Busy, Busy, Busy....

Sorry, we've been away for the weekend. We went to see my brother and his wife in Southampton, and had a lovely time.

We went a bit foodie, and a bit crafty! On Saturday, we went to various shops to sort bits out, and I went for a drive in my brother's kit car... I thought I would be scared, but no! It was amazing! I wanted to go again.... in fact, can I have one?!!!

Jam and Jerusalem

We went to the pick your own too, which was great fun... We picked lots of raspberries, and some tayberries, which she made into jam. She is the ultimate domestic goddess - 6 months pregnant, a house being renovated, and still able to bake, cook and make jam on a Saturday. I envy her the multi-tasking ability. She also made us feel totally at home, and so welcome.

On Saturday night, I made a bench cushion for them, using fabric that she had been given - a lovely floral fabric that was already wadded lightly - I think it was a quilt top that someone had lovingly sewn, then given to a charity shop. It's nice to see it have a new life. Her sewing machine made me chuckle - it was made in 1979... it is older than I am! She was given it last year for her 30th birthday, and I think she is in love with it! It has orange floral top, and looks very retro! Amazingly, it is very similar to my machine, although it did struggle with sewing through the many layers of the quilt top!

Foodie Heaven

On Sunday morning, we went to Winchester Farmer's market, which was amazing. It was interesting to look at all the different foods (and to allow my husband to eat some things that he isn't getting at the moment!) We ate breakfast there - I had pulled duck with salad (I know, hardly breakfast food, but oh so tasty!) Niblet was in the sling on my front, and was determined to help me eat it... somehow I ended up with duck down my bra! Who said that life as a mother wasn't glamorous!!!

We bought a knuckle of pork - for a bargain price of £1.50! I couldn't believe it... It was free range pork too! I wish we had got more of them because they were such a good price. I used that for supper last night and again tonight... not bad... 5 portions of food for £1.50 worth of meat!

Two Day Farmer's Market Gammon

1 pork knuckle
1 onion, cut into 8 wedges
6 black peppercorns
3 fresh bay leaves, screwed up to release the flavour!
1/2 tbsp smoked sweet paprika - not the hot one!
1/2 tsp English mustard powder
3 cloves

Put the pork knuckle in a pan with the rest of the ingredients and add enough water to cover the pork. Bring to the boil, and cook for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180C.  I put some potatoes on to par cook as wedges, and chucked them in a roasting tin, with some dried mixed herbs. Put the pork onto the potatoes (or just into a roasting pan) and score the skin. You can take off the skin, leaving the fat, and add some honey or marmalade as a glaze.

Put the tin in the oven, and cook for about 30 minutes (until the potatoes are done!) If you have used a glaze, you might want to baste the pork part way through the cooking.

On day 1, I served it with some salad - it was too hot for veggies, but you could do some if you'd prefer.

Don't bin the stock you cooked it in, it's full of flavour! I fished out the peppercorns, bay leaves and the cloves. I took all the meat off the bone, and chucked the leftover meat and the bone into the stock again. This helps to build the flavour. I then put about 1 cup of kidney beans, 1 cup of cannellini beans and 1 cup of black beans in to soak in cold, unsalted water overnight.

In the morning, drain and rinse all the beans. Put these into the pan with the meat, the bone and the oniony stock. Bring it all to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer for at least an hour. I did it for about 4 or 5 hours in total, which allowed it to reduce down quite a lot, and for the meat to become really tender. The onions melted into the mix, and helped to thicken it. You could do this in a low oven, on a hob or in a slow cooker.

On day 2, I served this with more wedges (I cooked extra the night before and just reheated them!) I also did carrots and leeks to go with it....

Yummy!