Yay! Free foxgloves!

Morning Friends,

Aren't these fab? 

Well, no, of COURSE I haven't got foxgloves flowering in my garden yet. It's way too early. I have been busy with foxglove plants though, ensuring we'll get a similar display of wild flower loveliness this June.
And, the best thing is that they are FREE! Once you have a foxglove in your garden, it's likely that you'll be able to have them every year for as long as you want them. I definitely do want them. I love them. They are definitely one of my favourite flowers. I can remember showing a visitor around my garden years ago, & when I commented that I really needed to do some weeding, she said 'Well, you can hoike that one straight out, that's a foxglove'. Needless to say it was not 'hoiked out'. It was nurtured into a beautiful specimen much like the one pictured above & when it finished flowering, I left it for the seed to ripen, then shook the seed head randomly over my flower beds. And so my annual fix of foxgloves began! 

I no longer bother wafting seed heads around. I find that foxgloves are very good at doing this themselves. At this time of year, I simply see where the new plants have come up & move them to better places in the flower borders. I also pot up all the decent-sized plants which have self-seeded into our veggie garden. As the Big Hairy Half of the Relationship has been making noises this week about digging over his potato bed, I have been busy on Mission Foxgloves Rescue.

I potted up 39 free foxglove plants from the veggie garden alone (plus one big stray primrose) and have made a start on re-planting them around my borders. Unlike a lot of plants, they do well under trees, so thought I may as well start there.

The remaining plants will sit quite happily in their pots for a couple of weeks while I gradually get them planted out. They are useful at the back of borders to give a bit of height or anywhere where you want a pop of colour.

Our self-seeded foxgloves usually emerge as the traditional bright/magenta pink, but there are often paler pink ones & I've even had a few cream ones with burgundy-coloured markings. I particularly love the white ones. I can just about tell from the leaves which plants will produce white & which will produce pink flowers, but not with 100% accuracy, meaning that I sometimes think I've planted a white drift, only to find a bright pink one standing proudly in the middle. I quite like that though.

When you look closely at foxgloves, you see that there are never really two that are identical. Even if the colour is similar, the markings will be a different colour or pattern. 

Every now & again, I try to widen the gene pool of my 'Hagstones foxgloves' by sprinkling a packet of seed (usually Foxglove 'alba') randomly around the borders. I don't know if it does any good, but it sounds sort of 'sciency'. I also enjoy experimenting with sowing different varieties. This year I acquired a free packet of 'Primrose Carousel', which I've sown this week.

These are beautiful pale yellow foxgloves with speckly middles, but I'll admit I don't have a lot of success either with full germination or over-wintering this variety, whereas the Hagstones Foxgloves are as tough as old boots. Anyway, clearing foxgloves out of the veggie beds & deciding where I'd like to enjoy seeing those fab flower spikes this summer has been a really positive job this week, & a sign of sunny gardens to come :-)

It's definitely been a little warmer this past week, as Albert Whiskers opted for some al fresco ablutions.

It was also the week that we decided Albert Whiskers is arguably the worst behaved cat we've ever owned. He is very funny though. I often catch the BHO having whole conversations with him. This week, I overheard the following regarding the imminent viewing of some old Dr Who:
     "OK, Albert Whiskers, which Doctor shall we watch? Shall we watch the First Doctor?" 
There was a pause, while he waited to see if there was to be a consenting meow. There was not. He then proceeded to list "The 2nd doctor, the 3rd doctor, etc......right up to the 14th or how ever many of the bloody things there are. There was NO MEOW, which I naturally took to mean that Albert Whiskers did not want to watch ANY Dr Who, but it turned out that I had misinterpreted this. Apparently, what it ACTUALLY meant that he was just unable to decided on a season or episode, meaning that the BHO had to choose for him. Hmm.

