Summer Bounty

The weekend was quiet after such a hectic week, but we enjoyed the peace and getting the house back in order.  Our next lot of visitors arrive tomorrow, Lucy and the girls.  Then we are all driving down to Ampthill to Amie's for a barbeque on Saturday.  A day of rest Sunday and Victoria and the boys arrive Monday.  I love the crazy hectic days of Summer.  We still have not been able to book our holiday as Gerard is  on weekly blood tests and visits to the hospital fortnightly.  The right medication has been a little elusive this time round and taking longer than normal to sort.  Time will tell how things progress.

We have been enjoying the bounty from our garden once again, lettuce and spring onions are been harvested on a daily basis.  I have just pulled the last of the broad beans and intend to freeze them for a taste of Summer in the cooler months.

 

I have also picked the gooseberries off one bush and was inspired by a blog that I had read earlier to add a load of strawberries to make strawberry and gooseberry jam.  Gooseberries have a high pectin content so the jam sets rapidly.

 

 

I did pick the last of the strawberries from the garden but I have put them in the fridge for after our meal this evening.

 

 

The strawberries I used for the jam were some that I picked up yesterday on a yellow sticker for 13p a punnet from our local supermarket.  At that price it was rude not too.  I used the River Cottage cookbook recipe for the jam, it certainly reached setting point very quickly.

 

 

4 jars were made for the Winter store cupboard, a wonderful taste of Summer in a jar to evoke the amazing memories of a long hazy Summer filled with love and laughter and lots of rain but I am trying to forget about that.  The tomatoes have been a complete disaster this year, must check back and see what variety we used so not to use them again next year.  We have been lucky, a man sells his surplus from small holding so we are getting home grown, you can certainly taste the difference from those bought from the supermarket.

 

The skies on an evening too are a joy to behold, we have managed to stroll along the beach a couple of times and it has been amazing.  The gentle lapping of the sea as it rolls onto the sand is music to my hears, a stark difference to the crashing of the waves in the Winter months.

 

 

 

Summer at its finest.   What Summer memories do you want to treasure?

 

See you soon.