Day 4 - Christmas potato seed planting and rumtopf

Day 4 of my holidays has seen a beautifully sunny day here in the North East of England.  It's still breezy though but this year has been.  I've never known it be so windy for so long in the past but then I suppose I've  not been growing fruit and veg or looking after so many animals before, that the wind impacts?
I've still been getting the kids up at a decent time as mine seem to suffer if they have late mornings and inevitably later nights as they can't sleep.  The kids helped me by feeding and watering the chickens and then collecting the eggs.  What a haul from the last couple of days!

 

The kids spent the next couple of hours playing and I started off the Bachelors Jam or Rumtopf as it is referred to.  Growing up I'd remember an earthenware jar that was in my parents house but I didn't know what it was for.  Then when I started blogging and read Patty Pan's blog about Rumtopf and I realised what it was for.

 My Mam kindly gave me the pot when I said I was going to make some.



I added 500g blackberries from our haul last night (which was over 3kg!) along with 250g sugar and left it for an hour before adding a litre of brandy as this is what was given to me by my lovely Mam at the same time as the Rumtopf jar.

I was supposed to make a crumble at the same time but the clock was ticking and I was itching to get out in the veg plot so I left that for later and put the brambles back in the fridge to keep a few more hours. 
The bed I'd tasked myself with today was the fire pit bed.  The previous owner had burnt allsorts in it and I'm forever finding nail, hinges and the like.  I added manure to the soil along with blood, fish and bone and hoped for the best.  Well the cabbages did marvellously and I'd put off harvesting them until my 2 weeks break.
It was a mammoth task.

They were dug out and the area cleared of weeds which was back breaking but very worth it. The Christmas potato order has just arrived so I set about putting them in.  I ordered 15 tubers from crocus - 5 each of Charlotte, Duke of York and Pentalin Javelin.  These were the only ones I could find as the other online stores I either missed or didn't sell any.

I planted them all 30cm apart and 60cm between rows as there was plenty of space to do so.  Here they are with their beds now looking like something from Halloween (picture taken from the opposite end of the bed than the earlier one).

 Here's the bed once I finished with it.

 

I then tidied up another bed which wasn't too bad thankfully and sowed some quick crop salad leaves and radish in a space that's appeared there, where the first early potatoes came out.

I tested out a panoramic view, so this photo is slightly distorted but you get the idea. 

 

Soon it was time for tea and I decided to cook one of the hams we've had in the brine.  It's been in since Sunday so over a week which is a bit too long but after cooking it, it was perfect!  I'll post the recipe another time.  All of the hams will be cooked and sliced for the freezer.

 

We finished the day off with a walk to forage some bullaces (wild plums).  Someone has already raided our spot but there is a tree most people haven't found yet, and that was full though it did require some acrobatics.  They are in the fridge now.

 

Ste also finished the stock fencing he wanted to get done.  This will deter the chickens from scratching the area where we use as a dumping ground for weeds, branches that are no good for anything, leaves etc etc.  It'll keep the animals safe and the rubbish separate.  It means he can move on to the next part ultimately giving the poultry more space. 

 

The kids got their craft items done, the dogs are happy and I'm enjoying my time off.  All in all, a great family day together.

 

Summer in winter

A long time ago I came across a recipe on the bbcGF website called summer in winter chicken.  It's a really nice recipe and every now and then it pops in to my head as to how we can have summer in winter occasionally.
So the best way to do this for me, is to capture the foods we love in summer, and use them in winter.  Something I intend to do a lot of this year, and we didn't do too bad last year considering it was our first year.
There was an alcohol theme though!
I did raspberry vodka which was delicious, a really refreshing treat in a long glass with lemonade.


When the damsons arrived, I wasn't prepared!  So I made vodka with them too! I'd been given some bottles of vodka, and I don't like it, so it seemed the best option.
We decanted it at the weekend after 4 or 5 months and it really was like having a summer drink, very nice again with lemonade.
It went from this:

To this:

Isn't it a pretty colour?

Along with the blackberry scones I made at the weekend, it's really been giving us a taste of things to come for 2017. 
I intend to plant more raspberries and also get some brambles (blackberries) planted as they are non existent here in the wild.  The sloes and elders made up for that though. 
Can you feel the build up to the growing and preserving year starting?  I can!

Hedgerows, puppies and yukky things

I'll start off with hedgerow photos.  Outside my house starts a bridlepath.  There's a multitude of things along the bridleway however at the start of it, where my fence is, are bramble bushes.  Now I was mightily excited about these when I moved here, thinking we'd have hoards of brambles coming out of our ears and planning all I could do with them.  So I was disappointed to say the least when we got none!  They looked like they were starting to develop but just never did.  So I am wondering if we should cut them back down to the ground and let them start a fresh? 


I think we will strim the whole area and see what's what.  I think there's room to plant some small fruit trees/bushes out there.  I'll chat with Steven about it this weekend.  We do have enough on our plates already, but my brain doesn't switch off it seems!

Poor quality, my hands were freezing and wet.  The area I'm talking about is on the left.  Hi Rodney :)

More of a close up

My gorgeous girl, she could run this place single handed, she is so good.

Seen as though Rodney snuck into the top photo I thought I'd show you the dogs (I still call them puppies a year on) playing in the barn the other morning, whilst I was doing the horses.

Obviously something has been here, but what?  15 mins then were here for.

Rodney got bored before Buster

He realised he may be there for some time, waiting for his brother

 

We didn't find anything Mum

Finally to the yukky bit.  My veg box arrived on Wednesday as expected so I used some of it to go with tea.  Jack, my son, love cauliflower at the moment so I was pleased to see one in the box.  Cutting into it, the flesh seemed a strange texture and on investigation it looks like slugs have been enjoying their winter in there.  I rescued some of it but as you can see in the yellower coloured photo on the top middle floret, there was lots of slug slime (?) all over.  I think I stabbed the slug when splitting it down.  Ooops.