The sunshine is streaming through the windows of 'Cathy HQ'. I find something to enjoy in every month, but I'm ready for Spring now. Bring it on!
Hope you are all staying lergy-free.....& remember, if you had a foxglove last year or the year before or if you've seen them in your neighbour's garden, have a look in your own garden to see if you've got any free ones coming up. They're our native wild flowers, the bees love them & they're gorgeous! Go on, get your trowel out!
Till next time,
C x 

Oooooh, & we're off the blocks!

Hello Friends,
Well, Spring is now officially hoving into view as I've just sown the first seeds of the year this morning. We had a great year for home-grown fruit & veg in 2014 & I'm hoping for a repeat performance this year, if that isn't a cue for every known pest & disease to start making a slow sinister crawl over to 'Hagstones'.

Yes, I've dusted off my little heated propagator & sown my chilli seeds.

I've chosen 'Heatwave' this year. I usually sow one very hot variety & some jalapenos, but I still have plenty of last year's lovely juicy jalapeno crop in the freezer, and have also (so far!) successfully managed to overwinter three plants on a bedroom windowsill.

One of them has even produced a chilli....not something I expected to see in the depths of winter. Chilli seed packets often state 'March or April' for sowing, but I find that here, they usually need an earlier start to get a decent growing season, probably because we're not in a very warm country. If you haven't grown them before, give them a try. They make attractive plants & it's great to be able to snip the fruits off & chuck them straight into a curry or slice them onto a pizza. They freeze well too. 
Over the next 3 or 4 weeks, I'll be sowing tomatoes, peppers, aubergines & cucumbers, as well as making a start on all the free packets of flower seed I've accumulated. As a gardener, I just feel my spirits soar as soon as I can get outside & get my mitts in the soil. Like, like, like......AND free vitamin D!

I'm also busy this month doing a de-cluttering challenge. It's called Minsgame if anyone fancies checking out the rules & joining in. The basic idea is to begin on the first day of the month & to increase the target amount of items to de-clutter each day. So on Feb 1st, I got rid of 1 item, on Feb 2nd, 2 items, etc. Today being the 9th, I have shed 9 items. According to the big hairy half of the relationship, I shall have de-cluttered a total of 406 items by the end of the month. So far, I am not finding this challenge difficult, although that may change when I am having to find 20+ items each day. More to the point, I'm enjoying it! Will let you know how I get on at the end of Feb.

Beautiful sunshine today, although a fierce frost froze the garden completely white overnight. I'd like to say that all residents at 'Hagstones' have been kicking up their personal effort levels, but I'm afraid there are still a lot of fireside scenarios like this, where a certain be-whiskered individual is concerned!

Hope everyone is managing to stay lergy-free. I can't remember the last time I had a cold.....but I do seem to get through approximately my own bodyweight in hand-gel every year, so maybe that's helping to nuke a few germs.    
Until next time,
Cathy x

Tiny signs of Spring at 'Hagstones'

Hello Friends,
Oh my days, I'm not sure where January went. It seems to have disappeared straight up its own you-know-what! And now it's February, which means spring gardening season is on its way. (Like, like, like. Big smiley face!) Decided to mark the new month by having a walk around our garden looking for signs of life.

Some of the winter shrubs are still adding a flash of colour. This pyracantha has been covered in bright berries for what seems like months now.........

........and the winter jasmine, while almost over, still has a few cheery yellow flowers.

Even the witch hazel, which is pretty much pot-bound at the moment is ignoring my neglect & throwing out a few spiky blooms.

The bulbs are mostly poking through the soil now, despite the cold of the last week, with the snowdrops just beginning to get underway..........

.  

 .......and the daffodils & pots of iris reticulata I planted are showing promise of good things to come.

Dotted here & there are tiny splashes of colour where primulae are defying the biting winds to add their own little touch of spring promise.

Meanwhile in the Vegetable Plot, there are positive signs of future food! The late autumn-planted garlic has sprouted well.......

......and the frosty nights this past week should have helped the bulbs to form decent cloves. The sorrel is putting up new leaves, which add a fresh lemony tang to salads, as well as making great soup later in the season.

I popped the rhubarb crock into place last week.......

