Rhubarb cordial.

I’ve found a cordial recipe this year that is so good it has actually made me love my rhubarb plants again.

I have two huge rhubarb plants. I lift and split them regularly. A couple of years ago I offered a friend a piece and she happily accepted. We didn’t see each other for a while and the plant was already lifted so eventually we agree to swap the piece at a birthday party we both had to drop our children to. The party was at a distant roller skating rink, at night, in the winter. Two middle aged ladies were therefore seen struggling across the carpark with a huge box of earth, in the dark. Why we didn’t park next to each other I’ll never know but we still laugh about it now. Especially when either one of us is trying to palm off a section of their plant to other friends. It’s a good grower that rhubarb root!

8 1/2lb of it was harvested this morning to make my latest batch of cordial. I discovered the recipe this year and as HubB loves the stuff we’re on our third batch. I’ve so far had 43lb of rhubarb from the plants, 15 has gone in the freezer, the rest we have drunk.

After boiling, the pulp is put through a sieve.

The resulting liquid is then strained through muslin and the sieve. This could all be done in one step but it’s much slower that way.

The juice is measured, returned to the cleaned pan and 7oz of honey is added for each pint of liquid. I use leftover old honey for this. Some of it had creamed very nicely as you can see in the above picture, but some was quite wet as it was 2018 harvest.

The mixture is gently simmered for 5 minutes and bottled in warm, sterilised bottles. I’m using old coffee jars for mine. As they cool the lids draw down in the same way jam does to create the seal.

I keep it in the pantry until I open it when it goes into the fridge.

As an interesting point, 8 1/2lb of fruit made 3 1/2pt of juice and left 2 1/2lb of pulp afterwards. You can use the pulp for a pie although it looks pretty unappertising so I haven’t previously. Perhaps tonight’s the night, crumble anyone??

July update.

It’s been a difficult year across the world but for us here at the cottage it has a different meaning. Weather. Every year I seem to moan about it for one reason or another but this year I must certainly be justified.

The winter was warm. May was hot, very hot, and dry. June was wet, very wet, unless you count the week where the temperatures got into the 30’s. July has been all of that, with a predominance of rain. The plants seem to have got completely confused and decided it is now autumn and they should just give up.

The Polytunnel is slow this year, where I would usually be picking tomatoes with a wheelbarrow I’m wandering back with odd handfuls.

I’m removing lower leaves but the parsley, basil and coriander are just taking that as an invitation to fill the gaps. Will it surprise you to know that I’ve planted things to close? I have 4 varieties of tomato in here, each carefully separated at sowing time and marked properly, that’s almost a first and something I was very proud of, until nature conspired against me and dropped this rogue seed into my Yellow Delight seed packet. I don’t know what it is but the fruits are huge. If they ripen before they split or rot it will be worth seeing.

The cucumber is still driving me to distraction. Its ability to grow male flowers is unstoppable. Picking them off is nearly worth it, but as it’s in the roof almost impossible, as the fruit is lovely but again, as 4 plants are only just keeping up with us, it is slow.

A few brave melons are appearing. This is the biggest so far but hopes are high.

In the summerhouse the chillies and lemongrass are doing so well that I’ve started bringing the other peppers in to join them. I’ve had to clear more space for everything. I also have a extra gherkin in here, the outside ones are just so slow, some herbs drying in the net bags and a grumpy cat who is convinced it’s his room really.

June update.

Blogging is taking second place to so many things that I’m late again this month. The weather for June was nothing short of awful, the first weeks were almost constant rain and then we had a week of temperatures well into the 30’s.

HubB has taken a week off work and started on the cottage renovations. The cottage is a small 2 up /2 down house on the side of our main house which we hardly use and it’s been sadly neglected. When we brought the house it looked lovely but the work had been done badly and while we did up the main house it quickly fell into disrepair. This week it’s been given a new damp course and next week it gets a rewire. It’s exciting but hard, hard work. Held up by the shutdown and lack of supplies, it’s all go now.

The garden is blooming. I’ve lifted the onions and garlic and replanted the space with brassicas. I know, I said I wasn’t growing any this year but I must have lied!

The leeks have gone into last years chard bed which survived far to long as it was feeding the chickens so successfully.

The spaghetti squash in the compost bin are huge. I planted 9 in there which was far to many for the space (I just won’t learn!) and so far I’ve cut 2 which looked ready just to give others more room. The compost level has dropped significantly which is interesting.

The Polytunnel is prolific. The Yellow Delight are at the top of the ropes.

Gardeners Delight are being picked and very much appreciated.

San Mancano are new to us this year and I can’t wait to try them. They are apparently a pasta sauce tomato that is good to eat raw as well. As I freeze most of the crop this could be a very good buy.

Peppers are pollinating and full of flowers with the promise of more to come.

I have 3 melons and tons of tiny ones so I need to thin them a bit.

The drying onions are hanging above them to escape the wet weather.

The cucumber is growing well. I’m growing Telegraph, a free seed from my magazine and I’m not impressed. I not only hadn’t realised I had to remove male flowers, to stop pollination making the fruit bitter, but also that there would be so many. If I miss for even one day there are literally hundreds and the cucumbers are more than horrible if I miss one. Every meal is now a gamble, especially for the cook who has to nibble the food before serving it!

Outside the sweetcorn is short and early but I’ve never had so many cobs on each plant before, a few have as many as 4.

This is a picture of my cranberries. I’ve had the plant about four seasons and never had fruit get to ripening before. There a seven this year, the picture will probably be the only thing left by harvest time!