Deblyn

Pip? What on earth is American for pip? It's the seed that is inside the fruit - what do you call them over there? They contain pectin-like substances that help the marmalade to set. Sometimes you put them in a wee muslin/cheesecloth bag and hang them over the side of the jam pan. That way you can make use of them without having to try and fish them all out afterwards! The marmalade doesn't need to be done in a water bath, as the amount of sugar is enough to preserve the fruit well. I don't keep it in the fridge unless the jar is opened. Unopened, it keeps in the store room (cool) for up to two years. I don't do my jam in a water bath either, or chutney etc, and they keep for several years. the chutney and pickley type things actually improve with keeping this way. Hope this helps; let me know how you get on if you decide to try it. Here to help if you've any more questions.

This is the recipe I used for my lemon marmalade, and it is really simple. 12 lemons 7 1/2 pints water 1lb sugar to 1 pint of pulp wipe lemons and cut into quarters. Take out pips and put them in a basin with one pint of the water, and leave in soak for a few hours. Slice the lemon quarters very thinly. Put them into a preserving pan with the remainder of the water. Add also the strained water from the pips. Let this stand for 24 hours. then boil it gently for about one to one hour and a half until the rinds are quite tender. leave it to stand until the next day, then weigh it and add the sugar in proportion. Bring to the boil, and boil for about one hour or until it will jelly. Pot into hot jars and cover immediately, or let go quite cold before covering. This recipe makes a lot of marmalade, so you can make half or quarter quantities if you like. It also makes the kitchen smell wonderful for two days!

Is a nuclear kitten like an Atomic Kitten? No, I thought not. Debbielee is going to come and clean my house and I am going to teach her how to make jam and chutney and wine and mead and beer and sew and knit and crochet and make bread and home school children and look after chickens and do the garden and sit on her behind and drink huge amounts of tea. Well, that's what I do all day instead of cleaning my house anyway!

Congrats from all of us here in Dorset! Best wishes for the future.

I have had a quick look on amazon for info on these books, and reading their descriptions, I may well have to buy them! All! How highly would you recommend them, before I jump in with both feet and hubby's credit card?!!

We very rarely get snow here in our part of southern England, just the occasionsl flurry that doesn't lie long, or is gone by next morning. The village does look very pretty when it has a covering, but that doesn't happen often. The people around here aren't very good at coping with even that amount of snow - they see it as a disaster. I was brought up in Scotland adn miss my snowy winters. I don't envy some of the weather that you in the US get, though; we get reports of it on our weather forecasts. Hope it's not too bad for anyone this year.

Please enlighten the Scotswoman as to what the Blue Ball book is! A lot of the information in American books is not of use here in the UK as different methods are used, but I am very fond of American pickle and preserve recipes. One I would like to try in the future, mainly out of curiosity, is pickled water melon rind. Does anyone do this? What does it taste like? Is it worth doing? Questions, questions.

What is Clear Jel, and what is it made of please? I would think it was possibly like arrowroot, a thickening agent that thickens without colouring and clouding. Please enlighten the Scotswoman!

Where I live in the south of england, the winters never get that severe. I think the coldest it has got in the 15 years I've lived here is -9, and that was only for one night. The car is hubby's responsibility, as I don't drive at all, so leave that one with him. I do all the house and animal stuff. The week before the clocks go back, I get the fireplace ready, air out the bed blankets, get the heater for upstairs checked over (we don;t have central heating), get in food supplies, sort winter clothes for the children (I still wear shorts and sandals for most of the winter!) and things like that. I also do all the animal houses - fix them if needed and give a good coating of creosote to see them throught the winter. I want to make removable thermal linings for all the curtains this year, but that is quite a big job. I see the front door needs looking at before winter, so I suppose that's down to me too.

Debbielee - that is Billy Connelly. People are really like that in Glasgow - I spent three year in and around Glasgow when I was at acollege and encountered many people just like the ones he talks about. A lot of people thinks he makes it all up, but he really doesn't. The other one you're thinking of is Mr Bean played by Rowan Atkinson; we all love hime in this house too. I'm glad that some of our better comedy efforts have made it across the pond to you.

I'm still listening to autumn music, and intend to for some time yet!!

Chuffed is an old Scottish word for being so pleased you wander around with a silly grin on your face and no-one really knows why except you. Mind you, I do that a lot anyway. I got an e-mail from Carla last night to say the first part will be in the post on its way today, so looking forward to that. Debbielee - I manage to fit so much in because I do no housework. This is true. Dull women have immaculate houses, remember!!