......& a quick peep down the top this morning revealed the first signs of pale pink loveliness which will almost certainly find their way into a crumble when they've climbed to the top of the crock :-)

I have had to put a little bit of work into the broad beans this week, as the weight of the Boxing Day snow collapsed half of my support frame & netting, then the gales saw off the rest. Spent a bright chilly morning replacing damaged plants, tying them in & re-staking, while our tame robin sang to me from the apple tree. 

Robin-help was cheery & uplifting. I wish I could say the same about Cat-help, but swiftly came to the conclusion that cats have little to offer in broad bean cultivation which can be deemed remotely constructive. Albert Whiskers was of the opinion that I had wrapped myself in 4 layers of clothing & even more layers of mud for his own personal amusement. As fast as I wound twine around my bean canes, he pounced on the other end & pulled it off.

Unless I've missed something, fishy cat saliva does not much add to the strength or tying properties of twine. Thankfully his assistance levels dwindled significantly when the Tabster & Big Massive Blackie took it upon themselves to cross the garden & had to be Promptly Dealt With!

So those are the signs of life in our garden today. What's happening in yours? I'd love to know.
Until next time, when I'll be telling youo about the big decluttering challenge I'm attempting throughout February. Yes, it has started today!
C x

Our A-Z Film Challenge

Hello Friends,
Well, this instalment will not involve any potting of edibles into jam jars, creative uses of leftovers or back garden growing of food because I promised to tell you about our A-Z Big Film Challenge.

To be truthful, this is something we started quite a while ago. We decided to cancel our subscription to Lovefilm.....all spare pennies were then being diverted into financing our lovely new bathroom........& also to be a little bit 'greener' by watching what we already owned, rather than continuing to buy new. We've always enjoyed watching our own DVD collection, but often, a typical DVD conversation would go like this:

Big Hairy One: D'you fancy watching a film?
Me: Yeah, great idea.
BHO: What d'you fancy watching?
Me: Anything, I'm not bothered.
BHO: What about 'X'?
Me: God no, I'm not in the mood for that.
BHO: Well what about 'Y'?
Me: Nope! I didn't even like that one first time round......
BHO: Well you suggest one then.
Me: I can't remember what films we've got.
BHO: Well come & have a look.
Me: OK. What about 'Z'?
BHO: Too long............

...........& so forth, until there is no time left actually to watch any film at all. Rubbish & time-wasting......but that's how our Big A-Z Film Challenge began.

The rules are that we will watch every film in our DVD collection, in strict alphabetical order then post a little review on Facebook. Excuses such as "That's not my type of film", "I've seen this 27 times already" ,"I'm washing my hair" or any other attempt to wimp out are disallowed. Knitting during the film is ok, but not reading i.e WE HAVE TO WATCH THE FILM.

We have just reached the end of the As.

The As have not been kind to me. I have thoroughly enjoyed, as usual, Abigail's Party with the only downside being that the 'Buy a broom' song circles around my head for the next three weeks. I quite enjoyed re-watching About a boy in which Hugh Grant isn't too cheesy & Toni Collette plays a right-on hippy mother & Amelie is a delight. Then there was Amadeus, adapted by Peter Shaffer from his stage play, which has long been one of my favourite films. At the 'mud & misery' end of the spectrum (I LIKE a bit of mud & misery) I've enjoyed re-watching Aguirre wrath of God - band of conquistadores heading down a Peruvian river in search of Eldorado, anyone? These are not just ANY conquistadores. These are Klaus Kinski-led  conquistadores so the jury's out on whether they will find even a whiff of that fabled gold before someone has a bit of a meltdown! German film (Werner Herzog) with subtitles, some of which are iffy & amusing. 
Amy Foster was also worth a re-watch. This film, aka 'Swept from the sea' is based on a short story by Joseph Conrad......& therein lies your clue that it won't be big on laughs. It was filmed in North Cornwall, particularly in Port Quin. I happened to be renting a cottage at Port Quin during filming & saw the tiny cove-edge hamlet enlarged with scenery. The church in the film looks very realistic, but there is no actual church there. It was just cleverly decorated wooden boarding held up at the back by pit props. The next time I visited, the village was back to normal......a few cottages & a tiny car park for people visiting the charming rock-pooled cove. Apparently, another visitor had complained about the heinous destruction of the 'lovely old church'. Nothing could convince him that it had merely been a two-dimensional piece of film set. He was adamant that he'd been visiting Port Quin for years & the ancient church had always been there! Beautiful scenery, grim film.....with some salient messages about attitudes to outsiders. So with these high points, why have the As not been kind to me?

