Ceilidh

 Last night we danced our legs off at a ceilidh and while we were there I paid for our New Years Eve ceilidh tickets. We have so much fun at these dances and know practically everyone that turns up. They're a great crowd and it's lovely to dance with men that aren't reeking of beer as very few of them drink alcohol at the dances. I'm getting a bit concerned about Tony as he's really nasty with people who make a mistake with a dance. He's getting an unpleasant reputation for being so horrible. He's getting nasty with me lately and really trying my patience.  He's getting very forgetful too and I'm really concerned that it might be something to see the doctor about.

I'm cooking a leg of lamb today as they're currently on offer in Sainsbury's. It'll last us all week in various different meals and I'll boil the bone to make a tasty stock. I only wish I had spare room in my freezer as I'd buy several. 

Perfect membrillo

 The membrillo has turned out really well. We tried it with some cheese yesterday and both agreed thst it really will be a lovely addition to our Christmas buffet. I've cut it into portions and wrapped it in cling film. I'm going to make some waxed cotton wraps and switch out the cling film

We enjoyed it so much that I made another batch yesterday.  This time I peeled and cored the quinces. The results were much easier to process but took a lot longer to reduce down to a firm set as there wasn't as much pectin. I've made some jars of quince sauce. It has the texture and consistency of apple sauce. It'll be lovely with a pork pie or some strong cheddar

Scotch Eggs

 While shopping in Sainsbury's this morning (half price legs of lamb with a nectar card) I picked up a tray of pork stuffing balls. This afternoon I'm having a cooking day and have just squished the stuffing balls around some hard boiled eggs, coated them in beaten egg, rolled them in sage and onion stuffing and popped them in the air fryer.

And while they were cooking I peeled and chopped a load more quinces. They're currently simmering on the stove where they'll will continue to cook for at least two hours.  I'm making more membrillo after discovering how utterly delicious it is. 

Membrillo and quince jam

 Yesterday I spent most of the day making a batch of membrillo and a couple of little jars of quince jam. It's not something I'd ever made or even tasted before. It's a long drawn out process but the end result is utterly delicious.  It's set now like a very firm jelly and apparently will store for a long time. I could even pop it into my dehydrator to create fruit leather if the urge takes me. Half way through the process I put some into little jars as it's got a great set. I'm planning on cutting a block of the membrillo and giving it, and one of the little jars, to the lady that gave me the fruit.

Here's how I made it

Strawberries in November

 I had a lovely time working in the garden today. Imagine my surprise to find a big ripe strawberry. It was as sweet as anything and a real treat. I don't think there's going to be anymore this late in the year 

Quinces and chillis

 On Friday at our folk dance club one of the ladies happened to mention that she's had a great crop of quinces this year. When I said that I'd love to make membrillo she offered to drop some off for me.  I kind of expected about a half dozen.  Today this lovely kind lady dropped off 7.5kg of them. Now I need to buy some extra sugar to make the membrillo. The house is filled with the most amazing fragrance from the quinces. And I've picked a load of chillis to dry for the winter 

 

Thoroughly lovely evening

 Tony and have been to our folk dancing club this evening and had a thoroughly lovely time.  We learn new dances every week amid much hilarity.  It's such a lovely group of people and we've made many new friends there. It seems no time since last Friday when we were there. I've also been to whist today but numbers were down so we played Oh Hell instead. Again, they're such nice people there and I always enjoy their company. 

Tomatoes

 Just when I thought I'd seen the last of the tomatoes. Look what I picked today.  I thought there'd only be a little handful so imagine my surprise to find this little bounty. They'll need to ripen before we eat them but they will be a nice addition to salads

And here is the box for my new Christmas decorations. It's really sturdy but I do need to make a nice eye-catching label for it.

A new project

 Yesterday Tony and I called in to a local garden centre and saw these sweet little china vegetable decorations. 

They needed a box so I've used up some of the packaging from the wardrobe to create a polystyrene tray. 

Then I used some of the cardboard box from the wardrobe to make a box to put them all in

 It's currently drying before I do the pretty bit of decorating the box.. I want to reinforce all the corners as I want the box to last for a very long time 

Wind damage

 I hope you all stayed safe during the storms. Thankfully the only damage we suffered was the loss of my beautiful sunflower.  I was bitterly disappointed but thankful that nothing was damaged

And isn't this a great use of a wasted hallway.  We're treating it more like a room than an entrance hall.  We're gradually adjusting our home to make better use of unused spaces. It's so nice to see our winter coats hung up on coat hangers rather than crammed onto hooks in the back of doors. The shoes and boots fit perfectly in the drawers. We have one drawer each so there's no fighting for space.                              

I salvaged the flowers from the sunflower and they've filled quite a few vases.