Tomarrow, tomarrow, I love ya tomarrow...

The marrow that has been in residence in my fridge has finally met its demise. It wasn't consigned to the bin, nor was it re-gifted at a harvest festival to some poor unsuspecting sod who staggered home with it, only to consign it to the bin a week later.

After much deliberation, it has been turned into marrow and ginger jam.

And then it will be re-gifted. At Christmas. Along with the sage.

This is my first foray into jam making and here's what I did.

Take...

• One forlorn but organic marrow, peeled, with the seeds and fibre removed and chopped into 1cm cubes (about 1.4kg)
• 1 kg jam sugar and 400g granulated sugar
• 50g fresh ginger
• 3 unwaxed lemons
• You will also need to buy some muslin and kitchen string (because who has this stuff in the cupboard!) and possibly some jam jars
  

And...

• Chuck the marrow and half the sugar into a bowl, cover with cling film and put in the fridge.
  
• Go have a restorative gin and tonic because peeling a marrow is a nightmare.
  
• Overnight the marrow and sugar produce a load of syrup. The next day, tip the marrow, sugar and syrup concoction into a very large pan or stockpot.
• Remove the lemon zest with a potato peeler and squeeze the lemons, keeping rind, juice and shells.
  
• Cut 40 g of ginger into smaller pieces and with the lemon shells tie into a muslin bag. Bash the bag with a rolling pin to bruise it. Add to pan with the lemon juice.
• Heat up slowly to dissolve sugar and then simmer for 30 minutes. Put a saucer into the freezer.
  
• Have another gin and tonic.
  
• Fish out the muslin bag, squeezing out any liquid.
  
• Peel and grate the last 10g ginger and thinly slice the lemon zest. Chuck this into the pan with the other half of the sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves and then boil for a further 20 minutes.
• Test to see if the jam has set by dropping a bit into the saucer - let it cool and then push it with your finger (it will wrinkle if it is ready). If it isn't ready just boil it for longer.
• Pour into sterilised jam jars (wash them in hot soapy water and then chuck them in the oven at 175°C for 10 minutes) and seal whilst still hot.
• Allow to cool at room temperature then store somewhere cool and dark.
• Reward yourself with another gin and tonic for turning a harvest festival reject into a sugary delight.
  

How to drink an iced coffee

Although I am dedicated to bringing you alcoholic delights, the iced coffee I had this morning deserves a mention.

I met with Miss TG at the World Cafe in Crouch End for a gossip and a pre-interview pow-wow (she has an exciting job prospect). I ordered an iced coffee and expected a demure milky coffee with some ice, maybe in a glass.

Instead I got this:


I defy you to find a better one! Or one with a shot of rum!

When it's just too hot for wine...

sink a watermelon daiquiri.

Chuck some ice in a bowl with 200g of peeled and chopped watermelon (about a quarter of a small fruit), the juice of a lime, a teaspoon of sugar and 50ml of rum. Whizz it up with a handblender until it resembles a Slush Puppie. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy.

Alternatively, get your man slave to mix this up for you.

Enjoy responsibly. Don't drink on a Monday.

Big Brother on wine?

Want to launch your own wine brand? On national TV? Sign up for "The Winemaker", a new reality TV show. Check out the full story here.

Bye, bye brownies

And then there were none.


It took me almost a week to munch my way through them. And a lot of running in between.

Spain for a fiver

This week I picked up three bottles of red for the same price as a Ryanair flight. Each cost £5 or less and all were on special offer. The question is, are they any good? Or has my attempt at being a frugal dougal been a waste of time? I will endeavour to be a good student and do my homework this week.

So the three bottles are:

1) Bodegas Age, Rioja 2008 - Marks & Spencer £4.32

Made from Tempranillo this wine is billed as young and fruity, with a fresh strawberry character.

2) Castillo de Calatrava Reserva 2001 - Sainsburys £3.99

The oldest and cheapest of the bunch, this is also made from the Tempranillo grape. But this time from La Mancha, the hot central Spanish plain, south of Madrid. The environment is harsh here, but this wine is an award winner, having picked up medals at the International Wine & Spirit Competition and the Decanter World Wine Awards. So it promises much.

3) Era Costana, Rioja Crianza 2006 - Sainburys £5.00

Another Rioja, this time a Crianza which means it has spent at least twelve months ageing in oak barrels and a further year in bottle. This too was a medal winner at International Wine & Spirit Competition and is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo (Carignan) and the indigenous grape Graciano (Monastrell).

So three different prices, three different years.

Results later this week!

A brownie frenzy is about to begin

The lovely Miss SMBW sent me a package of the brilliant Gower Cottage Brownies this morning. They are now on my kitchen table screaming at me to be eaten, but they are packaged so beautifully that I'm delaying cracking them open.

Am about to make a cup of Earl Grey as no wine could possibly do these justice!

Sage advice

Please come and take some of my sage. Rampantly growing in my garden all summer, I have been forced to cut it right back and dry it out. So start prepping for Christmas now! Serve with turkey, a nice Chardonnay or Pinot Noir...

A tale of two whites

As white wine made its appearance at the villa very late this year, I bought a bottle of Spanish white last week from M&S. Despite being a behemoth of a store, the branch at London Colney had a very limited selection. So I plumped for the Cuatro Rayas 2007 Rueda, made from Verdejo for £5.39.

It transported me right back to Olivella. Grapefruit on the nose and lemon rind and gooseberries on the palate (like a new world Sauvignon Blanc without the grass) it was a fantastic partner to the oven-baked cod, basil and parmesan we had that night for dinner. I went back for more this afternoon, but they didn't have it at Muswell Hill! Drink it now people, if you can find it.

Still hankering for more white, I bought a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from Sainsburys later in the week. I hate to admit it, but I was seduced by the label. First of all it had a picture of a bird - a brightly coloured illustration of the love-child of a puffin, a parrot and a flamingo called the pukeko. Secondly, it had a "carboNZero" icon on the label - and I am a complete sucker for the environmental responsibility of food and wine (though this might seem like an oxymoron for a wine that comes all the way from NZ). So the Sanctuary 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough couldn't fly into my shopping basket quicker.

I have a poor track record of selecting wines on the basis they have an attractive label. Thankfully on this occasion my selection criteria came good. It has lemon cheesecake on the nose and more lemon, ripe kiwi fruit and golden delicious on the palate. Mr DB and I drank it on Friday night, eating picnic food at Somerset House. Even out of a plastic bottle (no glass allowed, so the wine had to be decanted), chilled, it was the perfect partner to soft cheese, smoked salmon and Twiglets. I will be buying more.

As for its green credentials, I checked. The carboNZero programme is a international certification scheme to help businesses measure, monitor and reduce their carbon footprint. Yay! Now we can drink and help the planet. Just make sure you recycle the bottles.