Twinkle checks the marquee is all in order

The banner goes up!

They're coming in thick and fast.

Emily is keen to log the first few entries.

Take a look at what you could win!!!

After a year of being hung on the stairs wall of Park View, its nearly time for the Fickle Pickle of Fate to Point out the lucky winners at this years event.

With the Marquee up and firmly in place its time for a few decorations.

A Local Pole Wrestler

Invasion Of The Poles

The Garden Of Park View

Is ready and waiting for the big top to arrive!!!

Not long now pickle lovers!!!

Rhubarb Jam

Ingredients:
4lbs (2 kg) rhubarb
4lbs (2 kg) granulated sugar
3 oz (75 g) root ginger
Juice of 2 lemons (or 4 tablespoons bottled Lemon Juice) .

Method:
Trim, wash and wipe the rhubarb and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) lengths. Put into a bowl, sprinkle with the sugar, cover and leave overnight to soak.
Next day, pour into a pan, add the lemon juice, bruise the ginger and wrap in a piece of muslin and place it in the pan, bring slowly to the boil, stirring occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved.
Boil rapidly until the jam sets when tested and the fruit sinks to the bottom of the pan.
Remove the scum and leave to cool slightly. Pot into warm sterilized jars and seal whilst still warm.
Makes about 5 lbs (2.5 kg) of jam.

Apple Chutney recipe.

Ingredients:
1.5 k of cooking apples
500g of onions
500g of sultanas
750g Demerara sugar
500ml of white wine vinegar
Zest and juice of two lemons
I small chilli
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground allspice
½ tsp of cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
½ tsp of Maldon sea salt
8 peppercorns
1 tbsp of mustard seed.

Method:
Wash, peel, core and chop the apples fine
Peel and chop and mince the onions (if you don’t have a mincer chop them very fine)
Put all ingredients into a large heavy bottomed saucepan and bring slowly to the boil. Stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Then simmer very gently, bubbles barely breaking the surface, until the chutney has thickened, stiring every now and then. It is ready when drawing a spoon across the surface leaves a definite track mark. This will take at least four hours.
Pot into warm sterilised jars with plastic lined lids. Don’t use cellophane lids as the vinegar will evapourate through these and your chutney will dry up. Label when cold and store in a cool, dry place. Leave to mature for a month.

Not long now before Park View Picklefest 2010.

So for those people who have not yet pickled I am going to publish some quick pickle recipes.

Spicy Red Cabbage Pickle.

Ingredients:

Red Cabbage
Salt
Spiced Vinegar.

Method:

Cut off and discard the outer discoloured leaves from the cabbage.
Quarter and remove the tough inner stalk. Shred the cabbage, wash and drain well.
Layer in a basin with salt between layers, ending with a layer of salt.
Leave for 24 hours.

Wash thoroughly in cold water and drain well.
Pack into clean,sterilised jars and pour in cold, spiced vinegar.
Cover the jars and label with contents and date.

Note: Ready after 1 week but if you keep it longer than 10 – 12 weeks it will loose its crispness. You can use the same recipe for Pickled White Cabbage.

This Is a real winner with cold meat.

The Date Has Been Set!

On a sunny Saturday morning I decided it was time to get my Chopper out and set off around the village rattling the flaps of the chosen ones,

by now you should know if you are one of the chosen few who will be attending the second Park View Picklefest.

Its been a hard year deciding if we would go ahead with the event after last years hurricane, a big thanks to all of those that came out in the pouring rain and high winds to dismantle the marque and bring all the exhibits inside (you know who you are). But after a great deal of thought the answer had to be YES!.

So Pickle lovers pick up the pickling books and get pickling.

This years categories are as follows

Pickle / Chutneys

Preserves

Cup Cakes / Tray Bakes (for kids)

Most Creative label

CARROT CHUTNEY RECIPE

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups--1 lb--500gm carrots washed and chopped, for a fine chutney grate the carrot.

1/3 cup--3 oz--88gm brown sugar

1/3 cup--3 oz--88gm sultanas

1 pint--510 ml vinegar malt or white

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1 teaspoon ground ginger

12 peppercorns1 bay leaf.

Method.

Put all the ingredients in a pan, Bring to the boil, Simmer till all the ingredients are tender, stir occasionally.

Do not overheat so that the chutney sticks to the pan.

Do not put a lid on the pan when cooking the chutney.

The chutney should be tender and the liquid syrupy.

Warm chutney jars, use a jug to put the chutney in the jars.

Wipe clean, put on wax lids, top off with the cellophane lid and rubberband.

Let the chutney cool, label and store.

Enjoy

Tomato Chilli Jam

Ingredients
1kg tomatoes , very ripe, halved
3 red chillies, roughly chopped
1 onion , cut into wedges
4 garlic cloves , sliced
1cm root ginger , grated
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
100g brown sugar
olive oil

Method

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/ gas 4. Tip the tomatoes, chillies, onion, garlic, ginger, vinegar and sugar into a shallow roasting tin, add a good slug of olive oil and mix with your hands. Sprinkle with salt.
Roast for 40 minutes or until the tomatoes are browned and the onion well cooked and caramelised. Cool and tip into jars.

