Putting up Preserves

Isn't that a wonderful old phrase?  Putting up preserves ...  not that I do much of that sort of thing as I'm not overly fond of cooking.  However, occasionally I make stuff that goes into jars and the warm glow of Successful Domesticity and knowing that I have jars of yummy goodness in the fridge - well it is worth the effort.  So a fortnight ago I made marmalade ...

 It certainly wouldn't win a ribbon at a Country Show but I'm rather eccentric about my marmalade ... I like it super chunky, very tart and with loads of ginger.

My last marmalade was a bit 'runny' so I cut right down on the amount of water ... this time I used 2kg oranges + 1 lemon and lots of sliced ginger, 3 cups water (just enough to cover those chunks) and an equal amount of sugar (3 cups).  The result is probably more 'cooked orange peel' than actual marmalade and it is tart enough to 'put hair on your chest'.  In other words - it's just about perfect :-)

Then this last weekend I made olive tapenade.  What a wonderful idea tapenade is - olives that you can spread on bread - perfection!

And so easy to make.  Take oodles of kalamata olives, chop & stone them into a blender, add a splash of olive oil, a generous amount of garlic and blend.  YUM!

And for a final dose of Domestic Bliss - a sleeping cat.  Our elderly Cornish Rex doing what she does best.