The joys of growing your own (even if I didn't grow this one)

Happy Friday everyone and have a fabulous weekend.  We're hoping to start our next project this weekend, more soon. 

Tracy :)

Almost done

Well we've almost made it through another week.

This afternoon/evening shall see me trying to make a new jam, inspired by a post from notjustgreenfingers' blog.  My first attempt was a disaster through overboiling the jam however that hasn't put me off!  I now have some tips from notjustgreenfingers' comments and so my gorgeous husband has picked me some plums from our tree and I have my sugar so I'm ready to go!  We're going bramble picking again on Saturday but I can't wait that long (yes a day I know!) so plum it is.

If we're going to aim to be self sufficient one day then I need to at least get jam right :D

The other night on the way to the livery yard (a 10 minute drive from home, everything's 10 minutes from our house lol) I had to stop and take a picture.  As I keep saying, I love this time of year and this is just one of the sights I love to see.

It's been a busy few days but we're getting a little routine going on so I'm hoping to stay fresh and focussed and keeping this blog is a lovely way of recording our lives and talking about our plans for the future.

Even GH mentioned our 4 year plan to someone the other day so I suspect he's a tiny bit excited too!

Happy Friday everyone.

A Long Tuesday

Tuesday's are NOT my favourite day of the week!  It's a long day at work.  Plus I'm working 8-10 tonight so I'm taking 5 minutes to myself to update the blog. 

Last night my son (4) and I made a cake using the foraged blackberries and it was gorgeous!  Then I made some jam and it was a disaster!!! It turned out to be rock hard lump!  I'm guessing I overcooked it!  I'll try again at the weekend when we get our next lot.

I've also got plums and apples from the garden so need to find something to do with them. 

The kids are both at school now and loving it and we're back into the swing of work again.  As I keep reminding us both.....it pays the bills in the mean time!

A busy couple of days

Well, we made it through the first working week after our holidays!

After a quiet meal at a local pub last night, we were up early this morning raring to go.  The chickens wondered what was happening when they were out so early and after a quick breakfast Mother and Daughter headed off to the farm to see the horses.  (The farm one day will be just outside our back door.)

We had a lovely morning riding, mucking out, grooming and catching up with friends.  Grace, our daughter, was practicing for the Christmas (show jumping) show which sounds a long time away but will be upon us in a flash!

Then it was home for lunch before heading out to collect some logs we'd spotted that had been dumped.  A nice spot by hubby means we will have free heat to supplement our coal for a little while yet.

Then the surprise of the day - we thought the chickens had stopped laying eggs due to the crazy weather we've been having here.  My daughter went to check on them and spotted something outside their hen house - on investigation  - she found a pile of eggs!  They've taken to laying in a new and secret spot instead of where they've laid for years!  Maybe it won't be Roast Chicken for lunch tomorrow after all!

We've now just collapsed in the arm chairs totally shattered after an afternoon spent Geocaching.  We did 10 in total and foraged 2 tubs of blackberries whilst we were out.  Well worth it I'd say. 

Even if we don't live on a farm just yet, we can still enjoy the countryside and forage for free food.  Perfect.

The stash!

Rosie, one of the suspects.

Summer holiday memories

Well today marks the official end of my summer holiday.  I've had 2 lovely weeks off with the kids and my Gorgeous Husband.  We also had the Bank Holiday snuck in there too, shhh, don't tell anyone.  GH is back to work today (he leaves at 5:30 ish and is a butcher) and I'm working from home from 2-10 (American time zone hours today - will explain one day). 

What a fantastic 2 weeks it's been too.  I've loved every minute of it!  The first 3 days it was just me and the kids so we went to the local park, play areas and to the horses.  The horses are around 10 minute drive away at the moment.  Then my hubby joined us and we had a trip to Cadbury's World in Birmingham and Chester Zoo.  We stayed over a night at both places, with a night or 2 at home in between to break it up.  The days spent at home saw us Geocaching which is our new found favourite family hobby (meaning the dog comes too) along with trips to the park and a day trip to Whitby (crabbing) which was SO much fun.

Our beautiful daughter and her cheeky pony, Sonic.

3 hour walk, stopping off for refreshments.  Filthy!

Arriving at Cadbury's World, too excited!

Stunning Whitby views from the car park

Little and Large crabs (all went back in safely)

Our son enjoying the Whitby views (and he's only 4!)

The fantastic Inn Keeper's Lodge at Chester - highly recommended

A walk along the canal at Chester

On one of our many walks out we went brambling (picking wild blackberries if the word isn't familiar) and came home with quite a bounty considering many of them aren't ripe yet.  I immediately set to work on the "must make" apple and bramble crumble which was divine.  Next on the list is apple and bramble cake/loaf, then some jams to see us through the winter to go with our porridge, yum.

Brambles and apples - free food (foraged and from our on tree)

Yum - thoroughly enjoyed

On a foody note, we are a family who love our food.  I try to cook everything from scratch but it's not always possible with working full time, having the animals and kids etc so of course the odd take away sneaks in or frozen pizza which is all part of getting the balance.  We love the great outdoors as you may have picked up on and would prefer to be outside given the chance however you will also see in coming posts that we try and make home life as cosy and comfortable as possible too.

If you've stumbled across our blog, welcome and I hope you follow us as our journey unfolds and opens up into the wonderful world of blogging.  Thanks, Tracy x