Thrifty Thursday

 My apple peeler is still at my friend's house. Her family are using it daily and eating more apples than usual. The youngest particular likes the fact that the apples are corked [ie cored!]  So I am back to using my traditional corer and potato peeler.

But last week I saved the bits into a lok'n'lok which I kept in the freezer till it was full. Then I used them to make a true ZeroWaste preserve; "Compost Heap Jelly" This recipe comes from HFW's 9 years ago on Sue's Blog [THIS Sue - there are so many Susan's in Blogland] Thanks Sue

I made four little jars of jelly from the cores and peelings which would normally go into the compost. That's Thrifty Tip #1

I do the initial stage by putting peel etc in a pan, covering with water and bringing to the boil. Then I tip everything into the slow cooker, and simmer for a couple of hours. TT#2

And when I finished, I put the resulting slushy brown purée into the compost anyway! TT#3

You need a jelly bag to drain everything. Spend £10 or more on a metal one from Tala or a red plastic one from Lakeland. I make jelly about once every five years - so I have improvised my own jelly strainer from stuff in the house. No cost! TT#4

Begin with an old, clean teatowel. Place a stool upside down on the worktop, and drape the teatowel over the top, fastening the fabric  securely over each leg with an elastic band. Put a bowl underneath. Let it drip for a minimum of 3 hours.

Do be patient [500ml came through in first hour - but by the evening, it was almost 700ml. Do not be tempted to squeeze or push - that will make your jelly dull and cloudy.

Final kitchen tip is about vinegar bottles. I like my Sarsons 'table' bottle with its sprinkler cap. But that costs five times as much as vinegar in a large bottle with a plain top. Unfortunately the Sarsons cap does not unscrew. The trick is to stand the empty bottle upside down in a jug of boiling water for 5 minutes. Then wrap it in a teatowel and carefully ease off the plastic cap. Refill the bottle and pop the cap on again.

This is such a simple thing and can save you £10 or more per litre! Thats TT#5

And now - totally unrelated - I enjoy flicking through glossy magazines - especially ones relating to recipes, gardening or crafts. But they cost upwards of £5 a time. And I don't want to keep them. But because I belong to Norfolk Libraries, I can download the Libby app free and borrow loads of magazines to read on my tablet or phone. 

A different free magazine every week = £300 a year saved. And not just magazines- there are books and audiobooks too. 

Absolutely brilliant. TT#6

That's half a dozen tips to help you save money this autumn.

Have you got any good moneysaving tips to share?

Apples Are A-Peeling

I have a small [eating] apple tree. My friend has a massive [cooking] apple tree. Far too many fruit for her and her family.

She said - please have some, Ang. I said my peeling machine would make short work of them. Your What?? 

I explained my gadget is like an apple lathe, it takes off a sliver of peel, and cores and slices the fruit. After 10 minutes I had a bowlful

And then I blanched, cooled and froze 3 boxes full, ready for autumn pies and crumbles. Next week I'm lending her the peeler. So easy, such a time saver, and minimal debris 

My Kitchen Is NOT a Crime Scene!

I am being super- diligent about keeping my lovely new kitchen clean and tidy. But the other day I was using my blender [in a hurry], and splattered red juice on the cupboards. It was like an episode of CSI.  I am not quite tall enough to pour things tidily into the little hole on the top. I had a lot of washing and wiping to do. So I decided to be more careful in future.

I bought quite a lot of fruit recently because despite my love of puddings, I know we need a healthy balance - and the girls love fruit too. Watermelons are fabulous in hot weather. A slim slice on a stick is as good as a lollipop, cool chunks in as bowl with a drizzle of yogurt is an ersatz ice-cream-sundae. But I had half a melon left, And a mango too - and Ro and Jess were in Holland.

I decided to blend the remaining fruit and make a bottle of drink for the fridge. I cut off the peel [into the compost] and chopped the flesh into chunks.  Inspiration struck - my jam funnel fits neatly into the hole in the blender lid - so I rechopped the fruit a little smaller. It was quick and easy to spoon the melon bits into the funnel and blitz it.

