Tag: recipes

Food and drink, recipes

Scrumptious Saturday: pumpkin muffins

Ellie

We grew a heap of pumpkins this year as I use them for forest school usually, for Montessori activities, for the mud kitchen etc but with the current circumstances, Forest school was cancelled this year for the Halloween special….

So we have been thinking of ways of using pumpkins!! Luckily our Piglets LOVE them and have eaten a good few of them!!

But we have also made pumpkin muffins and the kids loved them!!!

Method

  • STEP 1Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases. Mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and both sugars together in a large bowl. Break up any lumps of brown sugar by rubbing them between your fingers.
  • STEP 2Whisk the purée and eggs together in a jug, then add to the dry ingredients with the melted butter. Whisk for 1-2 mins with an electric hand whisk until just combined.
  • STEP 3Bake for 15 mins until golden and risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Lift onto a wire rack to cool completely. Will keep for three days in an airtight container.

We added dark chocolate chips for added yum!! And also tried a few with cream cheese icing like you would use on a carrot cake!! Yum!!!!

Food and drink, Fruit and vegetables, recipes

Scrumptious Saturdays – Pear Clafoutis

Ellie

A while ago a dear friend sent me a recipe for pear clafoutis and I thought I’d share it with you!

We have made this a fair few times and substituted different fruits in at different times of year or supplemented dwindling pear supplies with blackberries or apples etc etc!!

It’s quite simply delightful!!!

Food and drink, Fruit and vegetables, recipes

Scrumptious Saturdays – Ketchup in the slow cooker!!

Ellie

The Fourth in our series of recipes! And a great slow cooker ketchup that tastes better the Heinz stuff in our opinion and does not have half the ingredients!

You will need:

  • 1.6 litres of pureed tomatoes
  • 120ml of water
  • 125g sugar
  • 180ml of white vinegar
  • 1tsp onion granules
  • 1/2tsp of garlic granules
  • 2 tsps of salt
  • 1 tsp of English mustard
  • 1/4 tsp of pepper

Method:

  • Blitz the tomatoes in the blender
  • add all the ingredients into the slow cooker
  • Cook on high for 10-12 hours, until it has reduced by half
  • Blend again with a hand blender
  • Push the mixture through a fine sieve and bottle.
  • You can water bath can this to make it last longer!
  • if you like a bit of a kick, you can also add chillies to make it a chilli ketchup!

We would love to see your efforts!! Please hop on over to Facebook or Instagram to show us!!

Food and drink, Fruit and vegetables, recipes

Scrumptious Saturdays – Apple Jelly or Chilli Jelly

Ellie

As the apples are harvested it can sometimes be very daunting as to how many there are around here! It increases each year as we have around 50 trees (albeit a mix of plums, pears and apples) that we planted in November 2014!

We stew some apple for pies and crumbles, we juice loads for apple juice (which we water bath can for longevity) and cider…. and then there is jellies and sauces!!

You will need:

  • apples
  • jam sugar

Method:

  • If you would like to make apple puree sauce as well as jelly then core, peel and chop your apples, otherwise rough chop your apples
  • Put them in a large pan with water and boil until it has all turned to mush
  • Pass the mixture through a jelly bag, i.e. load it up and leave it to drip, do NOT squeeze the jelly bag or the liquid will not be clear.
  • Wash out the pan and return the dripped through apple mixture to pan. Using approximately one pound of sugar per pint of liquid add your sugar.
  • Bring the mixture gradually to the boil stirring until the sugar has dissolved and then stirring occasionally until the mixture reaches jam temperature.
  • Pour your apple liquid into hot sterilised jars and seal.
  • If you would like to make chilli jelly dice your chillies and add them to your hot sterilised jars just before you pour in the liquid.
  • If you would like to make puree sauce, push the contents of the jelly bag through a sieve, add a little sugar to your taste, reheat and jar in hot sterilised jars.

Come and show us your efforts with apples over on Facebook or Instagram!

Food and drink, Fruit and vegetables, recipes

Scrumptious Saturdays – Chocolate Courgette cake

Ellie

The third in the series of recipe posts and this is one of our favourites!