Yes. Aliens. Lots of 'em.  Three films too many of 'em in my humble opinion. I enjoy the original Alien with the famous John Hurt stomach bursting scene (what's not to love when the critter sits up, has a quick look around before sguigging off on his naughty adventures?) The follow-up films fail to engage me, however, apart from the interesting Giger artwork. I know these films have a loyal following, but the truth for me, is that I ceased to care whether the Alien Mother ate Sigourney Weaver or it didn't, so much of the dramatic impact was lost. As a non-fan, to find that there was not only another film in this sequence to go, but that sadly, the BHO  owned it, & because of the previously agreed terms of the Big A-Z Film Challenge, I'd have to watch it, was a deflating discovery. I'd like to tell you that was the end of it, but no, because unbeknownst to me, the bloody thing fought Predator too, & yes, he had the DVD, so that was another couple of hours of my life gone.
Did I get through Aeonflux, Altered states & A.I ? Well, yes, I did, without huge enjoyment. Although the latter benefits from a second viewing, the one-track sentimentality of the second half was still an obstacle for me. Although the BHO & I share many favourite films in common, he partakes in genres I generally avoid. On the bright side, at least I got all those aliens over early in the challenge........& I can get my own back when we get to 'S'........

Oh yes. No aliens in that one! 
So we are about to embark on the Bs. The first one will be Best on Show, which is amusing, if rather too heavy on dogs for this cat girl. I'm really looking forward to Le Bossu (now't like a bit of leather-clad swashbuckling on a chill January night.....) and to Brotherhood of the Wolf , such a stylish & intriguing film. On the downside, I know the BHO is pondering whether ALL FIVE CUTS of Bladerunner will need to be watched for the validity of the challenge.......I damn well hope not! It's not too late for me to start scanning charity shops for copies of Grease, Footloose & others on his spew-making movie list!

Despite the moaning, I'm enjoying watching films from our own collection instead of instantly buying more or paying to view. Any that fail to be declared a 'keeper' are destined for the infamous Bay of E.

I can hear Albert Whiskers approaching to tell me the state of his bowl.........

....so will wish you all goodnight. Stay warm, snow tonight for many of us, so take care on the roads & remember to feed those hungry birds.
Till next time,
C x

Seville Orange Marmalade - Easy step by step

Greetings Friends,
Hope everyone is staying warm & remaining as lergy-free as possible. No plagues have yet breached the walls of  'Hagstones'  but it may only be a matter of time the way people are spluttering evil germs around on the outside!

Had hoped to spend yesterday clearing garden borders if dry, but did not manage to see the weather forecast as Albert Whiskers chose that exact moment to position himself on the TV unit, smack in front of the screen, meaning that while I acquired a pretty good idea of the weather situation in Scotland, England was unfortunately almost completely obscured by cat! Decided to make my annual Seville orange marmalade instead. I am posting the recipe & instructions because someone usually asks me, & by the time I've written it out or emailed it, the Seville orange season is all but over. It is VERY short, so if you are intending to make some, you need to get your oranges this week or next to be sure of supplies. Don't think 'Oh I'll just watch another old episode of 'Bottom' or get sucked into an extra half hour of 'Pyramid Solitaire'..........or those special bitter little oranges will all be gone!!  

This recipe is easy & reliable. If you have never made marmalade before, worry not, it should turn out fine if you follow my instructions. You don't need to buy jars.......just use old recycled ones, & you can usually find Seville oranges on local markets or in the supermarket  - they are not expensive.