I juiced the half melon, then decided the mango which was very ripe needed dealing with. I peeled it, and scraped all the flesh from the peel and from the stone, and blitzed that - adding an equal amount of orange juice from a carton and half a cup of water. 

The watermelon drink went into the large bottle, the mango&orange into the small one - and the remaining juices were mixed up into a third bottle. Once made they need to be drunk within a couple of days. That is better than fruit going to waste. And my funnel technique has kept the 'blood spatter' off the cupboard doors. Don't they look pretty?

Mish - Mash

In her book "Kitchen", Nigella ends many recipes with a paragraph entitled "making leftovers right". I fully endorse such notions of ZeroWaste and thrift. As we were going away to Manchester, I weanted to ensure I had used up as much as possible of our fresh produce. I checked the fridge and

I had a sweet potato, a regular potato, three small red potatoes, 1½carrots and a handful of beans.
Plus two brioche buns and the end of packs of peas and corn in the freezer. Further scrabbling around revealed a lock'n'lock with 'pineapple pieces' in it [bought in error by Bob who thought he was buying chunks to put on sticks with cheese, for the Shed Mardle] 
The leftover chicken from Monday had already been made into pie filling with mushrooms, a small onion and some of the stock - and I had a pack of puff pastry ready to encase it.
I thought I might make some sort of pudding with the brioche and pineapple, but had no eggs, and limited milk - but I did find a tin of custard lurking in the cupboard. The pastry was rolled out into a pasty shape and filled with chicken mixture, the root veg chopped and put to boil, with the green veg and corn in a steamer over them. The brioche buns were puttered and cut into chunks, and combined with custard and drained pineapple in a Pyrex dish. I mashed all the root veg together, with some butter - and served the lunch. Chicken Galette with steamed vegetables and root mash, followed by Pineapple Brioche Pudding.

I had not crimped the pasty well enough - so it burst open. And I'm calling it a galette! The filling was a bit sloppy, so extra gravy was not needed. A very filling and satisfying lunch, mostly leftovers.
The tinned custard was Waitrose Essentials - and is way thicker and creamier than my usual supermarket budget range [also more expensive] It made a very unctuous pudding. Leftover galette went into the freezer, for a light supper on our return from Manchester.

Jill in Dorset - still waiting for you to email me about the Noahs ark panel!

What Does MIB Mean?

I thought it was Men in Black, but in the NANSA CS in Norwich, they have a basket by the door. Everything is £1, and labelled with a tag saying MIB and describing a fault. Ripped sleeve, broken zip, stain on front, faulty seam...

I picked up a dress, it was a really pretty 100% cotton fabric. And my size too. But a horrid rip in the sleeve and half the buttons missing.

I'm not sure if MIB means "Mend It"Basket, or "Make It Better" but the fabric was lovely and I knew I could make something from it. When I got home, I carefully unpicked both sleeves. The dress was extremely well made, every seam stitched neatly, and all raw edges properly finished. The tag said "Patra", not a name I recognised. I tried on the dress. It was...snug. But pretty, an incentive yo lose a few lbs. I bound the armholes with bias binding, found buttons to fill the gaps, and added discreet hooks&eyes between the top buttons to stop gaping.

Definitely good value for money.

My

Incredible Bargain.

Midi-dress In Blue

More Interesting Buttons?

Do you ever buy things from a CS which needs mending?

What has been your best bargain?

Her Name Was Lola...

 ...She Ate Granola
Apologies to Barry Manilow, but I feel it would have been a good alternative lyric to "she was a showgirl"   Bob's appetite has returned,  a sure sign of recovery. Very appreciative of all your get well wishes, thanks everybody!

We are both very fond of granola. My 1978 Mennonite "More With Less" Cookbook has eight different granola recipes, but I haven't made my own for years. I generally buy Sainsbury's "Simple Granola" and throw in dried fruit and banana chips [bought cheaply from the friendly guy on Fakenham Market] But then I heard Nadiya Hussein talking about the "Bread granola" she makes for her children. So I began saving crusts and solitary slices in a bag in the freezer. And this week I made some...