I found out through another site that Carla Emery is putting out a new edition of the Country Living Encyclopedia. She was looking for people to test some of the things that will be in the book, so I sent her an e-mail offering to help, and she got back to me today and asked me to help her! The new book is being published world-wide this time, in other languages as well. She needs help converting US measures, ingredients, sources of items etc to suit the British and European market. I'm very excited about helping her in this way, especially as she is ending off the first bit of work to do tomorrow! I got hold of her book a couple of months ago from Amazon and it really is a wonderful book, with so much infomation in it. I'm really chuffed!!

I like Victoria Wood, who is a comedienne from the north of England. We get Whose Line is it Anyway? as well; I also like Have I Got News for You on TV, but don't know if you get that over there. One of my all-time favourites has to be Billy Connelly from Glasgow - has anyone seen/heard his stuff?

Oh goody - looks like I have Jackson Browne all to myself. yum yum.

Richard Clayderman - ah! He is a gorgeous blonde French pianist in the eighties, with a lovely smile. he played the piano well as weel, as if that mattered when he looks like that! He played modern versions of well-known classical pieces, which were very easy to sin/hum along to. I listened to him a lot when I was at college, as part of my rather eclectic music taste!

This one is right up my street! I make a lot of all these things, so will try and answer your questions. Here we go. Chutney - this originated in India from the days of the Raj, and is indeed a condiment. It cooks fruit and or vegetables in vinegar and sugar to a thick consistency which is then put into jars. It takes about three months to mellow before eating. Usually included is some king of dried fruit, eg raisins, sultanas, etc and onions. Also spices of whatever variety takes your fancy. Chutney is usually made in the autumn, to use windfall and other spare apples, hedgerow fruit, autumn veg, etc, when they are bountiful and/or cheap to buy. I make the following: green tomato chutney, rhubarb, apple, hedgerow, runner bean, marrow, plum, plum and apple and various others. An extra kick can be added by the judicious use of chilli powder, but that is not traditional in England! It is eaten on the side of the plate, and is especially good with strong cheese, or in sandwiches. I sometimes add cider or stout to give it an extra filip, but that's just my preference. It keeps for several years if sealed properly, and definitely improves with age. Marmalade - this is a type of ornage jam. It is shreds of citrus peel and flesh cooked in water and sugar. The peel can be thin, or chunky, or the peel removed altogether and a jelly achieved. It is traditionally made in January in England when the bitter Seville oranges from Spain are available; You can make enough for the whole year(it keeps well) or the oranges can be frozen for making later in the year. Where I come from (Scotland) it is traditional to add whisky to it, and the marmalade-making centre was Dundee. It is eaten on hot toast for breakfast, but is also good in marmalade cale. Jam - jam is the term in English for what you call jelly. It is fruit cooked with sugar to setting point then put into jars. We do make jellies, which is fruit cooked in sugar as for jam, then strained through a jelly bag overnight so that you have a quantity of clear liquid to which is added sugar, then boiled to a set and put in jars. Just to confuse the issue, we also have jelly as a pudding - fruit juice or similare set with gelatine, eaten with ice-dream. Jelly we make is usually apple-based, using windfall apples, or crab apples, often flavoured with herbs, eg mint, rosemary, etc. Hope this answers your questions! Funnily enought, I am making lemon marmalade today, and want to try carrot marmalade; this was popular during WW2, when oranges were unobtainable. Good luck with all you preparations for winter and the following year. I love to hear about everyone's plans as they are all different.

Sigh! I still like Jackson Browne after more than twenty years...............

debbielee, could you e-mail me, please, as I have a question for you! Don't worry if you don't want to, I'll understand, but it's quite a nice question! e-mail: Julian.Dean1@btopenworld.com Hope to hear from you. Thanks

Nah - bet it was Richard Clayderman! I used to like him very much!

Got my list last night and am raring to go! But haven't started yet!! Looking forward to seeing what arrives through the letter box, and looking up in the atlas for where you all live.

We get Junkyard Wars here in the UK - my son and husband (engineer!) both love it, but it's not my cup of tea! We have a UK version called Scrapheap Challenge as well. We are probably one series behind you in the Junkyard Wars programme, I think. Bit noisy and aggressive for me, though.

Anyone listen to Eva Cassidy? I'm a great fan of her stuff too, also Fleetwood Mac, especially Stevie Nicks.

My hubby goes away on business too, usually abroad, but hasn't been for a while now. I find it does our relationship good to be apart and do our own thing every once in a while. He knows there are people around me who will help out if I get really stuck, but I do manage on my own. Longest he was away was 8 weeks in Brazil in 1994, about three months after Ethan was born, but we all managed. Only thing I don't like is that he locks up all his tools in case I decide to do some woodwork or other stuff in the house. He reckons I'm not too good at things like that, so puts all the stuff away out of site! Cheek!

Hello from Dorset England, where I make all my bread by hand! I'm not a gadget fan, and find I have plenty of time, as well as two little willing helpers when it comes to making bread, baking, jam, etc