Summer's over, and that's a shame.  There is so much going on, culinarily speaking, in the summer (although I would argue that there is even more culinary goings-on in the autumn - more on that later) that sometimes it makes my head swim.  I tried to stay grounded this summer, but I must admit to a pantry very full of homemade preserves and chutneys.  Here's a list of my exploits:  gooseberry and elderflower jam, elderflower jelly, lavender jelly, strawberry jam, raspberry and lavender jam, french apricot jam, apricot chutney, peach conserve, plum jelly, plum chutney, blackberry jelly, chilli jelly, chilli jam, and tomato jam. 
     Two recipes which I do not want to forget (so often I do forget) are my raspberry and lavender jam, and one of my (happily, successful) experiments this year, apricot chutney.
     The raspberry and laveder jam ... what I love about this recipe is that I can put some of the many lavender plants which I have in my garden to good use.  That makes it seem so thrifty to me.  Thankfully, the raspberries didn't cost the earth, either.  I took my four youngest children to a local raspberry patch, and I encouraged them to pick away.

     They stayed focused for about 50% of the time, I would say.  The other 50% of the time was spent complaining about some perceived dog poo somewhere in the raspberry patch, urgent requests to use a non-existent toilet, and whining about the heat of the English summer (??!!).  To be fair, picking raspberries might not hold their attention for very long when mom's a control freak and tells you constantly to only pick the ripe ones.
     
Raspberry and Lavender Jam

1.1 kilos raspberries
750 grams jam sugar
5 heads of lavender
Juice of 1 lemon

Make sure your lavender heads are fresh and deep purple, rather than drying out.  Aren't they beautiful?

First, put a small saucer in the freezer.  Combine the raspberries and sugar in a big jam pot.  Strip the lavender heads off of the stalks, and add to the pan, along with the lemon juice.  Gently crush the mixture a few times, and then very gently heat until the sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently.

Once the sugar is dissolved, turn up the heat and nurse the mixture to a rolling boil.  Skim off the scum that comes to the surface.  After about four minutes start checking to see if the mixture has reached setting point by putting a little bit on the cold saucer, then putting the saucer back in the freezer for a few minutes.  If the mixture wrinkles when you push it with your finger, you're good.  Pour into sterilized jars.  It makes about 4 350g jars.

     The apricot chutney was a bit of a surprise.  As I thought about which chutneys to make, all of sudden I realized that not only had I never made apricot chutney, but also that it is one of those chutneys that you hardly ever see in the supermarket.  The quest had then begun.  It wasn't very hard - all I did was consult my plum chutney recipe from last year, and replace the plums with apricots.  I made a few other very minor changes and hoped for the best.  The result was so successful that I now consider my plum chutney recipe to be the template recipe for all my other chutneys!

Apricot Chutney

1.2 kilo apricots
250 grams onions
250 grams sultanas
300 grams light brown sugar
1 eating apple
2 pieces stem ginger
1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp coriander seeds
350 mls cider vinegar
3 tbsp ginger syrup

Stone the apricots, and cut them into quarters.  Finely chop the apple, onion and the stem ginger.  Put everything together into a big pot, slowly bring to the boil, and then simmer very gently until chutney consistency is reached.  Pack into sterilized jars and seal.  This makes about four 1 lb. jars.