Stewed Rhubarb and scone, bramble jelly adventures, cows and swans.

Here's a nice way to eat the last of your rhubarb...

...stew the rhubarb...

...then use this recipe...

...to make this scone.

Once it's baked serve a slice of scone with a portion of the stewed rhubarb. Yum! It's delicious hot or cold and is the way I remember eating rhubarb as a child. Usually I pour some nice cold full fat milk round it to serve.

I've also been making bramble jelly for the first time. "Never again" I declared as I spent all Sunday afternoon (so it seemed) boiling and testing for setting. Once the ordeal was over I had made enough for four jars and a little bit left over. That little bit left over was completely delicious and convinced me to make some more.

While N was napping I picked a tubfull from the brambles in the hedgerows close to the house - all within baby monitor receiving distance.

The recipe I used was this one. I suspect the problem was that I used dessert apples rather than cooking apples so there was less pectin to help the jelly set. I will get cooking apples for the next batch. I much prefer the jelly to the bramble jam I made last year -somehow the jam just seemed too brambly, the extra effort involved in making the jelly is minimal really.

Here is a view (taken from our living room) of one of the brambly hedges. As well as brambles it is laden with rosehips, I hope the council don't trim the hedge before they're ready for picking! Also in the photo you can see that "our" cows are back. I got it wrong when I mentioned them last year. They are young lady cows and half are destined for dairy and half for beef so I was told.

Now to this morning which was an example of perfect September weather (unlike the previous few days where we have had some torrential rain showers). I cycled to the local loch towing N in his trailer.

Lots of swans about. We had a little wander about then sampled an ice cream each while sitting and admiring the views and enjoying the warm sunshine.


Then home again.