as many people will know already ..i had a cake sale 2 weekends ago ...small affair not much to shout about .. but a very nice day out

 i have recently started up a new myspace .. for my other pass time

im a chat host

the chat room i host in is a nice place with lots of friendly people .. talking about all sorts .. its a bit of a release after a hard days work in the cabbage patch ;)

if anybody would be interested in popping along to the room and having a natter .. that would be fab id love to see you all :D

i have added the link to my new myspace  which will tell you all about the chat room .. its evening games 7 nights a week , and its silly antics that make us all giggle

 

 

would be nice if anybody wished to add the new myspace account to thier friends list , everyone is always welcome there any time of day (K)

ive started making the jams .. i have peach .. plum....rhubarb ....orange marmalade..... rhubarb / peach with ginger..... and im also working on my next bake sale which is sunday

 

if anyone is interested in the jam hampers im going to start posting out straight after the school 6 week holidays .. they are £6 each plus postage

 

on my trip to the tip this morning to do the plastic recycling i had the good fortune to find not 1 but 2 compost bins @ £2 each ... result!

now i can actualy weed my garden lol.. my old compost bin has been full for months.kitchen scraps and weeds from when i did the veggie plot in spring so it's now full steam ahead in the rest of the flower beds .... any voulenteers for weeding duty?

my friend .. in her wisdom ...decided to offer me her shed ...she never told me it was bigger than my house or that i had to take the damn thing apart first.

so here we are .. 2 numpty's on step ladders breaking our backs to take down this shed while her hubby sits gigglin at us and her mother makes tea .. thank god as my friend cant make a decent brew to save her life

so 7 hours later it finaly arrives in my garden in bits....if she has another bright idea like this 1 .. i may well have to do 20 years for murder!

today we were supposed to be doing a carboot to get rid of the junk and add cash to the wedding fund ..... instead we bought a breadmaker lol

hubby was so excited about the machine .. he's an engineer .. need i say more ...that it is already in full use and the first of the bread is cooking as i type!

hopefullty he will now voulenteer to help in the kitchen .. if he only bakes bread on a sunday morning .. he will still be very welcome to use my kitchen lmao

 

ok .. someone call my ambulance now cos if his bread dont kill me .. he will when he reads this ..lmao

 

hope everybodys weekend was filled with as much joy as mine was xx

this week also see's the start of the skinflints wines, we have started off the elderflower wine, later in the year we shall be doing elderberry , damson and sloe gin

in a few weeks skinflints kitchen will be starting on this years jams ready for the christmas jam hampers that we take to market they will be available for sale online too this year for the first time .... maybe thru myspace as my silly pc doesnt like the company website im trying to build ... damned machinery lol

if anyone would be interested in hedgerow jam hampers please would you let me know  they will be medium sized baskets with at least 4 different flavour jams and a pack of hand made fruit and plain scones to use the jam with the cost will be £6 per hamper . postage costs will be added later . ... pictures will be available in a few months

this week i finaly got round to updating the pictures of the garden so now you can all see how big my veggies are getting

well this has been a busy week ..

skinflint's veg plot is going ape and we are already able to pick the odd pea pod

this week has seen me start my anual herb garden cuttings which when grown on far enough will go to the local carboot to generate some much needed cash for our forthcomming wedding (dec 20th)

while thinking about this occasion and costs and the piggin menu! ( knew i'd forgot something) i have worked out that our big day plus 50 guests has only cost us £2000 where as some mad people forget that the day is about you and your loved one, and spend thousands upon thousands feeding people and supplying booze for the day, but the next day you only have a hangover to show for what you have spent as most of the people that came to your shin dig are long gone and you probably wont even get a christas card off them for the next 10 years

 

yes in a synic ..... but i know theres no such thing as a free lunch ..... unless you attend a wedding

 as a cheaper and more friendly way to treat your hair try :-

a few stalks of rosemary boiled up in half a pint of water .. leave to cool.. strain into a bottle/jug

wash hair in cost effective shampoo and use the rosmary rince for the final rince leaves hair smelling nice and treats your scalp to the repairing oils of the rosemary,

which with use gets rid of dandruff , no need for expensive shampoo's that just load your hair with chemicals and strip the natural oils out of your scalp leaving you prone to the dreaded flake

 

i use this and think it works very well but please feel free to leave your comments on this 1

this week see's the start of the elderflowers crop, i already have a few in the freezer ready for next weekends picking and brewing

i have planted out my italin yard long beans and thats the veggie patch full for this year, i just hope i get something from it and not just provide a soup kitchen for the local slug patrol !

and finaly

an update on the mog v squirrel match .. mog 1 .. squirrel 0, i was presented with 1 lifeless squirrel last sunday

 now the mog knows he can win  i will be inundated with the bloody things <sigh>

hello all

just thought id blog my first sighting of a holly blue butterfly

just wondering if anybody else has seen any unusual butterflys in thier garden ?

