Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Peach Chutney and Other Happenings

Peach Chutney

Yesterday, after daughter picked the peaches, we decided to peel and cut up the really ripe and bruised fruits.  We both sat at the little table I had used earlier in the morning to make the zucchini waffles to cut up the fruit, so I could help.  We had 5 lbs. of cut up fruit!  Then, I read out my peach chutney recipe to my daughter and I rested on the bed while she made the chutney!  It was her first time making chutney from start to finish and she was able to make almost eight jars of chutney - each jar is one pint (16 fl. oz.)  I showed her how to process them in a water bath and all the jars sealed.  The one jar that was not filled right to the top was kept in the fridge (she took it out for this picture) and will be used up first.  

We were a little worried that I might have done too much, yesterday, but, I had a pain free night and woke up feeling fine.  

Today has been a good day, too.  I spent most of the morning resting in  bed, but, in the afternoon, I moved to the family room sofa and continued to repair the patchwork quilt.  I was wearing a short sleeved blouse, leggings, and socks; the quilt I was repairing was spread on my lap and it was backed with cotton flannel. The ceiling fan was on, but, the daytime high was 96F.  Eventually, I felt warm enough to remove my socks!  LOL.   

In the early evening, daughter drove to her friend P's house to drop off a bag of zucchini for P's parents.  Afterwards, she watered some of the fruit trees and the vegetable plants in the garden because they were wilting from the heat.  I put out some dry cat food and guess who showed up to eat the kibbles?


Bun Bun!  You are not a kitty!

Later in the evening, I cooked some salmon fillets in an electric skillet set up on the same table I used when I made the zucchini waffles.  It's been years since I last used it, and, in fact, every time I decluttered, I wondered if I should give it away since I wasn't using it (along with the electric wok which also hasn't been used in years).  But, there was that little voice whispering, "But, what if you need it, again?"  And, today, I was very, very glad that I hadn't decluttered it, because it meant I could cook something for dinner and give my daughter a break from having to cook a couple of meals!  She says she, too, is very glad that I kept the electric skillet.  

Today I am grateful for:

- Another good day
- Peach chutney
- Being able to cook dinner
- Having kept the electric skillet after all
- Daughter watering the garden

 Today's joyful activity was sweeping the bathroom!  

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday?

14 comments:

  1. I don't know why but I was expecting the peach chutney to be a much lighter colour. It looks tasty though and well done to your daughter.

    Your little voice questioning whether you'd need to electric skillet again very much reminded me of my late partner, which is why he never got rid of anything if left to make his own choices. It was a real shock to his system when I moved in and made him get rid of lots of stuff 😂

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    1. The color of the peach chutney is due to all the crushed red chillies we added! The color darkened the longer we cooked it and we cooked it for a good 2 hours before it reached the proper chutney consistency. It is a sweet and very spicy chutney!

      Yes, that little voice is why I have such a hard time getting rid of things, too! :D

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  2. I have never had peach chutney, but it sounds good. Hope you have another pain free day.

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    1. This particular version is very spicy (it has crushed red chillies, mustard seeds, garlic and ginger) and sweet, too. Just the way my daughter likes it! :D

      Thank you, June; last night, before I went to sleep, I felt a little pain in the back of my knee when I walked, so, I might have done a little too much, yesterday. But, the pain didn't develop into an all out flare up and seems to have gone away this morning! I think I'll take it a bit easy, today, anyway!

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  3. Glad it was another good day. I bet that peach chutney is delicious! Cute that bunny came to eat the kitty food, glad you got a photo of him.

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    1. Thank you, Martha; there was a bit of pain in the night, but, it has gone away, this morning. The chutney is sweet and quite spicy and we love it! That bunny seems to like my garden! I'd rather it ate the cat food than my plants! So far, it has eaten my chillie plants, the tops of the sweet potato vines, and my gaura plant, from what I can see!

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  4. Remarkable how your health issues have been turned into some good. Your daughter has now had a hands on lesson on making chutney from start to finish and from now on she will be confident to make all kinds of preserves!

    We had a lot of rain yesterday afternoon around suppertime and I just got the last of the laundry off the line in time, and noticed the dog next door watching me anxiously from our deck. So when I came in from the side door, I went to the patio doors and out on the deck to give him his treats before he made a hasty retreat back home before the rain set in!

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    1. Yes, "No great loss without some small gain" as Laura Ingalls Wilder (of the Little House series) quoted her mother saying! Daughter made jam a couple of years ago and now, she's made chutney; since she prefers chutney to jam, I think she will be making more chutney in the future! :)

      Oh, the next door puppy and his treats! Too funny! That was very sweet of you to give him his treats before the rain!

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  5. Whoop to sweeping the bathroom! You're making me envious! 😉

    Congrats on putting some of the peaches to good use; to be enjoyed long out of season! That chutney recipe sounds a lot like my mango chutney recipe.

    I spotted a teeny weeny courgette on one of my plants today. And we have lots of rain in the forecast so maybe my first harvest won't be too far away either!

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    1. Thank you, Lady Ella. My leg started to hurt a little bit later in the night and I wondered if it was from the sweeping, but, I was happy I was able to do it!

      I used my ripe tomato chutney recipe to make the peach chutney, but, I think the mango chutney recipe is almost the same! It makes a very spicy, but sweet, chutney. :)

      Yay for the teeny weeny courgette! Hope all the rain will help it grow! We are at 102F today and I've a feeling my zucchini will be pre-steamed when we harvest them! :o

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  6. That's so great you kept that table, Bless. It has really enabled you to get back to a few activities that I know you've missed.
    My goodness, what a nice batch of peach chutney you and your daughter made. Plus it was a good way to have her do the entire batch with you there as a guide. She now knows how to do it.

    Oh Bun Bun. You are a cutey. But stop eating those vegetables in the garden.
    I wonder if Dancer likes you, Bun Bun?

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    1. Thanks, Debra. Sometimes, it pays to be a "keeper of might come in useful someday items"! LOL.

      Yes, I'm glad my daughter was able to make the peach chutney with me giving directions. We gave one jar of it to M for all his help with keeping the peach tree going. :)

      Dancer seems to ignore Bun Bun; the garden cats seem to have accepted him as an odd cousin! Bun Bun seems to prefer the back garden while Little Brown Bunny seems to like the front garden! I have seen it, but, haven't been able to take a picture of it. M said he saw it when he was watering the front garden, yesterday! I am just hoping that I won't wake up one day and find a whole family of baby bunnies hopping around!

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  7. Peach chutney sounds delicious. I would love to try it. X

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    1. This version is both sweet and spicy; we love it!

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