Ahead of what is usually my kitchen day, and is, because it's Friday, I thought I would share a few pics of the day I had to be AFK because of no power.
It was not the loadshedding of the previous two weeks, but a scheduled outage because of upgrades. It was supposed to have happened the week before. But didn't. The weather was "inclement". The utility's definition and not communicated to users. The lights just didn't go out. By which time, I had started making koeksisters. Which job couldn't be stopped midway and delayed. If you don't know what a koeksister is, I'll be sharing about that soon.
Back to Tuesday. I cook with gas. And my stocks of certain products had run low, so a day in the kitchen was the best productive use of my time.
It began, as these days so, sorting through jars collected by friends and customers. I find series so that each product run is in the same or almost perfectly identical jars.
Then it's sorting the lids which The Husband addresses with a can of spray paint:
And while this was going on, the lemons were having a hot bath, ahead of being marmed.
Then wash and sterilize the jars selected for the for the other product planned: mixed vegetable pickles.
These are not just pretty, but tasty and popular. And easy to make if you want to do your own (https://fionasfavourites.net/a-pretty-pickle-or-two/).
Then it was back to lemons: bathed and soft, they had cooled enough to shred ahead of marming. Lemon (and lime) marmalade is not made quite the same way as three fruit or orange. I have added those recipes to my ever growing list of recipes.
The day was interrupted with an unexpected visitor, so once packed, the pickles were temporarily abandoned. Catchup meant brine and marmalade shared the gas.
By the end of a long day and with the power coming on two hours later than scheduled, I had a ten jars of pickle
and double that of lemon marmalade to add to my stock.
All that remains is to label and price and find house room ahead of their finding homes via my stall at the market.
Oh, and this is a long overdue contribution to @dswigle's Market Friday.
Until next time, be well
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa
Photo: Selma
Post Script
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The pickles looks great!! I just hate this load shedding and other power failures!!
Thanks! I am so over this Eskom story. Loses me work!! I can't afford that
Bottling and processing pickles and marmalade very busy day doing both, rewarding to stand back and admire when all is done Fiona.
!tip
Thanks, Joan, and yes, one does have a great sense of accomplishment. Tip much appreciated, thank you.
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Oh, my Fiona! That load shedding is for the birds. Trying to be PC here! You really have the patience of a saint and your organizational and delegating skills are top-notch! I am in awe, watching you toss together batches and batches and even double fisting your work to catch up?
Hello?
I bow down to you and I have never had lemon marmalade! Actually, I have never heard of it. I must be the Yankee in me. I can only wrap my head around the orange. Your pickles look awesome and I have to say that I am always impressed with your skills. They put mine to shame, but, I still love to see yours in action!
Well done! I could go on and on this post is so fun and awesome and delicious!!! Thank you, my friend!! I really enjoyed your post today! It is different and therefore, very nice to see. I am so pleased to see you here and I will admit that it is fun to go through these posts and have so many different cultural experiences. The amount of time and effort put into posting in this challenge is not a secret. One of the reasons I have so much appreciation for those that do.
There have been some really interesting ways that #MarketFriday has been presented, all of which adds all the more charm to the mixing bowl. The challenge points out our differences, but, then, it also shows many things our cultures share. When the day is done, it shows off how human we all are and how we basically all care about our families and others. I love the experience of it all. I appreciate the love and support given to #MarketFriday! Thank you! Truly! Your participation adds a piece of your world, and I have to say, people are interested in is seeing it. This entire challenge has opened up the world to me and so many others. Thank you again for being a part of all this! I hope you have a fabulous day! Hive on!!
Fridays are all about the #MarketFriday Challenge! Looking to take part in it? Here is how:
How to Participate:
Go to the market! Any market will do! Food, clothing, plant, or animal, if you wish. You can go to the zoo, an art auction, and restaurants. Anywhere or anything that you pay money for any kind of service.
Take pictures! Be creative! It’s fun!
Tell us a little bit about the market, what brought you here?
Post the picture.(s)
Don’t forget to use the MarketFriday Community #196308 to post from or hashtag it! #MarketFriday by @dswigle If you hashtag it, drop the link to your post here so I can easily find them.
As always, please remember! #MarketFriday loves you!