Seville Orange Marmalade  

1kg Seville oranges 
4lbs white granulated sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
4 pints water

Selection of jam jars (about 10)
Pack of jam pot covers (the wax discs & cellophane circles/labels with rubber bands)
Square of muslin & piece of string to tie up the pips
Long-handled wooden spoon
Ladle
Jam funnel (useful but not essential) 
Sugar thermometer (not essential)

Instructions

Cut the oranges in half. Squeeze out the juice into a large non-metallic bowl. Put the square of muslin on a plate & use it to collect all the pips & any tough pieces of white pith..

This makes it easier to gather up into a bag later. No need to buy special muslin. I use a square of old muslin curtain from a well-known Swedish purveyor of goods.....just sterilize it first by scalding it in the sink with a kettle of boiling water. I've also been known to use a square of old cotton tea-towel. Now't wasted in this house!
Next, take a sharp knife & cut the orange peels in half & then into thin strips. Big 'can't be a*sed' chunks will take longer to cook & won't give as good a product as thinner strips, but prepare them however you like your marmalade. It takes a little while, so do leave enough time for this stage.
Put the peel strips into the bowl with the juice.
Squeeze the lemons & add just the juice to the bowl too.

Now take a length of string, gather up the edges of the muslin square & tie tightly at the top to make a little bag of pips.

Remember to use heat-proof non-coloured string - remember Bridget Jones' blue soup? Put the bag in the bowl & add 4 pints of water. If your bowl won't hold that much, it won't matter if you add just 3 pints as long as you remember to add the rest the next day before you cook the peel.

That's it for the prep stage. Just cover the bowl & leave it overnight to soak.

Next day is for Jammin'...........

First the peel needs to be cooked. Transfer contents of bowl to a preserving pan, (including the muslin bag which can be tied to the handle) & bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer, cover & cook for about 2 hours until the peel is cooked. You don't need to watch over it so can be getting on with something else. N.B To test if the peel is ready, fish a piece out, cool it slightly, then rub it between your finger & thumb. It should just break down into mush.

If it doesn't, give it a bit longer. I usually leave the lid off for the last 20 mins or so as you want the liquid level to have reduced by about half. If you don't get the peel sufficiently soft during this stage of cooking, it won't soften any further during jamming, so it's worth getting it right now.

Turn the oven on low - about Gas 2 & put your clean washed jam jars on an oven tray into the oven to sterilize. Leave them in there until the marmalade is ready.

Remove the muslin bag, squeezing it so that all the liquid goes back into the pan.
Tip the sugar into the pan & stir thoroughly until dissolved. Now bring the pan to the boil & boil it hard for about 15-20 mins until setting point is reached.

Stir it just occasionally to check it's not sticking on the bottom, but it should be fine. After 10 mins, start testing for setting point. If you have a sugar thermometer, this will be reached on or just before the 'jam' marking on the guage. If not, use the:

Wrinkle Test. Drop a few blobs of marmalade on a clean cold plate, leave for a minute then push with your finger tip to see if a wrinkle forms. You're looking for a definite wrinkle, showing that the marmalade is wanting to 'gel'. You can also try the Flake Test by letting a small run of marmalade fall off the wooden spoon & the final drip will set before it falls if setting point has been reached.

It's usually necessary to do the wrinkle test several times before setting point is reached & there is no definitive rule as to how long it will take. This is normal & doesn't mean that your marmalade has gone wrong or is going to be rubbish!

When you are confident that setting point has been reached, Turn off the heat & using a slotted spoon, skim off any white foam which has formed. This is normal, but you need to remove it before potting up the marmalade. If you are adding liqueur, do it now. I put 2tbsp of orange liqueur in mine this time, but it's just as good a recipe without. 

Stir the pan well & leave it for a couple of minutes before bottling, which prevents the peel floating to the top.
Use this time to take your hot jars out of the oven & put them on a heatproof surface ready to fill.
Fill carefully using ladle & jam funnel.....& even more carefully if you are using a ladle & small jug.

