I am totally wrecked !

Will not be long before I seek my bed. This weekend I have been pickling - and had forgotten how labour intensive it can be!

Saturday - spent making brine, chopping veg for piccalilli, peeling pickling onions, making pickling vinegar and boiling beetroot.

Sunday - spent cooking, sterilising jars and filling same.

Now have 8 x jars of pickled onions, 15 x jars of spiced beetroot relish and 21 x jars of piccalilli. Some of these will be Christmas gifts.

Bought some small baskets in Hobbycraft and intend to make up little gifts of pickles, cheese and crackers for the husbands of friends and some of the neighbours.

My wrist and knees are having protest meetings and the kitchen looks like a bomb site - but it was fun!!

Re: I am totally wrecked !

I am just about to start making mincemeat for mince pies and hot spicy pickled cabbage ST.
I wonder why I bother sometimes, all the effort and mess and I give most of it away

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I love to cook, Meg, any excuse and I am out in the kitchen !

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Ooh you are good, you two.
I used to do all that, make the christmas cake, the christmas puddings, sausage rolls etc but I don't really do it anymore.
I take the easy way out and buy what I want I'm afraid.

I'm not even making my Sloe Gin this hear because the sloe's haven't been good enough round here.

Re: I am totally wrecked !

You can, Mups darlin', using the same recipe, make either damson or blackberry Gin. Damson gin is delicious, and blackberry gin thickens gravy beautifully!!!

Re: I am totally wrecked !

Morning UJ, yes there are quite a lot of blackberries about, unless all the jam makers have scrumped them already
I made blackberry brandy one year,, and strawberry vodka too. I do like to do the sloes best normally though.

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Take it easy ST, you dont want to be out of sorts those, aches and pains take longer to depart bhese days.

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Its worth when you consider the shop bought alternatives are pretty nasty

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Very true, Nom, now that I have restored order to the kitchen I am going to take things easy for the rest of the day. Will make some pretty christmas paper toppers for the jars that are destined to be gifts and write all the labels - all of which can be done sitting down with a pot of tea to hand!

I agree, Julie, the vegetables in mine came fresh from the farm shop and I have added nothing but the required vinegar/spices etc., I even used gluten free flour so I can share with my coeliac friends as well. Was too tired to appreciate it last night but had quite a sense of achievement when I saw all the jars in the kitchen this morning!

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I remember jam making days. The garden of the house I bought at that time was absolutely full of fruits - gooseberries, apples, pears, blackcurrants, white berries(?), raspberries, plums, rhubarb.

So I knuckled down to make jams - bake cakes, pies, scones...try new recipes.. loved it.

Can't stand cooking now