Seville Orange Marmalade

January is the best time for Seville Oranges and so the best time to make marmalade. Most recipes should give you a product which lasts up to 2 years.

The best recipe I have found is by Pam Corbin. What this lady doesn't know about preserving is simply not worth knowing. If you are new or not to preserving fresh produce her book is fabulous, River Cottage Preserves. I would definitely recommend it. If you are new to jam making it also explains why you need to do certain things.

Anyway, This is the Seville Orange Marmalade Recipe

Make 5x450g Jars
1kg Seville Oranges
75Ml Lemon Juice
2 kg of Sugar

1, Scrub the fruit and remove buttons.
2, Put whole fruit in preserving pan with 2.5 litres of water. Bring to the boil, then simmer with lid on for 2-2.5 hours (should be tender and easily pierced with a fork)
3, When cool enough to handle remove oranges from pan. Measure the cooking water, you should have 1.7 litres. If you have less, top it up. If you have more, boil to reduce.
4, Cut oranges in half, remove pips and save. Squeeze juice from pips into cooking water. Then you can discard.
5, Meanwhile cut up orange peel and flesh into your preferred size - chunky or Ickle!
6, Put fruit, sugar and lemon juice into cooking water
7, Stir to dissolve the sugar and bring to the boil
8, Bring to the boil and boil rapidly for about 10-15 mins until setting point* is reached
9, Leave to cool for about 10-15 mins, then stir gently to disperse scum
10, Pour into warm sterilised jars and seal immediately

*Put a spoonful on a chilled plate, leave for one minute. If at setting point, when you push the jam it will wrinkle.

Our First Egg, plus another 2!

Its taken sometime to get our first eggs! In the chicken's defence is has been very cold. However, there have been empty threats of showing them the oven, withholding treats, but still no eggs. Yesterday there were two in the morning, and by lunchtime there was a 3rd!

I am wondering if there have been some eggs laid before now, but they buried them. When I spotted the 3rd one in the run, (not the nesting box), I was busy emptying compost. When I went back to retrieve the egg it had been buried! I managed to retrieve it, but it makes you think! Any one who has seen Chicken Run will know what sneaky little blighters chickens really are!

We have had the girls for just over a month now and it never fails to surprise me what individual personalities they both have. They are so different. We think of chickens as food before pets, but actually keeping them shows them in a different light. Pete is feisty and she will chase you round the garden, plus the poor cat, she will jump up and peck your hand in the hope of treats, she will never make her own dust bath, just push Dud out of hers and use that instead. Dud is more chilled out, and just takes things as they come, although she is not as easily to manipulate with treats as Pete, who will do anything for carrots! They even have different voices, from inside the house you know which one is making noise, they are individuals.

Evidence of our first eggs

Mr H's Coddled Egg Breakfast

Jam Quesadilla

Yum, yum! this is currently ,my favourite breakfast. Its divine, and quick and easy!

Put a a knob of butter in a frying pan on a medium heat and let it melt. Swirl around the pan so it is all covered.
Throw in a flour tortilla, and then spoon on some jam. Now, don't be greedy here, remember you are going to fold the tortilla in half and flip to the other side and you don't want to get covered in molten jam! So put a sensible amount of jam on the tortilla and then fold it in half. leave for approx 2 minutes and flip gently and carefully to the other side, leave for a minute and then serve.

A blob of Greek yogurt on the side is a nice accompaniment, but I'm a purist! :)

How to be an armchair Eco Warrior

Everyday the news is the same. Credit Crunch. Recession.

However, there are tons of ways to save money, and the best thing about them is they also save the environment. Even if you are one of those people who doesn't care if Planet Earth is on borrowed time, most of you want to save money!

