buying scheme for the installation of solar power panels. The reverse auction has taken place and I've now had my personal recommendation.

So what was the recommendation?

The cost includes the battery storage option - it would only be £3994 without, but the savings would be less.

Hmm. Should I take up the offer? I have until 11th December to decide. The payback period seems rather long, but then maybe it increases the value of the house.

First I need to check the planning permission situation as the would go on the roof at the front of the house.

More anon.

The Thursday Murder Club

Yes, I know it's only Wednesday, but... Dawn got a book for her birthday from her sister-in-law Natalie...

She started reading it and was enjoying it, so I decided to read it too. I had a lie-in until 8:30 this morning reading the last 1/4 of it. Highly recommended. Read about it here. I look forward to the sequel.

Pickling Update

 I thought it about time to taste the Pickled Onions....

The verdict from Dawn. "The best pickled onions I've ever tasted". Well that's good. I bought another 3lb of pickling onions from the market on Saturday and was hoping to do some more if these had turned out OK.

So now there is a new batch on the go with its initial brining. Peel them tomorrow and pickle them on Friday, is the plan.

Meanwhile I had these chillis to pickle...

They were supposed to be "Explosive Ember" chillis, but I think there are actually "Chinese 5-Colour hot peppers"

Whatever. They look pretty and taste hot. It took a while to trim the stems to 1/4 inch each, but the pickling didn't take long, and now I have these 4 jars to label.

Maybe I should have slit them to stop them floating. Lol.

Tassel Nanobrewery Does Cider

 This is a new project - to make some cider. I got this Mangrove Jack kit and today set it going.

Lovely apple smell. Bottling in a week's time it should be ready to drink by December... and maybe I can use some to make some more apple brandy.

Hartest Autumn 2-Part Walk

It's half term and I wasn't going to be walking today, but Joyce said she had a spare place in her "group of six" and Dawn didn't mind me going... so I did.

Brandon Country Park Fungus Foray

It was a lovely sunny autumn day and the clocks had all been adjusted and Sunday Time Crossword done, but it wass still only 8:20 AM. "Would you like to go for a walk?", asked Dawn. "How about Brandon Country Park?". That was just what I was going to suggest!

So off we went along the B1106 lined by trees in beautiful autumn colours. It was already getting busy at Brandon Country Park. We decided to do the Purple or Orange walk and see what mushrooms we could find.

This is the route.

Did we find any mushrooms? Yes. Loads! Dawn kept wandering off into the woods taking photographs of all she could find to send to Laura to keep her amused... she was still stuck in COVID-19 quarantine and had another couple of days to go. Consequently it took us over 1/2 hour to do the first mile, so we stuck to the Purple walk. I was reminded of when we used to do this with the kids, as shown here.

Here are a few of my photos from today, which I don't think need any further comment.

A lovely sunny autumn morning walk!

You can see more details of our route here on MapMyWalk and more of my photos here on Flickr.

 

Piccalilli #2

The first batch was so yummy, I decided to make some more. And yes, we did have some with some Melton Mowbray pork pie last weekend.

The vegetables are diced and mixed with a bit of sea salt for 4 or 5 hours and then drained and rinsed and drained again.

The mustard powder, spices and flour are mixed with 100ml of vinegar to make a paste...

...and added to the remaining 500ml of vinegar to which the sugar had been added and dissolved. After a few minutes cooking the mixture, the vegetables are added and cooked for just a minute or so before transferring to the jars.

So here I have another 5 big jars and 1 and a bit smaller ones. 

If you fancy some, let me know!

Chilli Harvest

Today Dawn harvested the remaining chillis.

Not so many this year, but I will be busy next week creating more pickles and sauces, I think! More anon.