The Year Round Nigel Slater Discussion Thread - Part 5

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello all, and welcome to this lovely space for our continued chats.

A bit of background for anyone not familiar with this topic:

The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles readalong usually takes place here on Mumsnet between November and February each year - the Christmas Chronicles being a book written by Nigel Slater full of winter recipes and anecdotes - It has been running for a few years, and the contributors collectively decided it would be nice to have it running all year round.

So here it is. It is a place to appreciate all things Nigel-esque. Think seasonal food and recipes, enjoyment of nature, gardening, appreciation of the weather, and sharing of news and small moments of joy. It's a calm, cosy space for gentle chat and merriment so pull up a chair, grab a drink and relax.

A very hearty welcome to friends new and old!

Never had much luck with jelly - waiting for everything to strain is sloooow but I always liked the sound of crabapple jelly. When I was a kid my parents had a massive tree bit they didn’t want to try making jelly and now I’m old enough to do it myself I don’t have access to crabapples tsk!!

Next ip - I have a batch of apricot strawberry jam prepped that I will make tonight that goes a luminous flaming orange once cooked. Looks quite splendid on toast on dreary midwinter mornings!

Ran out of jars so will probably have to stop after that unless I can scrounge some more…..

When I was around six, me, my Mum and my Nanna stripped Nanna's crab apple tree and got a bin bag full. We dragged it up to my little village first school and I was allowed to pick a few school pals to spend the day in the school kitchen with the staff who showed us how to make crab apple jelly. We all got a jar to take home and I remember to this day how delicious it was. We have three or four crab apple trees planted around our estate here on grass verges and I watch them going to rot every year, so I might harvest them myself this year.

I must admit I was so impatient today. was supposed to wait overnight for the stupid fruit pulp to drip through. Anyway, I have ended up with five jars and it's gorgeous. Well worth the faff and clear up. I've also just made my Mum's cheese and broccoli Quiche (she worked for me for four years in my café and made this every day) so that's just come out of the oven. Made it with our own eggs and was delighted that three out of the six I picked up today from Dad's allotment were double yolkers!

Happy but a bit knackered.

I love jam.@RainbowZebraWarrior I'm intrigued about cherry plums. They sound delicious. Have never come across these before. Can you eat them raw or do they need to be cooked?

Blimey @petitpasta that sounds very dramatic! Glad that all ended well!

That's such a kind offer @RainbowZebraWarrior re the sea glass. I might take you up on that if I don't manage to find some! Which kind of beach is best for it - sandy, shingle or rocky?

Shingle is best as the glass gets trapped among it / on top of it. My beach is a big old swathe of sand, but with large patches of shingle in places.

Handy little map here in this article that us sea glass hunters use to find the best known sea glass beaches near you.

https://www.craft-happy.co.uk/post/what-is-portishead-like-for-sea-glass-hunting

Yes you can eat wild cherry plums but it's a bit of a lottery as they are often quite sour. Some of the ones we collected were standard cherry sized and some more like a small plum so I did eat a couple of the bigger, more ripe ones.

Got a load of cobnuts now as both DD and I, then Dsd went foraging for them yesterday. I just need some culinary ideas for them, as whilst very Autumnally decorative, I'd prefer to do something constructive with them.

RainbowZebraWarrior I always feel a little cheated if I crack a double-yolker for baking. I feel as if they should be for frying or poaching, where you get the bonus yolk to dip. I know you can sometimes buy boxes of guaranteed doubles, but I'm talking about the unexpected ones.

Lord, I hope all ok @petitpasta

I’ve got all the makings for Jam and none of the time to do it. Lots of things in the freezer however so maybe come September I can have a weekend of jamming.

on todays edition of farming in the Sahara desert we expect 28 degrees by midday and will be performing a rain dance at around 2pm if anyone wants to join us?

Yes, I totally get that. The three out of six was such a surprise I just sort of stood looking at them all in the bowl thinking "what a shame" before giving myself a shake and whisking the eggs for the Quiche. We think we know which hen the double ones are coming from so hoping for more. I'll definitely be poaching or frying in which case 😊

I feel like I am watching all this madness from afar. The crazy temperatures, repeated heatwave, droughts, hosepipe bans and wildfires. Hope it ends for you all soon.

