A bit of fun in the kitchen

I picked the first batch of broad beans yesterday, & served with some roast beef & potatoes for a belated Sunday lunch. Enough to serve three & plenty more to come.

I have waited so long to harvest them its a shame to wish them away, but i have leek seedlings waiting to be transplanted. Along with some garlic & shallots, the bed will be put to good use over the autumn/winter period.

Also the gooseberries i picked the other day have been put to good use.

Gooseberry jam & mini gooseberry tarts. The tarts were wonderful served with fresh cream. I made eight. Four have been eaten & i fear the remaining four will not make the freezer.

And the jam, oh wow. I have never made jam before, i faff around & make jelly. I always thought i didnt like the bits. I like the bits in gooseberry jam. I like them very much indeed. I have a loaf of bread in the breadmaker as i type.

Now for the jam recipe, equal quantities of fruit & preserving sugar. I put my 324g of gooseberries in a pan with a good splash of water. They were simmered until soft, then i squashed them with a wooden spoon. I added 324g of preserving sugar and stirred until dissolved. Stir in a tsp of butter. Then boil for upto 10 mins.Pour into a jar. Yum.

The recipe for the gooseberry tarts is from http://gardenteacakesandme.blogspot.co.uk/ & they are absolutley fab.

Finally, i have sorted out how to display stand alone pages at the top of my blog.