You will need:

  • 375g flour
  • 75g of cocoa powder
  • 2 tsps of baking powder
  • 1/2tsp of seasalt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 120ml of oil
  • 120g of butter
  • 340g of light brown sugar
  • 2tsps of vanilla essence or extract
  • 1 pack of chocolate chips
  • 400g of grated courgette

Method:

  • Preheat Oven to 180
  • Cream together the butter and sugar and add the vanilla
  • Add the oil and eggs and beat
  • Add in the flour, cocoa and baking powder and mix well
  • Add in the courgette, seasalt and mix well again
  • Add in the chocolate chips
  • Pour the mixture into one large cake tin or two loaf tins, greased and lined
  • Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean

We would love to see your efforts!! Please hop on over to Facebook or Instagram to show us!!

Food and drink, Fruit and vegetables, recipes

Scrumptious Saturdays – Courgette and Feta Fritters

Ellie

The next in our series of recipe posts from the recipes we use regularly around here at the smallholding, preserving our harvests for scrummy treats through the year!

Today is the turn of Courgette and Feta Fritters

You will need:

  • 600g grated courgette
  • 100g self raising flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 spring onions
  • 150g feta
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2tsp of dill/mint/coriander (optional to add all 3, or just one or two)
  • oil for frying

Method

  • Add the salt to the grated courgette and leave for 10 minutes
  • Using your hands try to squeeze as much liquid out as possible
  • Add the flour, eggs, and mix well
  • Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well again
  • put a frying pan with a small amount of oil in the bottom over a medium to high heat and spoon in tablespoons of mixture to make individual little patties, flipping them half way through cooking to brown both sides lightly.
  • These taste amazing hot or cold and freeze really well so if you batch cook a load you can add them to lunches as and when!

We would love to see your efforts!! Please hop on over to Facebook or Instagram to show us!!

Food and drink, Fruit and vegetables, recipes

Scrumptious Saturdays – Beetroot and Horseradish Chutney

Ellie

I have decided to share a few of the recipes I have collected, tweaked maybe perfected for our tastes here on the holding preserving our harvests and allowing us delicious treats through the year, whether they be canned, jarred or frozen!

I am going to start with Beetroot and Horseradish chutney as a request from a friend who came recently to camp out in our fields as a quiet alternative to a camp site. (and yes we are thinking of using our 28 days allowances now each year for weekends of campers!)

Beetroot and Horseradish chutney

You will need:

  • 750g of raw beetroot, trimmed peeled and finely diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 dessert apple, diced
  • 2 tbsp of freshly grated horseradish (top tip if you freeze it before grating it wont sting your eyes, plus you can grate a heap and freeze it for future use)
  • 200g sugar
  • 300ml of white wine vinegar
  • 2tsp salt

Method

  • Put all the ingredients into the pan ( I use a large heavy based pan or Maslin pan)
  • Bring the pan slowly to the boil stirring until the sugar dissolves
  • Cook gently then for 1-1.5 hours stirring occasionally
  • Once the chutney is done, you will know by performing the channel test (use a spoon, drag it along the bottom of the pan to create a channel and if no liquid refills it fast then you are good to go)
  • Jar up into hot sterilised jars, put on lids and allow to sit in a dark cupboard for 2 months before using.

I hope you will enjoy joining me on this culinary journey and would love it if you shared your efforts over on the Facebook page in the comments or over on Instagram!

Craftiness, knitting, Knitting and Crochet, Life with a toddler, Patterns, Podcast, Sewing, Spinning, Weaving, Working the land, yarn

Episode 11 show notes!! 

Ellie

Episode 11Monday 12th of February

Only a week later than planned due to illness, starting with toddle chops and ending in all of us!
Knitting

One FO toddler socks

New cast on…. Weasley sweater for me in Hayfield Aran bonus in purple

Swatching for some new designs…..

1 shawl…. In Owl About Yarn Tibetan Owl….

1 toy in Aran weight alpaca…

Another shawl which is being swatched in my smooshie base (azure) but will eventually be knit up in RiverKnits’ glorious Splendiferous base in Silberman Mond or silver moon….
Wound the yarn to cast on the next two pairs of vanilla socks…

Both are weavers loft, which I picked up at Wonderwool last year no colourway names, but they are 75% super wash wool 25% nylon

One for James and one for Dad….