I woke this morning feeling very chilly, with condensation on the windows. 9 degrees at the beach and all folk with coats on. Definitely felt like autumn as you could feel a bit of a sting in the cheeks.

Rich pickings today

Beautiful finds @RainbowZebraWarrior

There was condensation on everything on the patio this morning, but we are back up to 28C now. Soberingly last night DS and I witnessed the plume of smoke from the fire in the New Forest which you may have seen on the news, it started when a lorry caught fire and has spread through the heathland. DS and I were over 30 miles away but the plume went past in a straight line above the horizon, like a weather front and carried on as far as the eye could see along the coast in both directions

I thought I'd seen a Nigel idea for cobnuts in my recent readings, but when I went back to it he simply eats them, and puts them with some cheese.

That quiche looks amazing - I love a cafe quiche and chips.

I'm all for a rain dance - it's not too bad today but getting up to silly temperatures again from tomorrow. Went to put some rubbish in the communal bins and the number of flies was horrific 😨

Lovely to hear about all the jam making, I'm a big fan of cherry plums! Not much culinary happening here, I had a Greek takeaway last night and am now living off leftovers.

Currently Pimm o’clock in the garden.

busy day today… dog agility, nice cafe for lunch and gardening. Bolognaise for tonight is bubbly on the stove.

yesterday went swimming and picnic at a local creek … can just imagine why Daphne D’Maurier set Frenchman’s creek nearby. And dinner at DPs parents house.

all busy busy here
beautiful sea glass @RainbowZebraWarrior

@Comtesse You are so right about cooking jam in small batches, my mum was always doing it in industrial batches... a dozen jars was a lean session! But then I was reading part of the Darina Allen (Ballymaloe Cookery School) writing about her mother-in-law, Myrtle, who said at 9:30 one evening, this fruit will be over by the morning... she made a small jar and was drinking tea by just after 10:00pm. She also has the best lemon curd recipe.

My mother would buy extra sugar throughout the winter to make jam each summer... she could boil up amazing jams but strawberries were her nemesis, which then became a self fulfilling prophecy. I remember a fantastic nectarine jam recipe in Country Living along with a Rhubarb and Vanilla recipe. And do not talk to me about the discipline of not poking an apple and mint jelly mixture draining through a muslin... deferred gratification, or what?

I have to go into the office tomorrow and Charing Cross is closed, which means an extended tube journey as the weather ramps up again, remember me in your prayers...

My MIL now has an induction stove so she passed on her copper preserving pan to me - feel very lucky!

I bought a preserving pan in Aldi about 10 years ago and it has been SO useful, it’s got a really solid base, large capacity, easy to pour from, the best thing I’ve ever picked up on impulse in there.

We have a small brick built outbuilding that we call the outside pantry. It's shelved and we store all our preserves out there. There's usually a shelf full of jams of different types. I don't think we've bought a jar of jam from a shop in the last 35 years!

Thanks for the link @RainbowZebraWarrior . It's really helpful. What's more, one of the places on it we go to often. We just don't tend to go down to the beach! Guess we will now!

My mum has a massive jam pan. It’s almost too big to lift. No good for our induction hob though (I loathe our induction hob, it’s constantly beeping and turning itself off when something spills on it, I’d sooner a lovely gas ring any day of the week).

yesterday was hot. Today will be hotter. I don’t want to even look at Thursday. Colleagues and I are a bit askance that we actually stay open when it’s 35 degrees. No one gets much out of it and for some of the Co farmers it’s actually dangerous (epilepsy and diabetes do odd things in extreme heat). We have one air con area we can sit it but lots of the Co farmers won’t as it’s too out of their routine. We have all said this, but to no avail. I’d be happy to go in, feed the animals, do the watering and that’s it but managing Co farmers in that kind of temperature is unbearable.

DH, DSS’s and DD2 have all gone to MIL’s caravan and beach hut in Southwold for the week, so I am going to go after work today, have my day off there and drive back from there to work on Thursday morning. Just trying to find somewhere promising to charge my car up on the route there and back. Southwold doesn't even have a petrol station so the availability of charging points is unlikely. I love my electric car most of the time but the added stress on a long or remote journey is a pain.