Here are some very easy ways....Its all very obvious, and I'm sure i am not telling you anything you don't already know! Food for thought prhaps? For more advice check out these websites

Friends of the Earth http://www.foe.co.uk/
Greenpeace http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/your-personal-guide-to-helping-save-the-climate

1. Change to energy efficient light bulbs
2. Turn lights off where you can
3, Turn off the mains of electrical appliances you are not using, no red standby light
4, Wear jumpers and get draught excluders to save on heating
5, Boil the kettle for hot water, including for veg and pasta etc, its often cheaper than heating cold water on the hob
6, Only boil the amount of water you need
7, Walk or dust off the bike instead of using the car for short journeys
8, Don't lave the tap running when cleaning your teeth
9, Don't buy expensive cleaners, opt for the cheaper more natural ones
http://www.foe.co.uk/living/articles/cleaning_costs.html
10, Use rechargeable batteries

Easting Seasonally Easily

Its been vogue for a while now. Any restaurant worth it's salt serves only seasonal food. However it can be hard to do this at home, you got to the supermarket and you can get anything! We trundle around on autopilot and fill our baskets with what ever we want. Which is not the worst thing in the world, I'm not that far gone to the hippy side.

Of course we will never get seasonal bananas, and these are among other things we love which do not grow in our country. However, if the majority of what we buy is seasonal and local, then we are doing a good thing for the Planet and our health.

There are plenty of company's out there who deliver Vegetable and Fruit Boxes to your door which contain seasonal goods, which are organic, as local as possible, and the bananas (not local!) are fair trade. It is an excellent way of shopping easily and seasonally and you don't have to leave the house.

I use Able & Cole, I think they are really good. Riverford has also been recommended to me. Have a look and see if there is anyone locally who offers this service. It really is a good way of living, and eating organic cheaply!

Mum's Saturday Soup

I wasn't very well, like everyone else at this time of year. Whilst sat on the sofa, feeling sorry for myself, I had a craving for my mums homemade soup. I do not remember the last time I had it and I don't think I have ever had a craving for it, but I made the call and got her recipe :)

We always had it Saturday lunchtimes in autumn and winter, with hot buttered crumpets. Pure comfort. It turns out it was Mums way of getting us to eat all the veg we didn't like! So she used to put the lot in, celery - yuk, turnips - yuk, spinach - yuk, and basically whatever veg she had hanging around, then to make it nice and thick she would add butter beans and lentils. (of course I like all those vegetables now!)

So basically the recipe is, any veg you have hanging around, butter beans (mum used to soak her own, I used a tin) and some lentils. Bring to the boil in stock and then simmer for 30-40 mins then blend.

I must insist you make this healthy soup naughty with hot buttered crumpets, its just not the same without ;)

Beat the January Blues

Its not the best time of year for happiness really. There is a noticeable increased sense of misery on London Transport, and that's not even in reference to the rubbish weather, everyone is miserable. Perhaps this years blues are worse than normal due credit crunch etc, especially as the media love these headlines how we are all going to die in the gutter like in a Dickensian Novel.

You just have to say "Sod It" Life is short, give yourself a hug! Don't stop reading because you think I'm a mad hippy (I am, but....), go, give yourself a treat! Think about one of those fantastically simple thing which just make you feel so happy! These things don't have to involve money, you know, going for a walk in one of the royal parks, then reading the paper on a bench, and people watching. Taking your favourite book (Preferably something suitably escapist from reality like Harry Potter!) and sitting in a coffee shop with your favourite type of coffee and maybe something naughty on the side :) Go for a swim! Go to the Children's section of a book shop and flick through all your old favourites and find some new ones.

I asked some friends for their "best hug", I hope it gives you an inspiration and so go do something nice for YOU!

1. Pamper afternoon! Soak in tub, glass of wine, face mask, paint nails.
2. Go to Kew Gardens
3. Sunday papers, bit pot of coffee, and some highly fattening pastries
4. Visit the cinema on your own
5. Your lounge, your favourite movies, and any accompaniment you love most - wine? popcorn? chocolate?
6. Explore a Park you have never been to take the paper, or simply people watch
7. Find a gorgeous little coffee shop and take your favourite book
8. Treat yourself to a massage
9. Stay in bed for a really long time until you feel naughty buy so indulgent
10. Think of something you have always wanted to do, and do it!