Ingredients

300g/10½oz stale bread slices, cut into 1cm/½in cubes
200g/7oz slivered almonds
50g/1¾oz sunflower seeds
50g/1¾oz oats

25g/1oz desiccated coconut
200ml/7fl oz coconut oil melted
200ml/7fl oz maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3 tsp ground  cinnamon
1 orange, zest only
200g/7oz dates chopped
Method

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5.
Place the bread cubes on a large baking tray. Add the almonds, sunflower seeds, oats and desiccated
coconut and mix everything together.
Mix the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract and almond extract together in a small jug and drizzle over the almond mixture. Get your hands in and make sure everything is well coated.
Sprinkle over the cinnamon, grate over the orange zest and mix again with a spoon.
Bake for 30–35 minutes, stirring halfway through to make sure everything is evenly golden.
Once everything is crisp and golden, remove from the oven, add the dates and mix through. Leave to cool. Once cooled, store the granola in an airtight container. 
Substitutions - I was using what I had in the cupboard, so used mixed nuts, and mixed seeds. I had no coconut oil or maple syrup. Rapeseed oil and golden syrup worked fine. No dates on hand so I chopped dried apricots and added a handful of sultanas.

Here it is in my tall lock'n'lock cereal box. The recipe says 'serves 4' but we've already had 4 portions and we're barely halfway through the quantity. Bob says it tastes more like Cinnamon Toast Crunch' than granola, which makes senses as it is bread-based after all.

Bread-and-warm-milk used to be very common as a breakfast food. Dating back to the Middle Ages it was called 'sop' [a precursor to 'soup'] and was a way of using up the stale bread and preventing waste. It was popular during WW and I ate it as a child in the late 50s. In Feed Your Family for £4 a day [Bernadine Lawrence 1989] she makes this as a breakfast dish using bread or toast cubes. 

Nadiya's recipe is tasty and ZeroWaste. I shall do it again!

ALSO thank you everybody for the positive comments about recycling and labels on last week's post. Steph said she showed it to her team at Tangible, who had helped with all the OPRL research. 

Have you ever recycled stale bread into a breakfast dish?

Fuss In Boots

 I am so very annoyed with Boots right now. Have you seen this?

Initially it sounded good "Boots are going to recycle blister packs" said Bob "and our two nearest stores are collection points" Then we looked into it further...

IT IS "GREENWASHING", PRETENDING TO BE ECO FRIENDLY FOR APPEARANCE SAKE.

They say it is simple, but it isn't really. You need to have the app and scan all your blister packs. Once they are approved, you take them to the store. 15 packs will earn you 150 bonus points - but you only get them if you spend £10 within three days of donation.

If I've understood it correctly, donating 20 packs will still only get you 150 points [I may be wrong there]

Bob and I, between us, have a lot of daily meds

We drop our used packets in a box in the bedroom drawer, and there are always at least 10 per week. This appears to be a normal figure among the many OAPs I know [who often discuss their pills at the Church Café! ]

BUT a high proportion of these friends do not have smart phones or use apps. [Or bother with loyalty cards] So they can't use the scheme. Younger friends who perhaps only have 1 tablet a day will take months  to accumulate 15 empty packs.

Furthermore the reward scheme mostly benefits Boots! They are in effect saying "you need to spend even more with us to get points off your subsequent spending" 

I'm not fussed about reward points, I just want to recycle for the benefit of the planet.  This is far too complicated for me to bother with. And I suspect Boots know this, The management of a scheme like this will be complicated and costly for them to implement. So a few months down the line, I suspect it will be cancelled, and they will tell us that they did offer this environmentally friendly option, but customers didn't take it up. 

Some Superdrug stores have drop off points. No incentives or loyalty points - just the opportunity to help the planet.

