redcurrants and rosemary awaiting sugar
What a bumper year it’s been for the currants – were having berried up green smoothies daily, there are lots in freezer which will extend the berry smoothie season and it’s looking to be a very abundant bramble year too. Last year we gathered quite a lot for the freezer as well as smoothie-ing them fresh. At least I thought we’d gathered a lot until I met a man in the woods with 3 huge bucket loads of them. He must have spent all day picking. Maybe for jam? I really want to try preserving in different ways this year so we can eat the home grown stuff in winter too. So we made strawberry jam as mentioned, and then moved onto:
redcurrant and rosemary jelly for savoury things
This was inspired by the home baked blog, that mixing of flavours is beautiful! I used Delia’s redcurrant jelly recipe with quite a few rosemary sprigs thrown in and then used the same basic technique to make:
blackcurrant jelly
which is wonderful – what a sensational taste blackcurrants do have!
Cooking on the stove this morning is Apple and Ginger Chutney from the Cranks recipe book with the apples from the bike ride heavily supplemented with ones from our trees and our own onions in there too 
Adapted recipe on the sauces page.
I am jealous and envious!!
Of course in my own strange and twisted way I mean that as a complement
no, no – you have courgettes!
commentluv obviously not noticing it’s on the post it’s linking to there!!
Very true. I got two courgettes and then nothing. Now suddenly I have three more. I see I’m going to have to watch those pesky courgettes closely otherwise I’ll have marrows.
No sign of any cucumbers though
marrow chutney meant to be nice
we still have male only flowers on long stalks…
hmmm, wonder why? That seems to be the issue with my cucumber plants…all male. Just did a quick google search and one suggestion is to pinch off all the male flowers to encourage the ladies to grow and another suggests just waiting as once the males are there the females appear a few weeks later…off to consult one of my many gardening books.
Ha!! Went out to inspect the plants in the greenhouse and have found two cucumbers!! I see what the problem is…I didn’t label any of of my cucubits so I had my squashes and cucumbers mixed up. oops. This now means that my squashes are producing only male flowers and I have to say they are fairly going for it.
yes, I have read that the male flowers come first – I hope some of the grils show up before winter!! yay to the cukes!
oh my – early morning typing – girls, not grils
I don’t think anyone can spell at 7.30am!
I’m sure the girls will show up. I have my fingers crossed that your courgettes and my squashes shall not stay bachelors for long!
I think it’s an hour out – it was 8.30. yes, we want nice ladies for our boys
8.30?! Well, no excuse then! :p