Great for a New Year Treat!

Dark Damp Evenings

Dark Damp Evenings

It's getting to that time of year when you should be picking up the pickle book and working out what will steal the top prize at this years 2nd annual Park View Picklefest.

Last month I gave a recipe for Plum Chutney which I must say is a mouth watering delight, however this month I have something a little different......

Pickled Peaches

Ingredients
4 cups sugar
2 cups white vinegar
4 (3 inch) cinnamon sticks
15 whole cloves
4 pounds fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced

Method
Pour sugar and vinegar into a large saucepan, and stir to dissolve sugar. Add cinnamon sticks and cloves, and bring to a boil. Cover and boil for about 5 minutes. Strain out the cloves and cinnamon sticks, or you can leave them in for a stronger flavor.
Pack peaches into hot sterile 1 pint jars to within 1 inch of the rim. Fill each jar with syrup to within 1/2 inch from the top. Wipe rims with a clean dry cloth, and seal.

Leave for about two months,

Serve with a large blob of double cream.

Pickle On Pickle People

Hello pickle people, Its getting to that time of year again when you should be picking up the pickle pan and pickling anything and everything.

This years event will take place @ Park View in Ingleton. invitations will be sent out shortly after the festive season, but in the mean time I will keep you posted by regular updates on the blog.

This years categories will be as follows.......

1) Pickles / Chutneys.

2) Preserves.
3) Cakes for Kids (Tray Bakes & Cup Cakes).

4) Most inventive label.

Just to get you started here is this weeks recipe.

Plum Chutney

Ingredients:

1.5kg plums
500g cooking apples
2 oranges
200g dried figs finely chopped
100g dried cranberries
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp ground cinnamon
300ml red wine vinegar
500g demerara sugar.

Method:

Halve the plums and remove the stone.
Peal core and dice the apples.
Finely grate the zest from the oranges and squeeze the juice into a large pan with the plums and diced apples.
Add the figs, cranberries and spices, along with vinegar and sugar, stir until sugar has dissolved.
Simmer until thick and syrupy.
Jar, label and eat.

Store in a dark cupboard and eat within 6/8 months.

Remember Picklers "A Pickle is for life not just for christmas"

The Fickle Pickle Of Fate

The votes have been counted and the results are now in!

The Cakes for kids section....

1st Lydia Pevitt

2nd Jed Cartledge

3rd Harry Barnett

Preserves.....

1st Val Hartnell with Lemon Cheese

2nd Heather Watson with lemon and lime marmalade

3rd Emma Martindale with seville orange marmalade

Pickles/Chutneys....

1st Amanda Bateman with reetboot relish

2nd Emma Omerod with red pepper & chilli chutney

3rd Mark Titterington with devils bile

Best In Show .....

David kendall with pickled panga (a South American freshwater fish)

After the prize giving and presentation Mr Kendall said a few words thanking the event organizer for a wonderful and completely different evening.......

Johnny And Shelley would like to take the time to thank everyone who attended the first annual parkview picklefest,

A great thanks goes out to Carol Hartnell for supplying the art work for the picklefest and also everybody who came out in howling wind and the pouring rain to help take down the marquee ......without you this event would not have been possible.

Keep your eyes and ears open as Park view Picklefest 10 is already in the planning.....

Remember a pickle is for life not just for Christmas!

Tasting Nearly Over

Now all the pickles have been tasted lots of cheese consumed and not to mention gallons of wine and beer been drunk, the festival was reaching an all time high.

All the votes have now been put into the Fickle Pickle Of Fate and all thats left is to count them, Oh boy is this going to take some time...

After about half an hour of painstakingly counting the votes the results are in and about to be read out!

Get The Decorators In!

Mr Graham Hird from Ingleton took things very seriously and brought the painters palette home from work and put it to good use at the pickletest.

Mr Hird said "everybody has made such a good effort with the pickles and preserves the least you can do is taste them all and give them a fair trial"

Tasting got underway!

As tasting got underway Sue kendall stood too close to Davids pickled panga and tried to push a bread stick up her nose to mask out the strong aroma but she hit her mouth instead.

After a few glasses of red wine Sue said that all these pickles taste the same!

Kilt on Pickles out!

The Kilt is on and the pickles are out, a swift whisky to calm the nerves, all we need now are a few guests to start the festivities.

Knock! knock! at the door and hey ho its Mr Hird with Karen, Jess, Amy, Followed by their friends from Bolton Mark, Natalie, Lydia, Niamh,

Armed with a years supply of cheese and crackers(Carrs of course) we knew it was going to be one hell of a night.

From then on friends neighbours and relatives flooded through the door armed with yet more cheese and crackers!!!

Slowly people moved outside into the marquee to take their place, They all picked up a judging sheet and start casting their critical eye over all the exhibits, this was going to take sometime..