Wipe jars clean with a hot cloth, then quickly apply the wax discs (waxed side down!) & cellophane circles, using rubber bands to secure. If you haven't done this before, you need to dampen the tops of the cellophane circles so that they contract & make an airtight seal. That's it - done! All you need to do now is label your jars,feel the pride & get the toaster on!

Hope this is helpful.......if you have no interest in preserving, then hopefully you stopped reading after the first paragraph, or this post will have felt like a patent insomnia-cure. I've tried to give plenty of detail because if people have never made jam or marmalade before, I know it can seem like the magic of the Wookey Hole Witch......an impenetrable alchemy involving cauldrons, ancient tests, etc. I know that there are people who would like to have a go, but feel intimidated. So, this is how I make my orange marmalade every year & it has never failed. If sealed correctly, it easily stores for a year, & makes a nice gift too.

Everything else at The People & Cats Republic is ticking over as usual. Some are working harder than others.........

.......but what's new?
Next time, I'll be telling you about our A-Z Film Challenge & how the 'As' have not been kind to me!
C x

In which turkey leftovers cause almost tragic levels of excitement.......

Hello Friends,
Happy New Year from us three at the 'People & Cats Republic'. I hope you all had a lovely festive break & are feeling positive.....or at least stoical about the year ahead. 

I got my bargainmongous haul of post-Christmas cranberries, as you can see.......all waiting in the freezer ready for next season's apples & their joint transformation into sparkly-topped chutney gifts. Well, the tree is back out in the garden, the decorations are up in the loft, but I couldn't manage a 100% de-twinkling of 'Hagstones', so pressed a string of lights into service in the kitchen to preserve a bit of festive sparkle all year round. There you are.......much better!

Now, for people like myself who are evangelical about avoiding food waste, the Christmas turkey is THE annual Leftovers Nirvana. I would be utterly bereft if there were ever to be no leftovers. I have known people who have told me they deliberately choose a goose or capon for their festive roast specifically because they "don't want to be eating it for days on end" or to be "stuck with loads of it after Christmas". I admit I practically need picking up from the floor & resuscitating when I hear this! I absolutely insist on leftovers! 

It wasn't always quite like this. Enthusiasm for cooking skipped a generation in my family. My Nan (1909 - 1993) was an excellent cook, & having lived through hard & humble times, used every scrap of food. Possibly because of growing up in a household where every scrap of food was used, my Mum never took to cooking. She would do a roast dinner, a lovely Christmas dinner or a few basics, but mostly growing up in the 70s, our specialist culinary subjects would have been boil-in-the-bag, spaghetti hoops & Findus crispy pancakes.......(what WAS that stuff on the outsides? Not like any pancake I've ever encountered since..........) Mum would throw away whatever festive leftovers she could get away with. We once had soggy sprouts sitting on the lawn till February because no local bird or cat would touch them. Nan, of course would pronounce this as a shocking waste & tell us how they ought to have been cooked up with leftover potato & carrots to make bubble & squeak. One thing that Mum did get persuaded to save was the turkey carcass. Nan would strip it of meat, then boil it up in a huge pan for soup. With carrots, celery, potatoes, onions & other oddments added, it made a chunky soup which filled everyone up until they could barely stagger from the table. I wasn't keen on it as a child. I once found something in mine which I convinced myself was one of the turkey's eyes. I can remember trying to get the rest of the soup down without heaving. I suspect it was actually a piece of pearl barley which was in the 'soup mix' which Nan used, & I don't like pearl barley in soups to this day! 

As I learned to cook at school, I took over the annual turkey soup-making & have done it ever since. I have been known to foil wrap a stripped carcass & bring it home with me if I knew it was otherwise destined for the bin. I confess I have also asked for unwanted turkey carcasses to be frozen for me until I can collect them, so determined am I not to waste this fantastic soup-making resource! Is that just a little bit tragic? Probably! 

