Marmalade...

In a way, Scilly can be at its best when shrouded in fog. Your senses aren't distracted by the stretches of beaches and rocky cliffs. Instead you listen to the confused birds singing for their companions. You notice branches drenched in sea mist.

And sometime the jobs you hate can be the most relaxing. I can't say I enjoy making marmalade. It's not my kind of cooking. Soaking, peeling slicing, boiling, more boiling, settling. It's just not for me. But sometimes sitting on a stool thinly slicing orange peel, listening to the radio can be cathartic. When you've got a 5 month old baby making demands of you 24 hours a day it's nice to have a pile of oranges just sitting there, happily waiting to be sliced. 

This is a combination of about 5 friends and families recipes. I don't even use Seville oranges so sorry to the marmalade purists.

My Marmalade (makes about 5 jars)

2kg oranges

2kg jam sugar

About 4 litres of water

Pop the whole oranges in the water and leave overnight. The next morning remove them from the water (but keep the water which now will have the faint smell of oranges.) Peel them and put the insides in a bowl to one side. Start slicing the peel and put into the pan of water. 

Bring to the boil and boil for about an hour until the peel is soft. Add the jam sugar and boil until it reaches 105'c or put a little on a cold saucer and run a spoon across it to see if it makes creases. You can scrape the frothy scum off as it makes the marmalade cloudier.

Pour carefully into sterilised jars and leave the lids off. Leave to stand for 12 hours (as it helps it set better) then put the lids on. 

Last night we stood on Penryn quay to watch the fireworks marking the end of Falmouth Week. As the bangers lit up the sky I realised just how dark it was at 10pm. Gone are the summer barbecues when we're still eating at 10pm and everyone gasps when they realise how late it's got because it's light enough to be 7pm. Anyway here are some more shots of Falmouth Week....

But as sad as I feel about summer coming to an end I can't help but be excited because I love autumn. I love everything turning brown, the first day you see your breath in the air, the empty beaches, the amazing autumn light. I think this is the first year I have made chutney so early but arriving back from holidays to huge marrows and a tree full of apples I had to get on it....

Apple and Courgette Chutney......(Makes about 8 biggish jars)

1kg apples cored (but leave the peel on)

1 1/2 kg courgettes (or marrows) I used a mixture of yellow and green

600g onions

250g sultanas

100g dried apple slices

500g sugar

300ml cider vinegar

400ml white wine vinegar

1 mug water

1 tbsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp all spice berries

2 sticks cinnamon

3 balls of stem ginger in syrup

2 tsp dried chilli

You'll need a really big heavy based pan for this. Chop the fruit and vegetables into rough chunks and pop in the pan. Add all the other ingredients.

Mix with your hands.

Pop on the heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and boil for about 2 hours or until a rich dark brown.

Leave the chutney to cool for around an hour and put in sterilised jam jars and top with a circle of greaseproof paper and a lid. I'll leave the chutney until Christmas before I eat it.