On Saturday, I got out my tried and trusted preserves book. I bought it some years ago in a charity shop, but it actually dates back to the 70s
then I got out my snazzy new scales (the old ones are now over in the flat) to weigh the blackcurrants
I gave them a good rinse
and stripped them from the stalks
I added some water, and left them to simmer for about 45 minutes
while they were simmering, I weighed the gooseberries (I just wanted to show off the snazzy scales again!)
after washing them, I simmered them with a little water, then pressed them through a sieve
there then followed an awful lot of stirring ...... and stirring ...... and even more stirring
but it was worth to produce all these jars of delicious loveliness
by the time the curd was made, the blackcurrants were ready to go into the jelly bag to drip through
on Sunday morning, I transferred the juice to a jug and left it in the fridge while we went over to Berwick, then this afternoon I put it in a large pyrex bowl with some jam sugar and zapped it until it reached setting point. It produced two jars of luscious jelly
although I think the set may be just a little bit on the firm side ........
while I was busy in the kitchen on Saturday, Malcolm was cutting to size the two tops that I bought for the chest of drawers and the right hand unit
I bought these four box shelves some time ago in a charity shop, but hadn't yet used them. I was pleased to find that my cork board (made by Malcolm) fitted exactly in between them
we found these white box shelves half-price lasst week, and I already had the long shelf, so it was a low-budget job to give me display space for my tins
and there was room beside the tv for my old Singer sewing machine
to finish ...... the gooseberry curd is a little bit runny, but it was delicious for pudding on Sunday, with meringue and a little taste of leftover strawberry and champagne cream!!