@AndSmelly
Ahem, there are some empty gin bottles in the house. Well, that's not quite true. There are lots of half-full and some almost-full gin bottles in the house, much of it homemade. But there are also quite a few empty bottles, mostly from my Craft Gin Club subscription that delivers a treat package every three… Continue reading Christmas Prep: Light bottles
As well as all the other culinary efforts producing stuff in jars this year (gin and jam, and mincemeat), I've also been in the chutney production business. This isn't unusual. In 2019 it was courgette chutney after a glut. I've done normal chutneys before as well in previous (pre-blogging years). I hadn't really planned on… Continue reading Making stuff 20: Chutneys
I think we've established by now that my only claim to any goddess-like levels of domesticity is my habit of making gin, jam, and chutney. Last year (2020) featured a ridiculous 6 gins but just one jelly. The year before (2019) I just did a couple of gins and three jams. This year, the focus… Continue reading Making stuff 19: gin and jam 2021
Last year I shared a recipe on how to make wild garlic pesto - at the time we made pasta pesto for large boy to count towards a Cubs badge. I've made more this year, two batches in fact and I might make another. Honestly, I absolutely love the stuff! Its gorgeously peppery without being… Continue reading Making Stuff 18: How to Use Wild Garlic Pesto
Last year's cocktails post seems long enough ago to start a new separate one with this year's recipes. I love a cocktail, but I rarely follow recipes though and enjoy making things up a bit as I go with little or no planning. So here are a few of my recent inventions... Rosalie I tried… Continue reading Making Stuff 17: Cocktails 2021
I haven't done a making stuff post for a while, but two are probably going to come along at once. The first week of February was Children's Mental Health week in the UK and so school gave us two Zoom free days. Mostly, that meant the boys watched a lot of TV and played on… Continue reading Making Stuff 16: Chocolate Banana Cake
Last year I had a marathon session making jam and chutney and kicking off the gin. The fruit stays steeping in the gin for at least a month, then its bottling time. This year, I wasn't planning to make any jam, there's still a cupboard full from last autumn. However, the elderberry laden trees at… Continue reading Making stuff 15: gin bottling and jam (2020)
I love a cocktail and I recently bought myself a proper shaker and some martini glasses. I rarely follow recipes though and enjoy making things up a bit as I go. Poor Man's Kir Royale Yeah, so who can afford champagne and creme de cassis is so 90s! In this house we drink prosecco with… Continue reading Making Stuff 14: Cocktails 2020
The first time I encountered wild garlic was on a walk along the river near Cromford Mill. We came round a corner and into a heady ether of garlic fumes rising from a huge patch of beautiful white flowers, looking almost like a dusting of snow over their glossy green leaves. It was a stunning… Continue reading Making stuff 13: wild garlic pesto
Following on from September's gin, jam and chutney marathon, its marmalade time. It's a long time since I've made marmalade so I had to get the recipe book out to figure out quantities. Unfortunately I didn't do that until after I'd been to buy fruit. So 4 large oranges, a grapefruit and some lemons amounted… Continue reading Making stuff 12: marmalade
Smelly Socks and Garden Peas 
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