Bake-a-thon

This year, I'm breaking a bit with family tradition by having a bake-a-thon on Christmas eve, since my lot are going to be in and out like a yo-yo on Christmas day.

Of course I've been doing my (un)usual Jams, pickles and chutneys. But in a much reduced quantity. I don't eat jam myself. Oddly, it isn't the T2 diabetes that's the problem. It's me. I just don't like it. I like my home made sweet chilli sauce, chutney and lemon curd.

I love cooking it though, if only for the skills I've picked up learning how to make it. I wondered where The Bear seemed to be getting a seemingly inexhaustible supply of a rather nice Piccalilli from, and was surprised to discover it was a batch I'd made two years ago from a 18th Century recipe. Two years?!

"Meh" she explained. "I'm not dead yet, am I, and besides, they had to make them to last then didn't they?"

Good point. "Besides" she said "You'd be surprised how long that supermarket stuff is stored to mature before it goes on sale". I'll let you Goggle that :)

I won't pretend that making your own version of classic jams and curds is cost effective. It isn't. Taking lemon curd as an example, it's easy, but by the time you've finished buying the sugar, eggs, lemons/lemon juice and butter, it's about three times the cost.

By contrast, any veg can be pickled. It isn't just veg and vinegar. it's the blanching, the vinegars, herbs and spices used and how long you want them to last, the arrangement,  presentation and colours.

However, it is very enjoyable to make, has a taste uniquely yours, and when someone asks "Mmm, that's nice? Where did you get it?"  you can say with pride - I made that! Another skill to add to your cooking CV.

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A couple of health warnings should you have guests that are on anticoagulants.Go easy on the sprouts and green veg. Green veg is high in vitamin K, which is a coagulant. That is, in people whose blood has a tendency to clot, for instance they've had heart or stroke problems, it's dangerous because it counteracts the medication.

Grapefruit, Pineapple and Seville orange marmalade can, amongst other things, either inhibit the absorbance of many medications including statins, or worse,  make slow absorbing statins (most of them) release in one go, effectively an overdose.

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I've got to go and do my infamous sweet chilly sauce (needs to rest for a couple of days) I'll pop up some quick and easy recipes laters, and I may even put some piccys up. Catchya!