Beetroot and ginger chutney

I was sent this fabulous recipe by my friend Jo last year, just as we had finished all our beetroot! Well, this year I wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity to make this yummy sounding chutney (even though I personally can't eat it). I'm intolerant to onions and I just simply despise vinegar ~ not a great mix when your about to make chutney ;)

Beetroot and Ginger Chutney

Makes about 5-6 lb.

3 lb beetroot, roasted
1 lb onion, chopped
2 pints vinegar
1 lb dessert apples, peeled and chopped
1 lb seedless raisins, chopped
3 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
2 lb granulated sugar

• Peel and cut the beetroot into cubes.
• Place onion and a little of the vinegar in a large preserving pan and cook for a few minutes to soften the onion. Add apples and raisins and continue cooking until pulpy.
• Add beetroot, ginger, salt and half the remaining vinegar.
• Simmer gently until thick.
• Stir in the sugar and remaining vinegar and continue cooking until thick again.
• Pot into cooled, sterilised jars, seal with a vinegar proof lid and label.
• Store for 6-8 weeks before using.

It takes a good few hours for the mixture to thicken up properly, but it is worth it!

So Andrew and I made it for the fun day, to sell on our own Eden Allotments Stall. We didn't have quite enough beetroot but it was easy to make the recipe work with some maths (which Andrew is good at ~ I suck at maths). We had bought a lovely new thick bottomed big pot in Ikea especially for preserve making and so we were rather excited to get going. Wow, the Gault household sounds so dull if that makes us excited!

It did take a while but nothing about is difficult and we were able to watch bits of tv and then go and stir the mixture; all made better by a glass of red wine in one hand, hehe. We got a lovely full Kilner jar (for ourselves) and 3 jam jars of the glorious food stuff out of our quantities. Okay, the house stank of vinegar for a couple of days afterwards but it feels great to make lovely things out of your own produce, and it will make money for the association on one hand and make Andrew happy on the other (me? ~ I happy to make money for the allotments, not so overjoyed with a stinky house and hubby ;) )

Just have to prettify (is that a word?) the jars with material over the lids tied with twine and they're ready to go. The chutney is the most beautiful deep red/purple colour and Andrew's labels look great, well done us!

Give it a go! Lovely pressie for a loved one, or for yourself x

Little acts of kindness

At the weekend (I have a good bit to write about this week) there were a few random acts of kindness around the lotties, a lovely community spirit.

Firstly Gary's plot was all strimmed down and then mown for him by Bobby, Doug and Andrew. It was hard work and took a couple of hours for the 3 of them but they didn't complain and threw themselves into the task. The sun was blazing on them as well and it was tiring just to look at them. I didn't help because the grass was over my knee height and in flower, my hay fever was bad enough over on my own plots with all that pollen flying around! Through my hay fever meds are a godsend to be fair, sometimes they are just pushed to the limit, hahaha. Hopefully Gary won't find the sight of his plot too heart wrenching now when he gets back, his work has been sending him off to Scotland recently.

Then there was the happy news that we have more preserves being made by Ronnie and Bill's lovely wife and set aside for our stall on the fun day. Andrew and I spent hours making chutney on Friday night (I'll tell you about it tomorrow), so we know only too well how much effort goes into producing stuff and then there is the added knowledge that it isn't all for you to eat!!!

We were given lots of unwanted pavers on Sunday for free for the second plot. They're great quality and a good size but I'll leave that for another day too.

Lastly I was given the most beautiful bouquet of sweet peas, completely out of the blue by Donald. How nice was that?!!! Take note my love, another man giving me flowers! Donald's sweet peas are fabulous, so many colours and the plants are huge, tall and heavy with flowers; after I was given that delicious smelling bunch I was spurred on to gave my much smaller and less productive plants a good feed ;)

My depression was horrendous over the weekend, it helped being down at the lotties on Saturday and keeping myself very busy. I worked so hard and you probably wouldn't even notice ~ don't you just hate that! But Sunday I couldn't even go at all. I sat all dressed to go but couldn't leave the house. How can I hurt so much when there is no wound to heal?

Today is another BAD day so I'm off now to try and calm down on the sofa. Been depressed and uber panicky since I woke up and shaking even with a good dose of meds. Taken a little extra and hoping for peace soon, I find this all very distressing and frightening. I'm tired.

It's a lovely day outside and Maggie is sunning herself on the bench in the back garden; she's such a cutie.



Thank you all for the continued support and kind encouraging words x