It turns out I wasn’t exaggerating when I mentioned my little toe was hurting. It’s broken!
X-rays are so cool. I find it fascinating that they’re digital these days. The technician took one snap and confirmed I’d done a good job. Medical science is just amazing.
The good news about having to hang out at home until 0800 this morning (when our doctor’s surgery starts taking calls for appointments) is that I had time to get some photographs of my weekend bottling efforts.
I managed five bottles of apples stewed with honey for the children’s porridge, four of chopped tomatoes, and eleven jars of beetroot relish. I’m going to have to reorganise our pantry to have a dedicated preserves shelf, I think.
The relish is yummy, and it’s just as well – I was chatting to a much loved (and missed) friend on Skype and merrily chopping away…only to realise after the beetroot and onion were ground and chopped (and mixed together), that I had completely neglected to follow a recipe! Whoops. Cue some frantic research and some calculations. Anyway, it turned out beautifully – and the bonus is I have an original recipe to share tomorrow!
ruth plus two 
I’m sorry about your toe — that does look painful and I hope it gets better soon! The photographs of your jars are so pretty!
Thanks 🙂 I hope it stops hurting soon! I really love taking photos of the preserves in the morning – the sun hits them from behind and you can see the colours more clearly.
Ouch! Your poor little toe! Lets hope it can get fixed right up with minimal pain. Broken bones are no fun at all.
No fun. At. All. You are right 🙂
Oh no, I am so sorry to hear about your toe! Your canned goods look delicious.
Thanks. I was back at the doctor today and thankfully do not need surgery or anything like that. I’ll just have a sore foot for a good few weeks yet. 😦
Get well soon! And am intrigued – do you preserve the apples? I’ve made a batch of apple purée but worried about it going off.
Thank you 🙂 Yes, I do preserve the apples. These ones are blanched with honey and then processed in the jars with the cooking liquid and 1/4 tsp citric acid for half an hour.
So you think if I added citric acid to the puree and put it in sterilised jars it would keep (in the fridge, perhaps?)
Something like this might work for you: http://wellpreserved.ca/low-sugar-applesauce-preserving/
The acid (citric acid or lemon juice) makes the preserve shelf stable and safe, but I guess it depends whether you want to keep the puree on the shelf.
If you’re not keen on processing jars in boiling water to seal them, you could always freeze the puree until you need to use it.
I also forgot to add that I do soak the apples in ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and water after I’ve sliced them (before they’re cooked) to stop them discolouring 😦 )
Thank you! Very helpful.
Let me know how you go 🙂