Living The Dream in North Devon
We’ve picked the squash and pumpkins and put them all away in the store. We had our first frost last night. Even though I had picked them all and brought them up to the house, they needed washing. Today was cold, but warm, so this morning I washed them all and this afternoon put...
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Going back a few hundred years, mincemeat included meat seasoned with spices. Overtime it has evolved into a seasonal blend of dried and fresh fruit with mixed spices, sugar and fat. The fat is warmed and coats all the ingredients preventing the fruit from fermenting. This year my challenge was to try and make...
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As we move toward the end of October, the weather has been quite beautiful over the last couple of days. When I checked the walnuts a week ago, they showed no signs of emerging from their green shiny casing. Cracking up This week there had been a transformation, the husks had all split and...
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Just picked my nuts! Well Hazel nuts, the Walnuts will come later in the year. I have planted up a little nuttery (an orchard where nuts are grown) in one corner of our field with cultivated varieties of nuts. Currently Walnuts, Hazel Nuts and Horse Chestnuts. These being my favorite, I probably won’t plant...
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So the nectarine jam was not what I would consider a success. I thought it might produce a jam similar to apricot, but it just didn’t have the flavour. The jam tasted sweet with a slight hint of a peachy nectarine flavour. In my opinion, it would have been nicer with a higher acidity....
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Oh baby, yes it can be done and produces a tasty jam. Nectarine jam is a reality. Made from Nectarines grown in Devon, UK. Tasty, I’ll put the recipe in the website sion....
If you remember a couple of months ago, I was picking peaches, nectarines and then apricots. Now we are harvesting plums and late nectarines. The trouble is, this year I am inundated with nectarines, after all there are inly so many you can eat. What else can you use them for? Last night I...
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Just picked al the apricots, and a few nectarines and peaches. I’m going to keep a few for eating. Try freezing some, drying some and best of all making apricot jam this weekend! Yum, what does apricot jam remind you of?...
The apricots are beginning to ripen and turn golden orange. This variety of apricot, ‘Tomcot’, is growing near the south facing wall of the former shippen (cow shed). This year is the first year it has fruited. Apricot trees take about 5 years from planting to produce fruit. This is spot on, as I...
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I have a bumper crop of nectarines this year. Not ready to pick yet, but require a bit of attention. You may remember me fertilising the flowers back in early March, well now it is time to thin the fruitlets. To encourage bigger fruit and prevent overcropping, which can result in biannual crops, it...
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