So this year's Turkey Dismantling Day resulted in a tray of breast slices in gravy, a turkey & ham pie (plus a spare pie base), 7 cartons of chilli, 5 cartons of soup, 2 cartons of stock & some sandwiches. Oh.....& not forgetting 3 saucers of poached giblets & meat for Albert Whiskers, who was beyond impressed at this upgrade from cat food!

The chilli is a fab recipe from the WI Christmas Cookbook. I make it every year by popular request, although I use ordinary tinned kidney beans & fresh red peppers rather than the more processed options listed. Anyway, I really recommend it. It makes plenty & freezes well.

In addition to his giblet-gobbling frenzy, Albert Whiskers has had rather a nice Christmas. OK, he was at the cattery for the actual festival, but he had his turkey day & cat-loving visitors when he came out. Santa was quite generous & brought him a new blanket, FOUR packets of 'Dreamies' & some Christmas money, which he blew on a 24 pack of 'Whiskas'. He wasn't wild about all the snow, but endured it with fortitude for necessary ablutions. 

The remaining time, he spent putting his new blanket through rigorous quality control procedures.... 

.......but he's pleased to report that it's passed muster.

Off now to do some more swearing at the Latvian mittens I'm currently knitting.......these are likely to warrant a blog-post all of their own, but I have actually to finish one first & they are growing at a rate of 1cm a day as they are on 1.5 mm needles.  
Our very best wishes to you all for a Happy & Peaceful 2015. 
Love,
C & the 'Hagstones' boys x

A Very Merry Cranberry from Team Hagstones xx

Hello Friends,
Just a quick one from me today. My festive list is just about complete & we're ready for seasonal japes & jollity.

Albert Whiskers deigned to pose for a portrait.....though note to self for next year.........

........when I make my mini sausage pies, he can be sent for a run round the garden while the cat flap is temporarily locked. Never have I cooked anything where he's been so under my feet, meowing like a starving cat who has just spotted the Very Last Sausage in the World. He only discovered sausages earlier this week & they are clearly much on his mind. He even tried going outside & sitting under the kitchen window just in case one of my pies happened to fall out while cooling. It didn't, & he's had to make do with cat biscuits to fill the vast gaping chasm that is his tummy!

The cake is made & iced........

and I decided against the rutting reindeer when his other antler also fell off, so it's Frosty & Father Christmas this year.

The mince pies are made, using the cranberry mincemeat I made recently......which brings me onto the cranberries......those luscious red fruity jewels..... (hang on, I think I was channelling my 'inner Nigella' there for a moment) which we only see in December.

Whether you want to make cranberry mincemeat.......

......cranberry chutney, cranberry vodka - no photo due to obvious reasons - or cranberry & apple jelly.......

......then the canny time to buy your cranberries isn't now, it's just after Christmas. Cranberries are one of those seasonal items which most people only want in December. However, if you are a keen cook & like to make preserves for the pantry or to give as gifts, or you fancy having some cranberry vodka bottled & ready for festive slurpage this time next year, then you need to get hold of some a lot earlier than that, & this is the problem because they won't be around in the shops till it's too late to do much with them. As a very seasonal item, they're also expensive. £3+ for a very modest amount isn't unusual, but if you look in the supermarkets between Christmas & New Year, you can pick them up for a titchy fraction of this - our best bargainmongous ones were from Waitrose at 20p a punnet. They freeze brilliantly & easily last a year, so that's what I do, & I'm hoping to find some as soon as annual demand for them has peaked. So there's a little money saving tip.....but only if you a) like cranberries b) like actually doing stuff with cranberries. If not, just go to the sales as usual & don't waste valuable shopping time shouldering people out of the way in supermarkets in your search for cheapo small red fruits!

And lastly, of course, whether you, like us, celebrate the ancient midwinter feast, the birth of the son of your God, a welcome time spent with your nearest & dearest.....or a fusion of all three, we would like to wish you all a Very Happy & Peaceful Yuletide.
May your blessings be bright,
C x