Have a lovely day all :)

@piscofrisco I really feel for you trying to work outside in this weather!

@LatteLady you've reminded me that one of my first 'proper' cookbooks was Darina Allen's Forgotten Skills of Cooking, I loved that book.

I've not even attempted to use my new oven or induction hob yet - I can only imagine the heat that's going to be generated in the tiny kitchen. Sure it'll be nice in the winter... I am enjoying the new microwave and dishwasher though. Not hugely keen on the washing machine that lives in a cupboard - I think the previous person must have kept it shut while it was working/ still quite damp so it's a bit fusty - it's getting lots of hot washes and airing with the doors open.

Just to echo, not buying jam in 35 yrs, back in the 80s my brother Chris asked my mother a question... now bear in mind, he was no 2 son, of the famed (in my family) sausage curls in his strawberry blond hair as a toddler and therefore could do no wrong... The conversation went as follows:
"Mum..."
"Yes, son..."
"Could you do us a favour?"
"Of course, son."
"Would you mind dying in June or November?"
"Why?"
"Because those are the months that the church has its' bazaar, and that is the only way, we will get rid of the bloody jam and your religious statues*..."
*Mum was an Irish catholic... and died in February, but the jam and statues were gone in a trice when family came on the day of her funeral...

My mum had a proper larder, filled with blackberry, blackcurrant, raspberry, blackberry & apple and so many more varieties of jam... when I win my fortune, my house will have a huge larder!

Yes, I think most folk eat cobnuts with cheese, but I've found a Hairy Bikers recipe for Kentish Cobnut cake with apple compote. Considering I have nuts and apples a plenty, that seems like a no brainer. Hoping to have time to make it today. Yesterday was a bit difficult as Dad fell at the allotment, (dizziness from steroid withdrawal) so I had to take him for his twice weekly dressing appointment at hospital. His head is an absolute mess. Mum was at the sink crying when we got home as it's all just been too much this past few months. I made their dinner for them as its that which sent her over the edge (Dad produces too much produce and it's totally overwhelming)

Anyhow... I can highly recommend a Eufy (I think you mentioned this a couple of days ago) Look out for big bargains around Black Friday. I have two now as I bought my Mum one and she gave me it back. Eufy No 1 is currently doing her thing, but keeps bumping into Eufy No 2 who is on charge and protests loudly by beeping. The cat, thankfully is not interested.

I love the idea of an outbuilding with shelves. One day, I shall pull my old garage down and have it rebuilt in order to stack it high with horgeous things.

Speaking of sodding jam / jelly, mine didn't set properly, so I have just poured it all back into a pan and boiled it again, then re jarred it. Still don't think it's going to set. Anyway. It's cherry plum syrup now.

Thought there would be a beach you knew on the list as there's a fair few good ones round your way.

Beach was stunning this morning. I stood chatting to a chap I know who was plodging in a rock pool at 7am and we just kept saying, "We Live Here!" as there was a couple walking along - obviously on holiday - saying how they didn't want to go home.

I have never made jam or chutney but I am fortunate to live next door to a lovely couple in their 70s and the wife is a great jam, chutney and marmalade maker. We normally put their bins out when they go on holiday and are frequently rewarded with home made goodies. We have cheese and wine with them every few weeks and we sometimes get rhubarb and baked goods. Like I say we're very fortunate to have them as neighbours!

I am a soroptomist and several people are bringing treats to our next meeting, including beetroot chutney so I will be trying that.

Today has been quite productive. I am 90% sure I have found the new sofa I want to buy and I also started looking at new cars, starting with a volvo xc40 which I rather like, although it is keyless ignition of which I am not a fan. DS is making very good progress with painting my office too, should be ready to move back into by the weekend.

Now I am planning what to do with DH for his two days of annual leave next week. I think I would like to go to Biddulph Grange garden and Compton Verney but he might have other ideas.

It's going to be silly hot for the next two days, so of course I have an urgent tip run to do as IKEA seem to need a million boxes for even small things!

I only made cherry jam once because getting it to set was such a bugger. I boiled it up a 2nd time as well gahhh! Just say it’s “french set” @RainbowZebraWarrior and style it out!

"French set" 🤣🤣🤣