Newly discovered arts & crafts.
A few years ago, when someone mentioned people who were self-sufficient, we did not really grasp the concept. How could we, living on the eighth floor !
At the moment, we are learning to make our own jams etc. We are still a long way from being self-sufficient, but I can see the possibilities of it. A small vegetable patch and a wealth of fruit trees. And those are the ones spurning us on to be industrious.
Nature only gives you a certain amount of time to get going. If you miss the window of opportunity, the fruit can get spoiled. Procrastination is a foreign word in the world of nature. In a way it is rather refreshing to have to hop to it. Yesterday, Bob and I made more cherry jam.
Bob picked a bucket full of cherries, and together we started the laborious task of de-pitting each and every one. We do it by hand, because we want to inspect each cherry for any inhabitants...worms. It takes about an hour to pit a bucket full, but it is well worth it.
We also have a few walnut trees and Bob is trying to make his own Walnut liqueur. ( Of course this is no hardship for him and in fact he is excited like a little boy ! ) All he does is cut up green walnuts, puts Vodka over them and puts them out on the window sill. Lets see how it works out. Anyone visiting us in the next few months should be in for a treat ?
Making homemade foods is akin to arts & crafts. Let's face it, who still knows that you can even make your own jam so easily ? We have grown so used to buying everything at the supermarkets, that the skills of making it ourself have almost been lost and forgotten. Let us try and revive them and pass them on. After all, they are incredibly grounding, satisfying and not to mention...delicious.
Biggi
View from the top, of Bob's Walnut liqueur creation...
Bob is cutting the walnuts with almost surgical precision !
Now it has to rest for a few months in order to absorb the aroma & flavour !
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