Crab apple jelly.

There is nothing better than making something out of nothing while still avoiding the black banana syndrome. For those of you who have never heard of the phrase black banana it is the idea that when you find something about to go off you are so keen not to let the money you have spent on it go to waste that you buy a host of other ingredients to cook something you really don't need. I spent this last weekend making jellies out of ingredients I collected from around the farm.

Jellies all work from the same basic ratio. When using acidic fruit that has its own pectin in it you use 750g granulated sugar to 1 litre of juice. you can use any combination which you fancy. I made four different batches crab apple, crab apple and rowan berry, crab apple and blackberry and spiced damson.

Start by cooking the fruit in a large pan with water just covering the fruit. If you are using soft fruit such as damsons or apples it will have broken down enough to pass through the muslin on its own if you are using harder fruit such as haws or rose hips you will need to mash them with a potato masher. Next allow the fruit to pass through a jelly bag or a muslin suspended above an upturned stool. Traditional recipes will tell you not to squeeze the fruit as it will make the jelly cloudy. I always ignore this as it is such a waste of juice but I do put the juice back through another muslin to strain out any sediment which you have pushed through.

At this point you can put the juice in the fridge for a couple of days if you do not have time to deal with it now. 2litres of juice will make about 5 lb jars of jelly. Put the juice and sugar in a large pan over a low heat until the sugar has melted. Once the sugar has melted turn the heat right up so it reaches a rolling boil and spoon off any scum. Every recipe I have read says that once it has been brought to a boil it should only take about five minutes to reach  a setting point I have always found that it takes much longer than this. If you have a jam thermometer setting point should be 106c. If you don't have a thermometer boil it until it wrinkles when a small amount is put on a cold plate. 

Once this has been done put it immediately into clean jam jars covering the top with wax discs before putting the lids on. Try to put the lid on when the jam is still hot as as the jar cools the contraction will create a better seal. If you wish to flavour the jelly there are two ways I have made apple and rosemary jelly cooking the fruit before straining it with rosemary and then placing a fresh sprig inn every jar which looked very pretty through the clear jelly. Or you can add the flavour when boiling it up with sugar, this is what I did with the spiced damson jelly. I added star anise, a cinnamon stick and some whole cloves which I then removed before jarring.

Cake Pops.

The village fete was this weekend and as such I wash expected to produce a cake for the baking stall. Usually this would be a good excuse to try out some new recipes. However currently our kitchen is a building site and all I have to cook with is a camping stove, a microwave and the George Forman. I therefore decided to try my hand at cake pops which seem to be the 'in' thing to be making.

On this occasion I used a bought chocolate cake and Betty Crocker chocolate fudge cake icing. But in future I think it would be worth using home made icing but I don't think it would worth making your own cake. I also used normal white chocolate rather than candy melts which most recipes advised. Candy melts come in lots of colours and set very quickly to make life much easier. Chocolate worked fine but you did have to be careful with its consistency, to thick and the decorations did not stick to it and too thin and the chocolate simply ran off rather than setting.

Lolly pop sticks.

Cake any flavour you chose.

Butter cream icing of a relevant flavour to the cake you are using.

Chocolate or candy melts.

Decorations I used coloured sugar, hundreds and thousands and mini marshmallows.

Break the cake down to crumbs and stir in enough icing so it forms a dry paste like consistency roll the mixture into balls approx the size of a two pound coin. Remember that they get bigger once you have decorated them. Make a small hole in them with one of the sticks and leave in the fridge. Melt the chocolate dip the end of each stick into the chocolate them place a stick into each of the holes. Return them to the fridge this sticks the pops to the stick to allow for easier icing. Once the chocolate has set dip the pops into the chocolate to coat while the chocolate is still setting decorate them. I then placed them in an old bit of Styrofoam to keep the upright.

As it was my first attempt I kept mine very simple but there are loads of examples of the internet of people being much more creative with their shapes and decorations. I finished mine off by wrapping them individually in cellophane and tying them off with a small bow.

Strawberry Jam.

Only my Father eats strawberry jam in our house so I have never bothered to make it before preferring raspberry instead. This year he convinced me to make a small amount for him. I think many people are scared of making jam believing that it is difficult and time consuming. This is so not the case you don't have to spend hours once a year making huge quantities instead spend half and hour making a couple of jars. I would like to know more about jam making though, what is the difference between normal caster and jam sugar. I have never used jam sugar but some recipes insist on it. The only piece of equipment I would advise buying if you are going to make jam is a jam thermometer as this does making it easier to know when you have reached the setting point.

I used equal amounts of caster sugar and strawberries. Approximately the juice of one lemon per 600g of fruit. If you prefer jam with large lumps of strawberries still in it the place all the ingredients in a bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave in a cool place over night. Before you start place a saucer in the freezer. Put the mixture in a large pan heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved bring it to the boil for about for minutes or until it has reached 104c. Spoon a small amount onto the saucer after a couple of minutes if the surface wrinkles when you put you finger in it it is ready. If not return to a boil and give it another couple of minutes. Skim off the scum and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before putting into sterilised jars. If you put it straight into jars all the fruit rises to the top.