Have had a few industrious hours of kitchen alchemy this morning. I really fancied making a batch of mango chutney, so naturally when I visited the market on Saturday, I discovered that the national mango shortage had reached the East Midlands! Not a single mango to be had.......well, except in supermarkets at prices I wasn't prepared to pay! Thwarted by furry mango fungus....or whatever it is that is limiting imports at the moment, but the day was saved by the BHO, who spotted some colossal pineapples on sale & suggested using those instead. Enjoyed adapting the recipe, & using both our home grown garlic & scotch bonnet chillies in it. It's got a fiery kick to it, but not so hot that the pineapple flavour is lost. I think it's going to be great on home made burgers, with curries & rice and on cheese on toast.
Once the cauldron of pineappley loveliness was bubbling away on the hob, I made some lemon pickle. I haven't made it before. It doesn't require any cooking. You simply put the cut up lemons & other ingredients (salt, sugar, turmeric, garam masala & chilli) in a kilner jar, give it a massive stir, then leave it to stand in the sunshine for a week, giving it a shake each day. I'm guessing this will be very like the uber-hot lime pickle served in Indian restaurants. Hope so! I've got my jar in the greenhouse, so that I will remember to shake it when I water the aubergines each morning!
I baked the little cakes for the BHO's reading group. I wasn't too happy with them, but a pile of judiciously applied dolly mixtures covers a multitude of issues!
Albert Whiskers has now been with us just over a week. This would have been a beautiful photo with him at his winsome best, but at the last minute, he decided that looking out of the window was more important than posing for people who refuse to let him out! He's mostly behaving really well, but he is absolutely DESPERATE to go outside. He's quite a young cat & needs to burn off some energy. There's only so much 'Mousie' you can play with your humans before it gets samey. No escapes since last Monday, but he's definitely been sizing up the chimney........
Well, I shall sign off now, as I want to weed the courgette bed before the rain starts.
Back soon,
C x
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