Autumn

Image one and two found via Pinterest, source unknown - third image is my mom-in-law's hand picked and homemade apple and blackberry pie.

The arrival of September [where has this year gone?!] signals the arrival of Autumn. As much as I love the warmth of the summer sun, I've been looking forward to Autumn and here's why:

> the leaves on the trees starting to change colour and the crisp and crunch of them under your Wellies when you walk. 

> blackberry picking and crumble making. And using up the glut of apples in our garden. How amazing does this recipe look?!

> making masses of soup to eat for lunch. I made 18 portions this weekend one. Favourite? Sweet potato ad butternut squash. Heaven in a bowl. 

> Sunday morning walks around the fields. The dogs love getting muddy

> crisp dry mornings lying in a warm bed with your head poking out in the cold. Even better with a cuppa

> cosy nights in front of the fire with candles flickering, a good film and a mug of cocoa. 

> buying Autumn clothes. Knitwear, socks and thick pyjamas

> my Mom's rice pudding. With lashings of nutmeg. Perfect after a Sunday toast with the family 

> Christmas planning and the countdown to our annual trip to Paris. 

Autumn for us is particularly an exciting time for us this year as we are hoping to start work on demolishing and rebuilding our house!

What does Autumn mean for you?

Apple and Onion Chutney

I've had a bit of a housewifey weekend again. Last week I mentioned that I had an apple tree in the garden with an abundance of fruit, so I thought it was about time to make something with them,. For my birthday, Luke bought me a book on jam and preserves making [he knows me so well], so I found a recipe for easy apple and onion chutney.It's great on homemade pate (I'll put this recipe up another time) and is a great kick for on ham or cheese sandwiches.

First take 900g of onions, and finely dice

Then take 1.8kg of cooking apples, peel, core and dice

Put in a pan with 500g of light muscovado sugar,2 tbsp of tumeric, 3 cloves of grated garlic, 60g of grated ginger, 1litre of distilled malt vinegar. Bring to the boil until the sugar has dissolved. Then simmer for an hour until thick.

It's really that easy!!!

Then pot into sterilised jars. This recipe made 10 small jam jars, great for the store cupboard!!!

I also made chicken liver pate, french onion soup, cherry chocolate brownies and banana cake, watch this space for the recipes!

Happiness

Thought I'd follow suit and do a post on the things that've made me smile this week. It's so nice to have a moment to reflect on the past week.

Image found via Pinterest [source unknown]

> The apple tree in our garden has grown some huge apples. I can't wait until they're ripe so I can make some apple sauce and chutneys. 

> Spending some time with my Mom and sister. We had a nice catch up over a Girly lunch on Tuesday and this weekend we are off to London to see Matilda :)

> Having some housewife time and baking lots of goodies. I've made broccoli and Stilton soup, bread rolls, apricot jam, scones and flapjacks. 

> Watching the bees buzz around the lavender in our front garden. It smells sooo good, I could lie there and watch them day going about their pollenating.

> Luke showing great appreciation for my housewifey hard work when he comes home late after a hard day's work to a bubble bath, dinner on the table and a beer. 

> Catching up with old friends. You know true friends for life are those with whom you can pick up where you left off and years of not seeing each other just does not matter

This weekend is full of meandering round London with my mom and sis,  drinking lots and eating more and watching Matilda :) 
I hope you enjoy your weekend x

Cherry jam

Whilst out walking the dogs on Saturday, we came across some massive cherry trees. The fruits were perfectly ripe so I rushed back to get a couple of bags and got picking! We picked about 6kg of black cherries but pitting them took so much time that I only made about 1kg into jam... 

Take 1kg of cherries, pitted, and boil in a big preserving pan with 200ml of water until the cherries go soft. I mashed half of mine but left a lot of them full as I like chunky jJam. Then add the juice of 3 lemons and 1kg of jam sugar and bring to a rolling boil for about 10 mins or until the jam reaches a set. Then pot into sterilised Kilner jars [this recipe made just over 2 jars of the same size as below] I can't wait to have some of this in my porridge in the morning :)

                       

Summer is here!

I'm sure everyone can agree that it was a must to make the most of the gorgeous weather this weekend. 

I spent the majority of Saturday baking cupcakes for my [not so] baby sister's 21st birthday so it meant I had all day Sunday to sit and chill. I even managed to persuade Luke to not go into work so we could make the most of it together. 

With Murray in the final of Wimbledon, it meant only one thing - a glass of wine in a pub beer garden with the match on the TV. We came home after the second set, and celebrated Murray's win, and finished the day with a little bit of crafting. 

It was really nice to just sit and not clock watch at all all day and just appreciate and make the most of the weather. And after Murray's win, I feel even more proud to be british, don't you?!

                  Birthday cupcakes 

                  Strawberry wine :)

 Me and my lovely mom in law [note the sunburnt shoulders:(]

A Crafting Welcome...

So after months of encouragement, I finally caved and have started a blog. It's going to be centered around me rambling on about my day to day life, which mostly concerns crafting, baking and my love for exploring new places (hence the blogname).

I seem to have become slightly obsessed addicted to card making lately. My boyfriend, Luke, will probably regret buying me a Cuttlebug for my birthday last year, as this kickstarted my obsession and has meant all saving-for-house plans have gone out the window. I'm hoping to use this blog as a way to keep a memory of the cards I make and to show other crafty lovers what I do (and perhaps mean I spend less time spending and more time crafting and blogging!)