We are fortunate to have Tony at our church. He takes all our packs  to a charity [I have forgotten which] who then sell them on to TerraCycle. So we will continue to do that.

I think most people who want to recycle want the simple Superdrug system [or a mate like Tony] saying "Leave your packs here, and we will ensure they get properly recycled" without apps and offers. An easy way to have a positive impact.

Come on Boots, surely you can do better than this!

Now I'm wondering what will happen if I take my bag of empty packs into Dereham Boots and try and sneak them into the box without using the app...

Less!

I'd seen this book mentioned online last year. Liz read it and thought I'd like it. She thought [as I did] it would be a Marie Kondo/ minimalism approach. "Reduce to a capsule wardrobe and all will be hunky-dory." We were both very wrong.

Grant's subtitle is "Stop buying so much rubbish: how having fewer, better things can make us happier."

This guy is so much more than the genial judge on the GBSewingBee.

Having messed around in his final year at school[spending his time and money on the latest fashions] he spent a gap year working in a factory, then studied engineering at Uni, worked for some prestigious companies - then bought a tailoring business in Savile Row and applied himself to making better clothes. Now he runs a 'proper' clothes manufacturing company based in Blackburn. This book sums up his whole approach to life, and using autobiographical anecdotes, historical facts, statistics and scientific data, he shows us why he believes we need to rethink our attitude to possessions. 

I absolutely loved this book, and was in total agreement about so much of what he says. It has already made an impact on me

There are four sections - Want, Quality, Work, and Less.

He begins with history, when life revolved round the land and agriculture. Farmers grew crops and tended livestock which provided food and clothing. People lived with few possessions, but generally ate healthy food, and appreciated the nature around them. 

Then came the industrial revolution - people flocked to the cities and worked in factories and mills, making more goods, faster and cheaper than before. The owners got rich but the workers were low paid, on poor diets, living in cramped insanitary conditions. Then came the age of consumerism, when the men [yes, mostly men] at the top still made their wealth on the backs of the poor workers - and promoted the idea of 'wanting more', dissatisfaction with having less, or having old stuff. Stuff was made just to be sold at a profit. It didn't matter if the goods were shoddy, the food was cheap and not nutritious - what mattered was that people wanted to buy it and it could therefore be sold at a profit.

Grant argues that for centuries, there were great craftsmen out there- shoemakers in Northampton, silk weavers in Macclesfield, laceworkers in Stratford and ribbon makers in Coventry, and their wares were worn by men and women all over the country. But in the last 100 years so many of these skills have been lost, and companies closed. 

Cheap imports are brought in from the Far East and 3rd world. Why buy a well made dress which will last you for years when you can get one from Shein for the price of "a coffee and cake"  It will satisfy your desire for 'up to the minute fashion' but it will fall apart quickly as the fad passes, its fabric lasting forever,  refusing to rot down. Patrick points out the many many reasons for 'buy once, buy well' - buy local [better for the planet, fewer airmiles, improves the local economy] buy fairtrade [the workers are properly paid, working in a safe environment] you can buy natural materials [less plastics] buy something to love, to repair, to make it last [not consign to landfill]  He does acknowledge there is a cost to this. Many people are caught in the Vimes Boots trap, lack of immediate resources mean they are forced to buy cheaply, over and over and over again. 

This man definitely practises what he preaches - going to Blackburn, a "post industrial town". to set up "Community Clothing" - making clothes that are "good for people and good for the planet". At the start of the pandemic, his factory made quality scrubs for the NHS - most hospitals have very efficient laundry facilities. Then the government decided to invest heavily in disposable garments, a high proportion of which went straight from China to landfill. Check out the CC website for a fuller picture of how his company works and the ethos behind it [eco, ZeroWaste, recycling etc]. Liz has a CC shirt. It's gorgeous, well made, and will last her for years.

Grant is not looking to become a multimillionaire, he wants to provide jobs, a sense of self-worth, and pride in achievement for people in what was a very depressed area of high unemployment.  In the 'work' section he talks about the benefits of creating something. whether to provide income, or just for pleasure. He actually references Men's Sheds as a brilliant example of a movement which gives purpose,companionship, and proven benefits to mental health.

