Crab Apple Scrump

I visited a tree tonight that I have had my eye on for a while. Got everything I could without a ladder whilst in the dark. I now have around 5lb of crab apples... what to do with them?

I thought I would try one to gauge the taste/astringency. A lucky find it seems. Really good apple flavour and quite edible, still of course high on the "tart" scale. I think I would either like to make some crab apple brandy or crab apple cheese. Just found this image on flickr. If I can get some tasty hawthorn berries then I might go for this recipe.

I feel this weekend will involve some serious jar sterilisation.

Bobbins

I've been meaning to share with you some pictures of my lovely sewing machines.

I have two - my first came to me when I was little - because I wanted to use my mum's all the time and she got me this to distract me - what a lovely distraction!

I think it dates from 1907 (your Singer enthusiasts could tell me more!). That is what I worked out from the serial number anyway. There is a grapevine embossed on the metal plate. It comes in a case that locks with a key

I recently looked for a few extra spools that hold thread under the needle and amazed the gentleman in the shop that yes, I meant the OLD-style spool, which has this shuttle shape, rather than the round ones that sewing machines are all made with now.

Look at the lovely decoration on the top of the machine here too - what a beauty!

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I was recently very lucky to recieve an electric sewing machine from a lovely lady on Freecycle. I've never been very confident with electrics, because I feel it will run away from me, but it's ok really, just need to be brave. This machine folds into an old Singer table and I can imagine them all lined up in a factory buzzing away.

It has a little drawer for bobbins

Which is sometimes raided by Tomas (we have enough problems baby-proofing regular drawers)

And here it is standing proud - a Cresta. Not so famous as Singer - but it does extra stiches, little tiny ones, long ones and zig-zag ones.

Tomatoes

Over the past few weeks we've been picking blackberries, bilberries, cowberries and cropping a few select things from our garden. We've had some good crumbles and our freezer is filling up nicely too.

I've been really enjoying feeding Tomas the odd handful of fruit as we pass down the garden path on our way out somewhere - blackberries and raspberries mainly. He pops them in like sweeties. And I was surprised one day to come home and find Tomas sat on the wall with James chewing the end of a spring onion like a pro!

Just been out in the garden to survey the tomatoes we are growing. I have now realised that the toms that I thought might be ripening and were stuck on yellow ('not enough sun to get them red' I thought) are actually supposed to be a yellow variety - and so I am a little late in getting to some of them, but there are loads on the vine yet to come, so I'm ok. They are tumbling toms for pots, and the plants are so tight and cabbage-y that the toms themselves are actually hard to pick because they are curled so snugly into the plant. I am definitely going to grow these again next year, they've been no trouble and look like producing a good harvest.

The purple variety are looking a lovely muddy red, which I expect to darken to purple over the next couple of weeks.

One of my plants has been knocked over by torrential rain - they are staked outside our door rather than being in a greenhouse, so that makes them a little bit vulnerable to whatever the weather throws at them. So I've some little green ones that need to be cuddled by a banana in a dark place to make them lovely.

And as for these oh-so-expensive seeds - they have come to pretty much nothing. Well, I've got about 20 teeny, tiny tomatoes on the plants, but the plants look yellow and sad, and nothing like the hundreds and thousands that they were supposed to produce. And ok, so we might not have watered them every day. Or given them a feed once a week. But basically, if you can't tough it out, then there is no place for you in our garden - we've not got the time for faffing!

Everywhere I walk or drive now I have one eye on the road ahead and one on the trees and hedgerows. Looking out for scrumping opportunities. And there are several, some crab apples and a couple of eaters. Do we just help ourselves to trees overhanging public places? Or knock on some doors and ask if the owners of trees plan on using them all? Or just wait until we can scrump my mum's Bramley and be legit?