Its preserving time again and I've been trying to keep up with the garden (and supermarket) this week. There was a huge crop on my one redcurrant bush this year. They are such beautiful berries - they glisten like rubies in the sunshine.
Its also a time for using up what's left in the freezer from last year - raspberries and blackberries in my case. So I decided to use a recipe from my favourite preserving book
Sensational Preserves by Hilaire Walden (cheaper used copies on ebay!) - Red Summer Fruits Preserve (yes, I know the blackberries aren't red but they needed to be used up).
So along with some reduced-in-price strawberries from the supermarket I cleared most of the fruit in the freezer, used almost all the redcurrants and produced six jars of the preserve. A very satisfying afternoon's work.
I saw
this idea to top jam jars with paper cupcake cases and these I got at Ikea some time ago are the perfect colours for my jars. I also made some labels using my new PTI Strawberry Fruit Fusion stamp set.
I photographed the jars outside my back door in the sunshine this morning and I'm really loving the sedum that is spreading itself over the coalhouse roof. Its just started to flower. I've just left it to grow over the last couple of years - another plant that has just popped up from who knows where. LOVE that. But I think I need to add a bit of compost to the roof to encourage it a bit more. I saw a sedum roof on a TV programme last night and its quite expensive to buy so I'm very lucky it decided to pick my coalhouse to grow on.
Its preserving time again and I've been trying to keep up with the garden (and supermarket) this week. There was a huge crop on my one redcurrant bush this year. They are such beautiful berries - they glisten like rubies in the sunshine.
Its also a time for using up what's left in the freezer from last year - raspberries and blackberries in my case. So I decided to use a recipe from my favourite preserving book Sensational Preserves by Hilaire Walden (cheaper used copies on ebay!) - Red Summer Fruits Preserve (yes, I know the blackberries aren't red but they needed to be used up).
So along with some reduced-in-price strawberries from the supermarket I cleared most of the fruit in the freezer, used almost all the redcurrants and produced six jars of the preserve. A very satisfying afternoon's work.
I saw this idea to top jam jars with paper cupcake cases and these I got at Ikea some time ago are the perfect colours for my jars. I also made some labels using my new PTI Strawberry Fruit Fusion stamp set.
I photographed the jars outside my back door in the sunshine this morning and I'm really loving the sedum that is spreading itself over the coalhouse roof. Its just started to flower. I've just left it to grow over the last couple of years - another plant that has just popped up from who knows where. LOVE that. But I think I need to add a bit of compost to the roof to encourage it a bit more. I saw a sedum roof on a TV programme last night and its quite expensive to buy so I'm very lucky it decided to pick my coalhouse to grow on.
Your tag is so cute and perfect for this project! The preserves look yummy!!
ReplyDeleteThose preserves look delicious! I've always wanted to try making preserves and yours look great. I like how you decorated it with cupcake liners too. Very clever! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea with the cupcake toppers for the jars and lucky you with your sedum, not only for free but low maintenance too! My kinda plant ;-)
ReplyDeleteHugs xx
What a good idea to use also the fruits that are still in the freezer. I also have some of last year. Will look for that book!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love vegetable roofs, lucky you.....
Lovely looking fruits and great jars.
ReplyDeleteIt was from you I had the inspiration for the blue poppy card!
Linbyx
Oh yum! Isn't it so much fun to turn summer fruits into delicious spreads? We just harvested a small crop of black currants, which I will use in scones. Yum!
ReplyDeleteHope one of those jars has my name on it!
ReplyDeleteLove Jan x
Oh Ann your jam looks gorgeous and you have inspired me to try some more. Thanks for the book tip - I've been looking for a good preserves book for ages and I've just bagged Hilaire's book on ebay.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Carol x
First, pages from a magazine & now I get pages from a cookbook! You really rock that photography Ann - yummy!! xxx p.s. I've bought & sold the original PTI 'jar' set so many times but looks like it will be going in may basket AGAIN haha
ReplyDeleteThose cupcake bases are such a great idea. I can not believe how easy that would be. I can not wait to try it.
ReplyDelete