Halloween at Home

 

 

 Here are a few touches I have added to our home. I have decorated mainly the kitchen and left a few pumpkins outside the main house door. Next week we are baking pumpkin cupcakes  and making some pumpkin soup ( recipe posted on 17/10/12 ). vintagepeonies.blogspot.com/2012/10/marius-pumpkin-soup.html
 Love Autumn!
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Beetroot Relish

Beetroot Relish

 

• 500g beetroot, roasted* instructions below
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 3/4 cup-1 cup white or brown sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt

Step 1 - To roast beetroot, wash the beetroot and place in a cast iron pot or a pot with a lid. Drizzle with oil and roll them in the oil to coat and then bake for 1 hour to 1.5 hours (depending on the size of the beetroot). I sometimes leave them in the oven overnight to cool and then peel the skin off the next morning when they're while wearing gloves to stop my fingers staining. Chop the peeled beetroot into quarters and process in a food processor until you get a rough, grated texture. You can also start with raw beetroot and grate it although the cooking time on the stove top will be a bit longer.

Step 2 - Heat a saucepan on medium to high heat and without adding any oil, add the mustard seeds. They will start to pop. Turn the heat down to medium, add the oil and chopped onion and fry the onion with the mustard seeds until translucent. Add the sugar, water, allspice, cinnamon, vinegar, salt and beetroot and stir to combine. This will cook quite quickly in about 15-20 minutes as the beetroot is already roasted. If you're cooking with raw, grated beetroot, check on the texture and it may need maybe 30-40 minutes. Simmer with the lid off to drain any excess liquid (you can keep a little syrup in it if you want).

Step 3 - To place in preserving jars, preheat oven to 180C/350F. Place jars and heatproof lid in the oven for 10 minutes. Carefully remove and ladle the relish into the jars while still hot. Carefully using oven mitts or thick tea towels, place the lid on very tightly and upturn the jars for 10 minutes. Then turn right side up and press down on the "bubble" on the lid and the seal should depress.

 

Courtesy of recipe is by ''Not Quite Nigella''

 

Beetroot is my most loved vegetable of all, my Mum's kitchen always had some fresh beetroot. She used to cook soups, make salads, beetroot pickles and preserves.

Unfortunately my lovely husband dislikes beetroot so bad, that he can't stand the look or taste of it at all. So I do cook my poor beetroots most of the time when Jason is away on business trips. I have tried before to make some cold beetroot soup- Lithuanian traditional summer soup called Saltibarsciai. But once he saw the colour of the soup he was so scared even to come closer to the pot! He was asking me: Why this soup is Pink?! :) So after some few attempts to make him eat beetroot I gave up.

Today I do share this delicious recipe with those who love and eat beetroot :) We have grown some beets in our garden this year, so I have decided to make some pickles for the Winter time. Beetroot Relish is perfect with some  cheese or as a complimentary side dish to some cold deli meats. Enjoy!

 

xxxxx

What I'm reading now...

 

Philippa's Gregory book ''The Red Queen''. I have always been fascinated about English History, and this book is plenty to look forward. Hot relaxed bath, scented candles, bubbles and a book- a perfect combination for the evening!

xxxx

Pumpkin Festival

 

 

 

At the weekend me and Jason visited our local park where every Autumn local charities, councils and  small business people organise the Pumpkin Festival. And it was a real entertainment! We have enjoyed a beautiful sunshine, watched  pumpkin competition where the biggest grown pumpkin was competing for a prize and had a yummy venison burgers. We have walked true Scarecrow Avenue where all the funniest scarecrows where  on display, Jason had some local apple cider and I have bought a bag of delicious apples from local farmers.

A lovely day out! 

xxx

 

 

Animal Motif Knitwear

Cute, quirky, and perfectly cozy for the nippy fall weather ahead, animal motif sweaters are a fun way to add flair and character .Tuck in to a pencil skirt for a silly meets sophisticated look, or rock with leather-effect coated jeans and some combat boots for a sweet-yet-edgy contrasting ensemble.
This Autumn animal motif sweaters are back again for sure!

Animal print has been dominating in the shops for the past year or so, and this Season it is happen to be a very fashionable staple and addition to your  wardrobe. I'm not a big fan of animal print look, and I have barely anything with animal print, exception would be  shoes, as I have a few pairs of different stilettoes and shoes. But take a  look  at how amazing  Kate Moss is rocking the leopard print jumper!

 

 

I love oversized cosy jumpers. Purchased this zebra motif jumper a month ago at Zara Sale.

 

Animal print sweater with leather trimmed neckline and pockets from Marks & Spencer

 

This cute Bunny knitwear I bought in Summer sale at Next

 

My animal print booties from Marks & Spencer. In stock now.

 

Final Garden Update

 Our Crab Apple Tree is full of little apples

 

 

Picked some Blackberries behind the fence : they will be going straight into the freezer for a delicious Apple Blackberry Tart later this year.

 

Cabbages ready to be picked

 

Potato crop is not huge this year, but they do taste lovely! 

 

Clearing the Garden

 

Tomatoes enjoying the last sunshine

 

 

Leeks starting to look more like a Leeks now :)

 

Cleaning the Pumpkins

 

Carrots!

 

 

Purple Sprouting Broccoli

 

 

Picking some Crab Apples to make  Crab Apple Jelly

 

Last Cucumbers

 

and some almost last Tomatoes.....

 

So our Garden says Goodbye  for now till  next year. The enjoyment of the gardening is been huge, but due to the Wedding planning etc. we spared a little time and attention to our garden this year. We are planning to grow more different varieties of vegetables and fruits. So our next Garden Update is coming in Spring 2014!

xxxx