Preserving and baking

There are just a few raspberries and blackberries left to pick and I'll do that tomorrow. There won't be enough for a pie so they'll be eaten for breakfast with some home made yoghurt and cereal. The house is beginning to smell like Nellie Pledge's Pickle Factory again. How quickly that year's flown by! Anyway, the first batch of pickled onions is finished....

....I usually do five or six jars at one time. I don't do as many as I used to. I used to do a 5 kilo bag at one time. Nowadays I do about a dozen jars at the most, some for us and some for family. A lovely neighbour of ours brings us bags of apples and pears this time of year too, so most of these will be made into chutney with some leftover for pies or tarts which I'll freeze. As for drying herbs, well I don't bother. I don't think it's worth it. I do collect the parsley and fennel from the garden, it's bagged up and goes straight into the freezer. When I need some I just squeeze the bag of frozen parsley/fennel and spoon out what I need. No mess! I do pot up a root of mint early September. This is the left on the kitchen windowsill all winter. The warmth from the kitchen keeps it growing ( slowly) but I usually get enough from it for a few meals. I also freeze mint leaves too, as a standby. For Rosemary and sage, well I don't see the need for drying or freezing these. They're evergreens and so can be picked from the garden at any time and you can't beat fresh herbs. I have an abundance of these two herbs, they'll have to be thinned out when we sort the garden out. I haven't made any mincemeat yet. Although there is one jar left from last year. I'm very much looking forward to pumpkin again. I'm trying to find a good recipe for canning fresh pumpkin, so I can use it throughout the winter. After Halloween nowhere seems to stock it. ( A crime in my book!) I'm hoping to spend tomorrow baking. I have a few family favourites to make.......

...Bailey's cream cake......

...coconut cake....

...apple cake (this one went to work with Mick!)....

....lemon tart! These are just a few family favourites. I can think of many more to keep me busy! If anyone is wondering who Nellie Pledge was, then you can see here.