SILLY SATURDAY - "CHUTNEYED OUT"!

“You will never believe what that Mrs. HCB has made me do!  She made me a name badge with “Chutney” written on it and then she piled up lots of jars of her home-made chutney and sat me on the top - all so that she could enter the Silly Saturday challenge on Blip - how silly is that?”

“Goodness knows what she is going to do with all this chutney - after all, there is only so much of a good thing that you can eat!  Mind you, I blame Mr. HCB, he keeps growing things in the garden, and then he comes in with a large basket of produce, with a big smile on his face, gives it to Mrs. HCB, who throws up her hands and says something like “Not more courgettes, beans and blackberries - what am I going to do with all this lot?””

“She seems to know what to do with it though, because she stands for hours chopping it all up, and then puts everything into a big pan - that her friend, Beth, gave her - adds sugar, and vinegar and all manner of other spices - and after about four hours of the house smelling like a chutney factory, she then shoves it all into jars - mostly given to her by various friends - and tells Mr. HCB that it has to be left for at least three months before it can be eaten.  What’s all that about?  Why can’t it be eaten now?  She says that it needs time to mature - so in the meantime, Mr. HCB is frantically trying to finish all the chutney that was made last year before he starts on this year’s supply.”

“I guess from the beginning of December, lunches will consist of cheese and chutney, cold meat and chutney, and knowing Mr. HCB, to get rid of this lot, he may have to put a dollop in the middle of his morning porridge!  

Ah well, if you live near enough to the HCB’s you might be lucky and get a jar as a Christmas present - but if not, you could always ask her for the recipe and make some of your own!”

“If  you ask me, it’s silly making all this lot and then sticking it in a dark cupboard for three months  - but I know for a fact that there is still a lot of sweetcorn growing - so no doubt Mrs. HCB will be Googling “Sweetcorn Chutney” before too much longer!  I think she will need to ask various friends if they have any more jars.  I feel sorry for poor Michael, Heather’s husband - he has to keep eating Bonne Maman jam so that they can give the jars to Mrs. HCB - mind you, they are very nice jars and I hear that the chutney isn''t bad either!” 

“I reckon if they made chutney in his day, Lewis Carroll might have changed the words in his famous book!”

"The rule is, jam chutney tomorrow 
and jam chutney yesterday - but never today."
"It must come sometimes to 'jam chutney today'," 
Alice objected.
"No it can't," said the Queen. 
"It's jam chutney every other day: 
today isn't any other day, you know.” 
Lewis Carroll : 
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass