When your online grocery order goes haywire and they deliver twice the fruit you ordered, it becomes, in autumn, a harvest festival. If this lot doesn't ward off seasonal depression/the common cold, I don't know what will.

Spicy Apple Chutney

We have three apple trees in the garden. This year, the tall pole shaped tree produced zero apples, the one spread against the wall produced one apple, and the third, a classic crooked old tree, produced lots. They're all mutant shapes with lumps and pock marks, so perfect for chutney. I made this batch with windfalls, having to fight our Pug Treacle for them, she loves an apple of any variety.

I used Nigella's recipe for the apple chutney, which you can find in her Domestic Goddess book. I always do double quantity. If you're going to stink the house out with the smell of boiling vinegar, you might as well make as much as possible in the process.

The smell was contained more than normal due to the use of the Rayburn. After the initial boiling, I cooked the chutney in the oven at gas mark 4, and then finished it on the hot plate to reduce it further.

I sterilised the jars by washing them in hot soapy water, rinsing and then drying them in the bottom oven while the chutney cooked, and I am pleased to say they all gave that satisfying pop as the vacuum sealed. I felt smug.

You can see that double quantity isn't that many jars.  I used smallish jars to make gift sized quantities. Still only used about 2% of my empty jam jar collection, much to husband's annoyance. 

Cocktail of the Month

The Ashgrove

This cocktail was invented to christen the house, so to speak. Whenever someone comes round for the first time, they are offered one of these.

1/2 oz lime juice. (You can use either freshly squeezed or Roses lime cordial)
1/2 oz Cointreau
2 oz Gin (Plymouth is our 'house' gin.)

Pour all the ingredients into a shaker with ice, shake hard, then serve in a chilled martini glass. Garnish with an orange wedge, wiping the wedge around the rim of the glass first. Lime cordial gives an expectedly sweeter version. You'll have to try both.