There plenty of anecdotes about Sewing Bee - but above all he speaks of his gratitude - that the show has helped revive 'home sewing' in the UK [and saved haberdashery shops from closure] and for the fact it has enabled him personally to find a wider platform to speak public about these issues so close to his heart. [He is coming to Norwich in September, I have my ticket already!]  The book ends

"Having less but better would be a path to a healthier, more equal society, a source of hope for a better future for the many people of all ages living in what we call our post-industrial communities. Living with fewer , better things is an act of goodness and kindness to people and the planet, and it would make us all happier."

I definitely rate this one *****do read it if you can!

Texture, Textile, Text

I love the fact that the word text has the same root as textile and texture - they all come from the Latin textus, 'to weave' . So books about fabric must be text-text

Last month I acquired three such books. One was passed on by a friend, one was 50p in a NT bookshop, and one was £6 from Greener books.

Reviews in reverse order

Having loved the Haberdashery shop Bob discovered for me in Paris, I was intrigued to find The Mason Sajou book in our library. [the Sajou shop is based in Versailles ]And I loved it so much, that I felt I would like my own copy. There is a lovely review here so I will not repeat what is said there - check out Kim's words and illustrations. It has 20 lovely projects, with excellent instructions for different techniques, and creative ways to use stitching. My first purchase from Greener Books, a company committed to recycling books. This was the cheapest 2nd hand online copy I could find, and I was pleased with the prompt delivery and excellent quality. Watch this space, as I plan to make up at least one of these ideas soon..*****

28 fresh designs influenced by ceramics, fabrics, and folk embroidery. Helen Turvey recreates designs of English ceramicist William DeMorgan,  French Toiles de Jouy textiles, and Scandinavian and Northern European folk art . Designs for decorative and useful items for the home, of for gifts.. Great instructions and charts – cleverly using different shades of red thread. It is a step further on than the Mueller samplers  that I used to inspire a section of last year's collaboration with Kirsten. But If I can find appropriate Toile, I may use it in this year's CoverStory. Another *****

Finally this one. Kirsten included it as a flat gift with the last parcel. Which was interesting as I had seen it mentioned online She and I have since discussed it, and found ourselves broadly in agreement. The principle is a good one - if you are dress making, be as efficient as you can when cutting the fabric, so avoid senseless waste. In practice, this is not so easy to implement. Advice like "avoid stripes, directional patterns, velvets" and "boiled wool is about the best" is somewhat limiting if you want a pretty summer dress, or a special evening gown.  Cutting 6 identical 'kangaroo' pockets which can be tessellate dinto one strip with no waste at all is fine - if you want 6 identical garments in the same size and fabric. But unless you are manufacturing for a shop or dressing the women from the workhouse, this is not helpful.Sadly although the book has lots of hand-drawn diagrams, there are no clear photographs or pictures of any finished garments on the wearers.

For proper patterns and projects you have to buy Liz's other book - but looking at the projects in that, I do not know I would want to wear many of them, however Z-W, earth friendly they were [I have a Moebius scarf] That book is £28. 

Having said all that - "A Year of ZWSewing" comprises 12 sections - each one with a concept [fastenings, gussets, historical clothes etc] a guest piece from another ZW designer [across the globe - Australia to USA, via Sweden, France, NZ etc] and an "Ask Lizzy" spot. I did like the little anecdotes - eg Did you know George Lucas specified that none of the Star Wars costumes should have zips or buttons ? Apparently they do not exist in his galaxy far, far away! 

For all my negative comments, I must say this book was the most challenging, and very thought provoking. Liz is not keen on people using the odd leftover bits for embellishing garments [thus ensuring nothing is wasted] - my approach would be I cannot avoid having this piece left if I cut a circular neckline - so in what other project can it be used? I am giving this ***. It might have had 4* but for one thing which Kirsten commented on and I completely agree - it has a really weird cover surface.Sort of ... waxy. We both found it genuinely unpleasant to hold! I could not read it in bed for that reason! If it is to stay, I shall have to make a cover for it!!

