Harvest

It's that time of year again when many of the fruit and vegetables you have lovingly tended over the summer are ready to be picked. With our tiny yet prolific Damson tree, I try to extend the short season of this beautiful dusky purple fruit by making sure I have enough jars ready for preserving them. Havesting was a family affair with the kids climbing the fence to reach them and Scott managing to pick the highest branches. The negotiation of what exactly we were going to make with them this year came down to votes. It meant the 6.25kg harvest was spread over making jam (of course), damson gin (adult vote), homemade damson icecream (kids vote), damson sauce and also freezing a few for puddings or savoury dishes in the winter. We also cooked up a batch of Kasundi with a few kg of tomatoes while the big preserving pot was on the stove. Yes, the kitchen was a bit of a production line that day .... but once you have found a corner of time to dedicate to preserving it's worthwhile simply going for it!

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