Upped and reposted
!tip .20
Ah, Denise! Thanks for stopping by! And hello!
I have to say that there are times when the electrickery issue is so challenging, that being PC flies right out of the window - as it did when it was scheduled to go out and didn't. Much F-lying blue air!
You know, marmalade is one of those things that one either likes. Or not. It is archetypally (there is such a word - I checked!) British. Either lemon or lime or a combination of the two are my favourite. They are tart but without the bitterness that often comes with orange marmalade.
Which brings me to your point - the diversity that is so much a part of #marketfriday is one of the reason it's a tag I follow. 😀
Thank you for your kind words - I'm trying to get back into things - there have been/are a lot of distractions thanks to that other C-thing. I hope to drop by again...as part of #MarketFriday.
I trust you and your family are safe and well?
Haha! I checked too! :)) I really will have to try to make them. I like tart, and some marmalade can be bitter. We grew up on it, so, I cannot imagine anyone not liking it. New Englanders are marmalade lovers, too many of our parents or grandparents came from Europe to have a distaste for those foods!
Thank you!! I love the direction that #MarketFriday has taken and that is the diversity part! No worries, Fiona! Nothing is as it is supposed to be right now.
The family is fat and happy. :) ❤️ Thanks for asking!
!tip
Ain't that the truth!
Glad to hear it!
:))
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Your stand looks so pretty Fiona, I would have taken home at least one of each item on display there, as it's all stuff I love!
But I've still not tried making Lemon Marmalade nor Veg Pickles, sure everything was sold out in no time! Definitely must give it a go but I'll have to check how to make the Lemon Marmalade, I didn't know it was different to making Orange Marmalade which I was making last week.
What paint does your hubby use for the lids? I always collect glass jars but hate the lids with painted labels so never give away a bottle of Marmalade with a Black Cat Peanut Butter lid on ;)
So glad that your market days are back now and we can all start creating our own New Normal, although we may still have a second peak!
We've had a busy couple of weeks here, both units have been full so it's been good.
Stay well Fiona and have a great week!
@lizelle, thank you! I confess that is an old photo: I need to do an update with the two new pickles before they sell out. I can't wait for apricots to come back into season: I think I'll be in the kitchen for days with the chutney and the bottling - such has been the demand. I have no stock of either. I've not had plums for a couple of years - one year I did them in Muscadel...they came from a local farmer who dumped a crate - full to the brim - on the stoep!!
Lemon and lime marmalade are different methods - fruit cooked whole to soften and then sliced. Makes it a much longer process which, with the cost of the fruit, explains the price differential. I shall add these to my list of recipes "to do"...
On the lids, like you, I hate the branded Cross & Blackwell, Black Cat or Pickled Onion, etc. lids. I started with a gold - it didn't work because the finish was uneven. We then went to black and now we use virtually any brand - and the heat resistant one. The Husband bought the matt by mistake this time, but we both agree it's not too bad. You do, however, need to protect the lids because the black chips easily, so I make sure that I have something between the lids and the base of jars if I stack them. You do know, though that if you have a packaging outlet - there must be several around you, you can get lids - separately - for standard jars? If you have a Consol glass outlet in Durban, start there. For some of my standard fare - the chilli jam, pate & hummus, etc. - I buy in jars from Consol in Stellenbsoch. These also tend to be the jars that don't arrive in quantities from my collector friends...
I am glad business is picking up for you. I admit to taking a step back from Destination McGregor - for the time and effort and for little return, and having lost my other work, I'm now focusing on the writing and research (and, if you know of folk needing either...) and am going to be more active here - probably with more "quick and dirties" thanks to Dapplr and which I can do at between 5 and 6 before the household stirs....
Yes, we are also getting into the "new normal" and equally concerned about a second wave. We've (the village) come off relatively unscathed which is a boon and a bane. The market - we're managing numbers and access - has been a learning. We didn't think we ever had more than 50 pax at any time and 2 weeks ago, had a queue of people waiting to come in. What we'll do for level 1 - because it has distinct advantages - is continue access control, but ease up on the numbers - we'll never have 250 pax...
Also, this easing is allowing us to think about planning two night markets this festive season: one on Friday 19 December and the other on New Year's Eve. We shall see.