I have borrowed many sewing books from the library in the past week or so. When asked at church if Bob is resting properly, I said that he is spending most afternoons sitting in the lounge reading - and I keep him company, also reading [or sewing] "How good of you to give up your time to do that!" was the response. I had to explain it was not a chore. I love being together, and furthermore, will grab any excuse to avoid housework to stitch or to read!!

Wild Oats!

There were some oats left in the bottom of the jar. More than enough for two bowls of porridge, not enough for four. I used it all up, served our two bowls for breakfast then left the remainder to cool. Then I made Porridge Bread with this recipe. It came out looking just like the picture in the recipe [always a good sign !] 

It sliced well and tasted good. We toasted some - and I have to say that when it's warm, it does have a "porridgey" taste. 

Apparently, making porridge bread with leftovers is a recognised thing, among the Zero-Waste cooks. Although I enjoyed it, I'm not sure I will make it again!

My Creative, Crafty County

I managed to get to this event on Friday - and ran out of time to see everything. Then I needed to go into Norwich on Saturday, so made a second visit. There was just SO much to see and do this year. I didn't take as many photos as I intended because I was caught up in chats with other crafters, and sometimes the crowds of people milling around made pictures difficult.

It is nearly eight years since I exhibited at the C&TA event at the Cathedral, and decided I would join the association when we retired. I have finally signed up! 

But I do think the logo looks like "Costa" don't you?

Upstairs there were lots of have-a-go stands. Do some stitching, ragrugging, painting, crochet...knit a few rows for the Giraffe-Scarf etc. Next years GoGo Trail will have five different animals from the Savannah. I knitted a couple of rows at the scarf table! 

Two years ago they were working on a woolly mammoth

When not Cross Stitching, Kirsten is exploring ZeroWaste clothing, and bog coats. So I just had to sent her pictures of Cat, who makes ZW jackets from old embroidered tablecloths. A very friendly woman.

I think I might wear one of these as a summer cover up over a strappy evening frock, or for a wedding outfit.

Also on the ground floor, in the side gallery, were lots of C&TA exhibits, recent, and going back a few years [the show never happened during covid, but people did even more stitching then]

Fab Tudor project - Queen Bess has hair made from unravelled copper scouring pads! And there is a new tapestry under construction for the Castle- 

these are some of the items which will also be on show there.
The Spinners, Weavers and Dyers have made a regal banner too.

At first I was confused by the title 

Charles III R 2023 - A King for all Seasons.
Elizabeth died in 2022, didn't she? Then I realised, they had to wait twelve months until he had been on the throne for all four seasons!

In the basement part of the Forum, there was a display of all Margaret Seaman's knitted treasures. She is 92 now and says this is the final time she will come and exhibit. She has raised thousands of pounds for charity over the years. 

There was such a lot to look at, lots of inspiration - and I did enjoy myself. The C&TA stand had some of their literature on display, including the programme from the Norwich Shawl exhibition in 2016. I turned the pages over, so it was open at the one showing the picture of my three tea cosies!

I've paid my membership fee now - so I think I can display a bit of my handwork!

This event is well worth attending - it is free - and you get to meet some very talented people, and have the opportunity to explore new crafting skills.
If I keep practising with my new machine, I might have something for next year.

One final poster by the exit door was very touching. Loose Ends is a global charity which aims to ease grief, create community and inspire generosity by mixing volunteer 'handwork finishers' with projects people have left unfinished due to death or disability. What a lovely idea!

Todah Raba, Liz!

That's the Hebrew phrase for thank you. After his excellent sermon on Passover yesterday, Bob had almost a whole pack of matzos left. I don't think many people in the congregation had ever sampled unleavened bread before! I mentioned to Liz and Steph we'd probably be eating matzos for lunch.

