Save Money on Your Pet Food

We all know how the cost of pet food can quickly add up - especially when you have a menagerie like we do. Well I have two voucher codes that could save you some money (for UK residents).

save4
- Free standard delivery and £5 off when you spend £59 or over.

save5
- Free standard delivery and 10% off when you spend £89 or over.

You will have to hurry though as this offer expires on 31st August 2009.

N.B. This offer has now finished!

Making Raspberry Jam

This weekend the OH decided to continue with some jam making. She made some strawberry jam a couple of weeks ago with some strawberries that she got cheap from the local supermarket (in fact, they were buy one punnet, get one free, but then reduced for quick sale - so it actually worked out that they were paying us to take them away!). She decided that she wanted to make some raspberry jam, but our raspberries won't be ready for a couple of weeks yet - they are a late fruiting variety. So it was a case of buying some. Anyway, it's good practice for when ours are ready.

Anyway, this is the recipe we use for making raspberry jam:

You will need:-

Raspberries
Jam sugar (containing pectin) - you need the same amount of sugar as fruit
Jam Thermometer (optional)
Jam Jars
Jam Funnel
Large saucepan


Method:

1. Thoroughly wash your jars in hot water, rinse in boiling water. Turn upside to drain. Place on a baking tray on greaseproof paper and put in an oven at 160C/325F for 5 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool before filling (otherwise your jam will continue to cook).
2. Put all raspberries into the pan. Put on a low heat and simmer for about 10 minutes until they start to go mushy and the juice is coming out.
3. Remove from and stir in the sugar.
4. Once the sugar has dissolved return to the heat and boil rapidly for about 5 minutes.
5. Test for a set - one way to do this is to chill a saucer in the refrigerator before starting. Put a teaspoon of jam onto the plate, leave for one minute. Push the surface of the jam with your finger - if it wrinkles it is ready to be bottled. Alternatively, if you are using a jam thermometer the temperature should be 105C/220F for setting point.
6. Remove any scum that has formed with a slotted spoon.
7. Put the jam in the jam jars while still hot. Make sure that you fill to the brim so that there is not too much air in the jar.

For more jam recipes try Jams, Pickles and Chutneys: Best Kept Secrets of the Women's Institute

Another Manic Sunday

We are off on our holidays tomorrow so today we have running around doing jobs to make sure things are sorted before we go. So today consisted of cutting the grass (so we are not faced with jungle when we return), and then giving the chickens, geese and goats a good clean out. The animals are being looked after by a lady who we always use when we go away - she charges for her services of course, so it does tend to increase the cost of the holiday a little.We then felt the need to tidy up the house before we go (just why do we always do that??) and then of there is the packing. All this for a week of relaxation?!