 

this last weekend (may9th-may11th) the skinflints kitchen hit the road with the old caravan in hot persuit .. to dorset

no we didnt go hunting for river cottage .. altho i was tempted ( just for rik )

a fab time was had by all we stayed at a little family run caravan park in sea town 2 mins walk past the pub and onto the beach.

plenty of people were fishing on the beach and it looked like a good catch was more than possible

best thing was ..it was incredibly cost effective weekend break

while there we had an excursion to bridport and wandered around the market in the blistering sunshine

i thougherly recomend this place to visit... i shall be .. but for my anual 2 weeks rather than just a weekender

 

 

 

well this hot weather has helped the veg patch this week , and we are now sat under a little raincloud for a while, but i don't mind it has saved me getting the watering can out .

my next door neighbour has informed me where we can go and pick some sloe's later in the year .. yay .. sloe gin !!!! so thats christmas prezzies for the family sorted for the next couple of years

i love a bargain me .... especialy when it's free

foresters pie ..

for all those of you who gather your own game

 

1 pheasant

1 pigeon

1 quail

 

marinade

 

1/2 pint red wine

1/4 pint olive oil

2 dessertspoons chopped parsley

1 teaspoon chopped sage

1 teaspoon chopped rosemary

pinch of salt

2 cloves of garlic

a few juniper berries

8oz mushrooms

8oz streaky bacon

1oz butter

 

hot water crust pastry

 

6floz water

4oz butter

4oz lard

1lb flour

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon salt

 

begin by boning out the birds, and place the meat in separate bowls (roast the bones to make a stock for the gravy)

make the marinade by putting all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and mix well together. share the marinade between the 3 bowls of meat and leave to marinade for as long as you have ( preferably over night)

fry the birds in 1oz of butter keeping the meat separate as before for 3-5 mins.in another pan fry the mushrooms and streaky bacon in 1oz of lard for 1-2 mins,do not over cook at this stage as the filling will be cooked further once the pastry has been applied.

 

to make the pastry

this quantity covers an 8inch pie dish or 21/2 pint pie mould

warm a mixing bowl ans seive the flour and salt into it.make a well in the centre and hide the egg in the flour.

heat the butter,lard and water gently in a pan until melted before boiling point is reached, pour into the flour and egg mixture and mix well, when the dough has cooled slightly turn out onto a floured surface and kneed until smooth,at this stage it is a good idea to wrap pastry in cling wrap and rest it for 20 mins.

 

to assemble the pie

then roll out 2/3 of the pastry to line the pie dish keeping back 1/3 to top the pie.

pack the pastry lined pie dish with the cooked meats in layers with mushrooms and chopped herbs inbetween each layer. pour over gravey made from the roasted bones ( thickend gravy is best for a moist pie, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon)water the egde of the pastry (this helps the top stick) and place the pie top onto the dish.

brush with beaten egg or milk . crimp the edge of the pie crust using fingers .dont forget a small air hole in the middle of the pie to let the steam out or the top will "pop". also decorate with pastry leaf shapes if required.

bake  at  190 oC or gas mark 5  for 30-35 mins

honey and lavender ice cream

what is better than a bowl of home made ice cream on a summers eve sat in the fading sunshine on the patio... fab!

 

any old flavours will do .. but this version is just what the chancellor would tax as a luxury item .

 

2-3 tablespoons boiling water

2 tablespoons fresh or dried lavender flowers or leaves

3 tablespoons runny honey

4 egg yolks

1 pint milk

1oz caster sugar

1 drop vanilla essence

1 pint double cream lightly whipped

 

start by making the light egg custard. beat the eggs and sugar together without making them frothy.

heat the milk until just nearly boiling and pour it gently over the eggs stirring with a whisk at the same time so not to scramble the eggs.flavour the custard with vanilla.

return custard back to pan and heat gently stiring all the time until custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, (thick as pouring double cream).

leave to cool

make an infussion of lavender in 2 tablespoons of boiling water, allow it to infuse for 15 mins.remove lavender.

in a small bowl add the honey and the lavender water and gently mix together,then add this mixture to the cooled custard,add the whipped cream and transfer to a freezer box with a lid and freeze, stir every 30 mins,this stops large ice crystals forming, or if you have one .. use an ice cream machine

 

decorate with a chunk of honeycomb YUM!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ELDERFLOWER WINE .. GO ON HAVE A GO !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I shall soon be off to pillage the hedgerows again to help stock the old larder, at this time of year it's elderflour i am after, for my elderflour wine store.

if any of you lot out there in blog land would like to join in this year and make your own i shall post the recipe in another blog, well worth a try if you like white wine.

also good to give as prezzies.

later on in the summer i shall be foraging for elderberries to make the red wine version which i am informed is like a nice port. also the berries can be used in jams and pies. yes i shall blog the recipe dont worry;)

 

if anybody would like to request a recipe before it is blogged please do ask me ..

ok enough for now

blog ya all later