Liz immediately WhatsApped back a recipe from the Waitrose site, for using up leftover matzos. It did look more interesting than serving crackers with salad and a bit of cheese, and it was quick too.

Matzo brei [it rhymes with fry] is described as 'a distant cousin of  French Toast'**

Serves 2

30g butter

2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced

2 Medium Free Range Eggs

2 sheets matzo

Soured cream, chopped chives and grilled tomatoes, to serve (optional)

1 - Heat 15g butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the salad onions and a pinch of salt and fry, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until softened; set aside. Meanwhile, in a bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork.

2 - In a separate large mixing bowl, break the matzos into 1-2cm pieces. Cover with cold water and leave for 1 minute, then drain and gently squeeze out the excess liquid. Add the drained matzos and softened salad onions to the eggs, season and mix together.

3 - Return the frying pan to a medium heat with the remaining 15g butter. When foaming, add the egg mixture. Cook for about 2 minutes, gently breaking up the mixture with a wooden spoon (see Cook’s Tip), then turn everything and cook on the other side for another 1-2 minutes until golden. Serve with a dollop of soured cream, chopped chives and grilled tomatoes, if liked. It’s great with sautéed mushrooms or spinach on the side, too.

Admittedly it doesn't look desperately appetising in the photo - I mixed my sauteed mushrooms into the eggs, and used some leftover creme fraiche, not sour cream.

But it was very pleasant, light and tasty - and as I had all the ingredients to hand it was easy.  I skipped the tomatoes and spinach though. I'll do this again [well, there are 6 more matzo sheets in the box!]

** what do you call French Toast in your house? Is it FT, Eggy Bread, or the wonderfully arcane term "Poor Knights of Windsor"?

My grandmother called this dish PKofW - there is still a group of 13 retired army officers today  They are based in Windsor and their history dates back to the battle of Crecy in 1346. I suppose this was a cheap and simple dish for impoverished men, based on stale bread and a few eggs. So poor that "They pawned their doublets and sat around in their singlets"!!

Thank you Bob for a good sermon, and Liz  [and Waitrose] for this very pleasing recipe to use up leftovers.

Take Self-Basting Turkeys

...I mean, how can a headless dead bird cover itself with butter? Food has such crazy names - fish do not have fingers, cod do not have loins, there is no meat in a cauliflower steak - and marrows do not have bones

But everyone knows what you mean when you speak of these things. Walking back from the post box [My August Cross Stitch is winging it's way to Sussex!] I noticed someone had left an item on their gatepost.

A large marrow. FREE. But I left it for someone else. My uncle would not eat marrow, he did not like the feel of it in his mouth. Dad never liked the stuffed marrow they were fed in WW2. My Mum never cooked it. But my brother presented me with a large marrow a few weeks ago. He was given it, the day before his holiday, so decided to pass it on to us.

In the past I have tried various recipes to use this fruit - it is basically a courgette with pretensions - bloated and watery. 

I've made Meera's borani,Nigel's stuffed marrow rings and a marrow tea loaf, as well as marrow lemon curd. 

This year I made Tom Hunt's marrow and ginger jam from his July "Waste Not Food" column in the Guardian.

I used stem ginger because I had some in the bottom of a jar which I wanted to use up. Tom says to chop the lemon finely, I cut it into quite  small dice. And I used sugar not honey. The lemony jam is more akin to a thick cut marmalade- and it is - as Tom suggests - brilliant on toast and crumpets. 

I have yet to use some as topping for a sponge pudding [but very soon, when the weather gets cooler...] Bob was very surprised as he had fully expected the finished product to be a lurid shade of green. 

Rev Rachael, the village vicar, mentioned she loved marrow jam the other day. So I gave her a jar - and she promptly responded with a bag of apples from her tree! Village life is wonderful sometimes.

I do think that 'marrow and ginger' sounds a bit like a Farrow and Ball paint suggestion though.

Have you any good recipes for surplus marrows? **

And why do so many gardeners grow them, if they don't want to eat them?

**Kezzie mentions a recipe below- here is the link