I took a trip to Yorkshire last week and was given a massive bag of these giant cooking apples by my aunt, so they made the journey back to Herefordshire. Although rather like taking coals to Newcastle they were welcome as the tree in the garden has yet to produce anything like these.

Sometimes with chutney the temptation is to through a bit of everything in just to use up as many vegetables as possible. This courgette / marrow / green tomato / apple chutney being a good example.
This time I've decided to keep it simple and concentrate on just apples with a hefty helping of spices.

Quinces have a very unique fragrance, and bowls of them have been scenting our kitchen for weeks.
Soaking the quinces in brandy should capture some of that smell in a drinkable form and enable us to enjoy it all over again in the depths of winter.

This recipe is adapted from one by Nigella Lawson, via the Not Without Salt blog, there are other variations around using spices such as ginger, or adding sugar, or using vodka instead of brandy.

This recipe was tempting to try as another way of preserving rhubarb.
There's nothing wrong with relilable rhubarb chutney, but you do have to wait several months before it's good to eat, the advantage with this recipe is that the sweet fruity relish can be enjoyed straight away.

As a variation you could add finely chopped chilli, or try the lime and ginger version on sweet mary's blog.

Preserved lemons are a common ingredient in North African, and  especially Moroccan, cuisine. You can actually use them in many dishes - anywhere that would benefit from a bit of citrus flavour.  I've put together some ideas in this blog post about what to do with preserved lemons.

They're very easy to make and it costs very little to make a large jar full, especially in January and February when the new crop of imported lemons enters the UK. 

While making vegetarian mincemeat I found myself short of some mixed spice, so set about making some more from spices I had in stock. 

According to wikipedia the following spices are commonly used in mixed spice:

After the success (I hope) of making pickled onions last week, I've been keen to make some more, so hopefully we've got enough to last us the whole of next year. I picked up a 5kg sack of pickling onions from the local fruit and veg shop, along with 5 litres of malt vinegar, the plan being to try out some different mixes of spices and flavours.

This recipe makes  sweet pickled onion which may suit those who don't like too much of the sharp taste of vinegar.

With the sloe gin sitting under the stairs being regularly shaken, thoughts have turned to making other sorts of warming drinks which will be ready for Christmas. Also, as our neighbours have been supplying us with quantities of apples, it would be nice to be able to repay them in a few months time.

The obvious conclusion, especially after the successful making of rhubarb schnapps,  was to try and hunt down an apple schnapps recipe, maybe with the addition of cinnamon for that extra warming taste. I found just what I was looking for on the canadianliving.com website.