Grapfruit Juice.

Not much to say here but I thought I'd share. Mum has a GIANT grapefruit tree in the backyard and she really likes grapefruit juice. So every time a big wind blows through I pick up all the grapefruit (usually about 3 buckets at a time) and get to juicing.

We have tried many different juicers over the years but the best ones have been simple electric rotaries (like a traditional lemon juicer but with electricity).

Here is the haul from two afternoons juicing.

It's thick, pulpy, sticky and yum!

Apple Mint Jelly

As I sit down to write this entry I realise that the recipe is at the other end of country, so no measurements sorry but some pretty pictures.

These are the apples you should use, Granny Smiths (aka green apples). They have the highest pectin in the peel so gel the best and often negate the need for additional gelatine.

Ideally you want to use a lot of small apples to maximise the peel to flesh ratio.

My mint plant looking a little bit worse for wear after being raided for the mint jelly.

Roughly chopped apples (pips and all), mint, lemon rind + juice, water. If you over-boil at this stage you will get very little liquid later on, so my advice is to be generous with the water now - you should still be able to get it to gel.

Boiled down a bit to get all the goodness out of the peel.

This was a previous batch which was overboiled - but you can still add extra water later on, it's just better not to (I believe).

The setup: hot, damp cheesecloth in a sieve resting over a tall bowl (need plenty of room for the liquid to fall - liquid level should never reach the bottom of the sieve.

Heaps of apple mush beginning to fall through. Leave for several hours (overnight in the mcrowave to keep away the nasties).

Awww yeah look at all that goodness. Actually this won't make very much at all. Next time I would add a cup or two of water to this. It will still be thick-ish but will maximise output (esp as I don't think mint jelly has to be rock-hard jelly).

Now we boil it up (gently) with 2/3C of sugar added for every cup of liquid. Her you can see the bowl with the foam skimmed off of the top.

Colour change due to food colouring. You can see how much liquid has been lost.

Jars are fresh out of the dishwasher and in the oven on low to dry completely and stay hot.

Dark green jar from a previous batch (that I boiled too much so only ended up with one jar worth of liquid). Lighter green jars have just been filled and are upside down to help the lids reseal (button pops back down).

Still only got 3 jars out of this batch (began with 4 medium apples), jelly is still thick so will water down more at the beginning next time.


DISCLAIMER: I often reuse food jars and have never had a problem with sealing or sterilisation - some people however will tell you that it is a bad idea to use these lids. Do your own research and make up your own mind.

Time for dishes.

KITTY!

My Vege Patch

Hey Internet.

So being unemployed seems to agree with me (I have a job I just get a 10 week break between the interview and actually starting) so I've been doing all sorts of exciting things.... (ok you caught me - I watched the entire US Office in 1 week). But occassionally I do go outside and here is what I've been doing out there.

 

 These two boxes are planted with strawbs, toms, lettuce seedlings, and a zucchini plant. You can probably see all the weeds - that's what the black roll of weed mat is for - I covered them all up. Out of sight, out of mind.

There are another 2 boxes (made from adapted apple picking bins - stuffed with straw then soil) just to the right of these and that is where I'm growing my veges from seeds.

I bought a wide variety of strawberry plants - and I have def noticed that the bigger ones are producin larger quantities and just larger fruit. No tomatoes yet and the lettuces took a long time but they're finally startign to take off.

From my seedling garden - IT'S A tiny LETTUCE (and a few weeds)

Cutting the first strawberry. Going to have to work on the netting design, I've already lost a couple of strawbs to birdies. Good thing is my Dad's coffee addiction keeps me well supplied with grounds to keep the slimeys away.

Best thing about this garden is how high it is. No back-breaking work here (although I do occassionally stab myself with the nails that hold the netting in place.


P.S. Expect to see more updates as things start growing!

Goodreads link

I am a nerdfighter.

If you don't know what this is, google it - you won't be disappointed.

Nerdfightaria are currently hosting a global bookswap, and I have a sneaking suspicion that instead of linking to my goodreads page, I instead linked to this blog.

So on the off chance that my book dealer (of only slightly more legitamacy than a drug dealer) comes here I wanted to send them to the right place.

https://www.goodreads.com/CraftyOldMaid

And also to say that you don't have to send me a romance if you don't want, just a book that you love that isn't horrifically tragic. (I have vague recollections of being overly and exceedingly detailed in my demands).

I'll post again soon with the book that I'm sending, and the book that arrives for me :)

Becky DFTBA