Plum Crazy...

I have a little Victoria plum tree in my garden.... and it is loaded to breaking point with beautiful plums.... I found a Delia Smith recipe for Victoria plum ketchup and decided that I would start making some after the plasterers had finished..


I easily picked this basket load in the drizzly rain on Monday afternoon


and there are a fair few left to ripen ...


plus the chickens are helping to clear up the fallen ones ... ;D


The plasterers are finishing up, they arrived at 8:30 and its was almost 2 when they finished... its looking fantastic so all I need to do is wait a few days for it to dry out


I have chosen a colour


Make do and mend.... however I do like the enamel green... but the blue will be fresh and light in a teeny tiny dark bathroom...


as the plasterers were packing up I started getting ready to pickle some pullet eggs from the farm shop... and I also popped a half dozen of my eggs in so that the jars contain small and large eggs...


Its odd, but I have never pickled eggs although its really not that tricky...


I do love the old fashioned kilner jars... I bought these last year... but I never got around to using them...


I bought a new preserving pan... a friend of my mums lent me her pan but as its aluminum it won't work on my induction hob... so I bought this one from Lakeland... plus a couple of spoons with hooks on the handles... on checking the recipe I realised I was short of onions so I hopped in the car and headed to the nearest food shop... oh I wish the summer sun would return... but we did have some glorious weather in the spring so I suppose beggars cant be choosers...


Once I got back I started to chop plums, onions and weigh raisins... and I managed to tie my first ever spice bag... lol... any sensible girl would have realized that this was probably not the time to start preserving but I was so excited I didn't notice the time...


TO top it all off I misread the recipe and added to many ingredients and it took me hours to reduce the mixture to a ketchup consistency...



but you do learn best from your mistakes so although I was up till 4am bottling plum ketchup I will now read the recipe very carefully in the future... and do my preserving in the mornings! ;D


I do hope its going to taste okay.... I still have wholegrain beer mustard and Autumn chutney to make...

I am however enjoying making use of the fruits and vegetables that are growing in my garden this year... and I completely thank my hens for making me more connected with my garden... as I tend to their needs I notice the garden and all its bounty...

Well I had better get on... lots to do and I'd better make a start...

xx Alex



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