That procedure really fires me up to try it, Jane: very straightforward kitchen-craft stuff that works. I tend always to be too pernickety about brewing, my kids moan at my brewhouse pseudo-science, where they have the same robust approach as you, and it works better too! 
If you want to get really fancy & technical, stab the mirabelles with a fork first so the alcohol penetrates. It gives me pleasure to look at the variety in f stuff in the larder… we have plums now, so trying my hand at Chinese plum sauce.
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Oooh lovely. Would like to try the Chinese plum sauce. Let us know how that one goes. If it’s good would love the recipe.
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And the courgette pickle recipe too, pretty pleez!
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Chinese plum sauce: plums, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger root, garlic, 5 spice powder all cooked up together for about 3/4 of an hour then whizzed. Doesn’t always come out the same because I don’t write the recipe down.
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Impressed Pete, WOW!!! 
Marginally more complicated than throwing everything into a sterilised bocal as you have to brine the veg first to get it into a state to be pickled.
So, I find it takes 2-3 courgettes per 0.5l bocal. Have a couple of litres of cold water and 150g salt in a plastic bowl. Slice your courgettes and an optional onion into the bowl. Leave for at least an hour and no more than three, with an occasional stir.
Rinse very well and lay out on tea towel to dry out a bit, while you sterilise your bocal.
Bring to a boil approx 250ml wine vinegar of your choice, 125g sugar and about 3 teaspoons of flavourings of your choice - I use mustard seed, allspice and fennel seed. Boil for a minute or two, take off heat.
Put veg in bocal, leaving some headroom, pour over vinegar to ensure well covered. Seal and leave for a few weeks in the dark before using.
Beautiful, Jane, a work of art 
Deserves framing and hanging on the wall.
Perhaps, having recently got up, I am too lavish here? Coffee calls… 
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My next door neighbours…I only have immediate voisins on one side…have a few trees…I know they have a cherry tree out back and a pear tree out front…they appear to have a young tree growing which may possibly be a plum tree but no fruit yet…I think they would say no if they didn’t want my offerings…I however never like to say no lest I appear impolite and occasionally under cover of darkness I have had to discard the odd lettuce and shrivelled potatoes with sprouts growing that I just don’t know what to do with…
At the minute I have so many cucumbers from them that I’m looking for methods of preserving…!
Today I gave them a bag of apples…3 different varieties and I’m looking forwards to my walnut harvest as I know they love them…Last year they showed me where I have a second walnut tree out front…it’s in a difficult area to get to behind my barn and I hadn’t even realised it was there…it produces a smaller darker walnut than my tree out back so I was able to give them bags full of both varieties…and still have so many that I’ve not even eaten last years yet…simple pleasures…x 
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Lovely, thinly sliced as a layered ingredient in a rich non cook cheese cake…Smoothies ?
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I was pleased with my clafouti mirabelle which turned out better and lighter than I expected. I was slightly surprised that the baked fruit was quite a lot tarter than when it was fresh. I gave a portion to our neighbour, who presents us regularly with things he has cooked, but I think he may be one for whom it is better to give than to receive, or maybe that’s me being pessimistic.
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FIGS
I am picking a tray of figs each morning… before the frelons arrive… handing them around the village… we are getting near to saturation point… phew…
Solutions so far: stuffing our faces… mmmm… various fig jams…tarts… and they do freeze well for later…,
Just found this recipe…
Our figs are coming on stream now, plus the frelons.
Our favourite recipe is a frangipane and fig tart with a honey glaze.
I gave away thirty William pears on Monday.
Neighbour just gaves us a huge basket of peaches…no idea what to do with them have no room in freezer, all my bocal are filled, I have trays of fruit drying on the terrace. And the apple crop isn’t far off.
We’ve been making lovely fruit dishes every day, but can only eat so much. Although not according to our dog who has an upset stomach because he keeps hoovering up windfall plums, apples, and picking blackberries out of the hedges. We have put sheep fencing round the trees but he forces his way in - he’s fruit obsessed!
It’s a long time since there’s been such a good year for fruit.