THE PICKLEFEST BANNER GOES UP

As the picklefest marquee goes up and the banner gets hung inside things start to get very exiting!

All Friday evening and most of Saturday morning the door of 2 Park View never shut with people bringing their exhibits, Chutneys, Pickles,Preserves,Cakes, Shelley and I looked at each other in total amazement as pickle after pickle came rolling through the door.

With over 70 exhibits in total and at that point we new we had created a MONSTER!

With all the jars labeled and the food sampling jars placed out on the tables, Cheryl the Crow took her place in the tree the festivites were ready to get underway....

OH NO WHAT HAVE I DONE!!!!!

As the Parkview Picklefest draws near and the final preparations are being made we realise just what a cosy evening it's going to be, with about 70 guests in a two up two down, but hey we're all friends! Most alarming is the sighting of a big cat in the area, apparently it's not dangerous as long as strongbow is in plentiful supply. We are asking if all guests would bring a bottle and a piece of cheese or box of crackers (for cheese not the ones you pull), some have already mentioned they will also be bringing their own supply of Gaviscon as they are anticipating an Ingleton indigestion epidemic during the following days. If you have noticed stinging eyes or a runny nose over the past couple of weeks it is probably due to the strong smell of vinegar in the air as everyone is busy pickling for England, recipes are being kept a closely guarded secret with all picklers playing their cards close to their chest.

We can expect fierce competition as exhibitors are coming from far and wide Gloustershire, Cumbria,Co Durham, Lancashire and of course North Yorkshire, this years event could well see another war or the roses!!

May the best pickle win.

Happy Pickling Pickle lovers

Pickled Frog:

What You Need:

Large dill pickle
Toothpick
2 small sweet banana peppers with stems
2 whole cloves
10 dill-pickled gherkins
Instructions:

1. Cut a narrow slit in the front of the large dill pickle for the mouth -- get help from an adult for all cutting.

2. Cut away a short section of each banana pepper at the stem end for eyes. Do not remove the stems. With a toothpick, poke two holes in the pickle large enough to receive the stems. Insert the stems, then push a clove into the center of each eye.

3. Use two gherkins for each front limb. For the hand, make a diagonal cut at the end of two of the gherkins. For fingers, make two V-cuts. Attach to body with toothpicks.
4. For each hind leg, use three gherkins: two for the upper and lower leg, and one for the foot. Attach the leg sections with toothpicks.

Hop Too It!

Apple And Tomato Chutney.

Spicy and sweet, this delicious chutney goes well with breads, cheeses and chicken. This makes a large batch - great for sharing with neighbours and friends, or maybe a pickle fest winner?
Recipe provided by: Pickle
ingredients.

1kg (2 lb) apples - peeled, cored and sliced
450ml (16 fl oz) water
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seed
1kg (2 lb) tomatoes, sliced
2 large onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
85g (3 oz) sultanas
140g (5 oz) caster sugar
2 1/2 dessertspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 dessertspoons salt
560ml (1 pint) malt vinegar .

preparation method.

Place apples and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook 25 minutes, or until apples are tender, stirring occasionally. Add more water as necessary to keep the apples simmering.
Wrap mustard seed in muslin or cheesecloth, and place with apples. Mix tomatoes, onions, garlic, sultanas, sugar, curry powder, cayenne pepper, salt and vinegar in with the apples. Stir until sugar has dissolved.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until a thick chutney remains. Remove and discard wrapped mustard seed. Seal chutney in sterile containers until serving.

Keep On Pickling!

News Flash...........

Competition this year will be strong as Graham Hird from Ingleton is rumoured to have found one of his granny's old pickle recipes that wiped the floor at the Westmorland County Show back in the fifty's, people still talk about it to this day!!!

Also lakeland Plastics in Bowness have benefited from the event and have sold out of pickle and preserve jars.
The store manager has thanked Mr Hartnell for the boost in sales...

News Just In.........Ikea have also sold out of kilner style pickle jars and on the strength of this new, upcoming event rumours are that Ikea are considering a site in Cowan Bridge for their next Superstore!!

David Kendall has also been seen wading knee deep in water out in Morecambe Bay.....maybe he's doing a spot of cockle picking for the festival or maybe he's just been washing his feet!!

It has been mentioned that Mr Creswell is trying out an all new pickled liver recipe...
The event organiser says "this could be a show stopper as Mr Creswell has been trying for years to successfully pickle his own" .

We are intrigued to find out what Mr & Mrs Titterington from No5 PV have been preserving in their back garden with a large stick and lots of boiling water.........the plot thickens ...

Welcome one and all to the first annual Park View Pickle Fest which is to be held at Park View on the *th March 2009.

Exhibits this year are to include ..Pickles,Preserves,Chutneys and a special section for children called "Cakes for Kids".

Entries can be dropped off on the day and festivities will start about 4pm with judging at 7pm.

Prize giving and presentations will take place at 8pm followed by drinks and nibbles late into the evening,

THIS EVENT IS BY INVITATION ONLY

Contact Organizer For Event Date.

johnnyhartnell@tiscali.co.uk