Crochet

I’ve balled up the masham and mystery hand spuns and have decided to crochet a log cabin style blanket out of them…. Mainly for ease and the fact it grows sooooo quickly!! 
Aside… I love the way these Masham skeins have balled up!!
Acquisitions 

Ummmm so before we get into sewing…. I’ve a few…. Ahem…… Acquisitions to admit to……

1 tartan off cuts…. One bag thereof…

Flannelette cotton

Four colours of Sherpa fleece….

Green sweatshirt material….

Waterproof fabric

White terry towelling fabric
And I’m still waiting on some pretty pink cottons and some ribbing fabrics I ordered….

Eek!!! 
Sewing

So it’s been three weeks and I have just about three projects finished….

The first two are the Bucket hats by Oliver and S which I have made out this tractor fabric…. One is for William, the other for a little friend of his!!

The second is an AJ Aviator hat by Made by Jacks Mum….

This one is for James and I have started the one for William today!! 
I have been finding crawling about on the floor increasingly not fun for cutting out so I have now spent a chunk of time and cut out a few big sewing projects, smaller one I can manage at my table….
I have cut out a blue coco by Tilly and the buttons

A grain line studios Linden in the green foxy fabric

An Agnes by Tilly and the Buttons in black for the body green for the sleeves, 

A load of the AJ aviator hats….

Plus I still have a fleece jumper cut out to sew, though I don’t think it will now fit toddle chops, it will have to wait for his little brother to grow into it!! 
Spinning

I’ve managed a fair amount of spinning these past few weeks despite illnesses….

All working on this Pomegranate colourway from John Arbon, which I picked up from Wonderwool a few years back now!! 
I have Navajo or chain plied it and I am definitely finding that easier the more I practice!!! But Amy Beth of the Fat Squirrel speaks has alerted me to another ply variety called thread plying so I think I may try that on next on the gorgeous purples I have also from John Arbon…. And thread ply it with one of the beautiful cones of yarn I was gifted an age ago!!! That way I’d get a really great yardage from it…. Who know maybe even sweater yardage?!?! Or part of a sweater!!! 
Weaving

Unfortunately something had to give in these past weeks with illness…. And weaving was it…. Plus I keep forgetting to ask James to help me pull the weaving round the loom so I can start the next section!! But I reckon I’m well over halfway…
Shop update

Well last Friday saw the release of the Lovehearts hat!!!! It’s available so far in my Etsy shop and in my Ravelry Pattern store!!! So head on over and have a snoop if you’d like!!!
I’m planning to release the next one…. broadleaf around the time I next Podcast…. 
I am also putting a call out for test knitters for the coniferous hat…. All the details will be in the Ravelry group!! 
Baking

So these past two weeks we’ve been a bit more kitchen productive again after a small hiatus post Christmas!!! 
I tried to make a apple pie I saw a video for in Facebook, watched once and then couldn’t find again….. 

It actually turned out great!!!! I’ll make a few tweaks and make it again…. Then blog what I did!

And then I made banana loaf cakes!!!! As toddle chops went off bananas when he was ill, loads went really ripe and almost over…. So I went on the interwebs and BBC good food gave me a fab recipe for banana loaf cakes. 
On the same day as we had the oven all fired up through the day rather than just ticking over James made a vat of spag Bol, a pot of leek and potato soup (his go to Delia Recipe!) and a lasagne for tea!! Yum!!
Farm Update! 

Well there has been snow….

Colds….

Cold wet weather…

Hail…..

So we’ve done a fair bit indoors, finishing off bits of the house, glossing door returns…. Glossing the under stairs cupboarding….

James has built housing for his electric fencing gubbins….

And he has been collecting wood like no tomorrow!! Phew!!! 

 The chicken have gone onto adult food…. And Dai has even started to try and crow!!! I shall try and insert an audio clip…. If not I might be able to Facebook his proto crowing or get it onto the blog!!! Sounds rather pitiful though but he is improving daily!! (Our poor neighbours!!) 

We have had another growth scan on baby two… And I’ve started washing all the clothes to freshen them up….. Next is the car seat and the baby seats and we built the cot at the weekend!! 
Giveaway

Before coming on air I updated the spreadsheet I have been keeping on the giveaway entries and ran a random number generator……

Drum roll

The winners of the Alpaca are….. 

Anita from Gaga knits on YouTube!! 

Angeiship13 on Instagram!! 

Please PM/DM/ message me your postal addresses and I will get the yarn parcelled up and off to the post office the next opportunity I have!!!! 
That’s all folks!!