Tuesday September 27th 2022

The weather has been almost wintry over the last three or four days. Really strong winds and icy rain, but then bright blue skies in between the clouds.

I’ve still managed to get out into the croft and get more grass raked, and finally removed all the lengths of wire fencing that were hiding in the long grass at the edge of the field. That was hard work. Every time I thought I had cut the last piece out, another one appeared. Just a wee patch to rake up then I can put some yellow rattle seed down. That should inhibit some of the grass growing back next year and let some wildflowers through. Thats the plan, anyway. I hope it’s as simple as it sounds. I think it will take a few years of cutting and raking though.

I made chicken and rice soup today. It was delicious - almost like my mother’s, but I didn’t have short-grain rice, which she always used. I’ve had three big bowlfuls today, and I don’t know how many the boy had.

All the vegetables came from the garden, which is always very pleasing, and I used the roast chicken carcass for the stock. It was just perfect to come home to on a cold night. Dinner was the soup, then toasted cheese, then ice cream cornettos. A bit random, but those cornettos have been kicking around the freezer for a month or so and kept getting in my way whenever I opened the lid.

This was a gym day, so we were later home. I had more energy this week and felt better about my workout. A session on the bike, then a lot of abs work. I’ll feel it tomorrow.

I had one of my meetings tonight - on zoom. It went off well. Lots to discuss and decisions to make, but everyone is on the same page, so all very pleasant.

Back to back in-person meetings tomorrow night, but they are in the same venue, so not too bad. I do prefer zoom nowadays. It’s just so much nicer to stay home, rather than drive out in the dark to a cold hall.

I didn’t see bake-off because of the meeting. I’m sure I’ll catch up at some point. I enjoy the show, but I’m not that invested in it.

I’m enjoying my book very much, although I’m not getting much read at night before my eyes are closing. Usually, after a meeting, my mind takes a while to settle, so I should get a bit more read tonight.

Home day tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll get outside and keep working on my garden to-do list. If not, I’ve plenty to be getting on with in the house.

Spring Stories

Spring always seems to be a slow process here. It begins with the return of the light, just after the New Year. Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, but within a couple of weeks, the days are undeniably longer. Soon, we are hurtling towards the Equinox and beyond, and the living room fire is unlit more often than not.

Yet the weather takes it’s time. Oh yes there are those beautiful days - days where I can smell the new growth, and feel the promise of the seasons to come in the sun on my face. But there are many more, at this time of year, when the Spring feels as far away as November. Gusting winds, gales, hail showers and seemingly endless rain.

It feels as if nothing will ever grow again, but of course it does. Even as I peer out of the salt sprayed windows and the wintry croft, I know that the bulbs are pushing up, and the frogspawn is appearing in the ponds.

And when I dash outside, between the showers, I can find the drumstick primroses in their familiar spot and check on the tadpoles’ development. I can harvest the wild garlic and young nettle tops to make a Spring pesto, and rescue the daffodils flattened by the wind.

The pesto is simple enough to make. I gathered colander full of wild garlic leaves, spring nettle tops, parsley and chives. Or whatever you can find. (If you don't have much, or any wild garlic, add a couple of cloves of garlic.)
2- 3 good tablespoons of toasted pine nuts.
3 tablespoons pecorino or parmesan type cheese.
Olive oil - 2-4 tablespoons, depending on the consistency you want.
Salt
Blanch the nettles quickly and rinse the other greens. I give them a good couple of whirls in the salad spinner.
Toast the pine nuts
Grind them coarsely with in a mortar and pestle.
Add the grated cheese and greens.
(I usually blast the green stuff in the food processor, then add the pulp to the mortar but you can do this all in the blender if you prefer)
Add salt to taste.
Mix in the olive oil.

I used some of it to make this Spring pesto sourdough (recipe here). It is very delicious and this is the second year I’ve made it- I think that counts as a seasonal tradition, don’t you?

Incidentally, I’ve managed to keep my original lockdown starter going for over a year now. It’s been touch and go a couple of times, but it’s still hanging on in there. Much like the rest of us in these strangest of days.

My November Kitchen

The main event in my November kitchen is the always the boy’s birthday cake. This year (his 13th - can you believe it?) he requested an orange cake. I think that’s pretty orange …

Most of my food inspiration lately has been influenced by our recent trip to Rome. It’s all very simple stuff - pastas, bruschetta, antipasti - just a few ingredients, but oh so delicious. There’s been more warming dishes too, stews, curries and soups, as befits the season.

I absolutely adored the potato and mozzarella pizza from the cafe near our holiday apartment, and what can I say about the pistachio gelato? Di-vine!

We had the most incredible time on holiday. In many ways it was overwhelming - so much to see and take in. I was going to do a separate post, but I honestly didn’t know where to start. There are quite a few images on my Instagram feed and highlights, if you want to take a look.

Back home and back into the kitchen - not mine this time. Although J is no longer at the local school, I’m still involved in their Eco-committee. We held a soup and pudding lunch for the community using the produce the children had gown. That is an extremely impressive array of homegrown soups on that stove - tomato, leek and potato, butternut squash and parsnip. With a fabulous selection of desserts, provided by parents, it was a very successful and enjoyable event.

But I have been back in my own kitchen too - I like to cook from scratch as much as I can, and there’s not much I enjoy more than pottering around a cosy kitchen, Radio 4 on in the background, making good things to eat.

Buon Appetito xx

November Kitchen

I cook from scratch most days. It’s tempting now it there are only the two of us in the house, to slip into a twenty minutes at two hundred degrees type of cooking - and there is a fair amount of that.  But more often than not, I can be found, pottering in my kitchen, listening to an audio-book, chopping veg, a pot of something simmering on the stove. Nothing elaborate - just good, simple, nourishing, food.

When I was a teenager, I was given the Reader’s Digest Cookery Year book for Christmas - a month by month seasonal recipe book. It’s been one of the most influential books in my life and has informed my attitude towards food - growing , cooking and eating, ever since.

November usually involves a lot of tomatoes, as the last ones are harvested before the plants are cleared away. I had just enough from my very last picking to make about a litre of passata. I cut the fruits in half, sprinkle over a couple of chopped garlic cloves, drizzle with olive oil, season, and roast until they are soft and squashy.

Then it’s a case of pushing the pulp through a sieve and we have the most delicious fresh and extremely versatile tomato sauce. We both adore this, and we’ve been enjoying it in many different dishes over the past few months. It’s great at pepping up chicken fillets or pork chops for a midweek meal, drizzled on fish tacos, and it makes a tasty soup base.

But pasta pomodoro is the clear winner in this house. Just as it comes - maybe with a dash of chilli flakes, if I remember at the time. A perfect way to say goodbye to the tomatoes of 2018.

We still have plenty of beetroot to harvest, though. I grew three different colours this year, and the pink candy striped one has done best. Happily there are enough of the purple and golden beets to give a wee bit of contrast. I’m happy to eat these roasted and dressed simply with a vinaigrette dressing - orange is nice. A few peppery leaves work well too, if you have them

I’m also making a lot of soups and risottos using the leeks, carrots and turnips that are growing, and the kale and chard provide us with greens - steamed until tender and served with butter.

Desserts are a Sunday treat (although I have been known to sneak a cornetto from the freezer now and then). Usually it’s a crumble or a rice pudding, but I rang the changes slightly, with this scrumptious Pear Streusel Cake - easy recipe from Delia online. The pears had been languishing in the fruit bowl, and were, quite frankly, past their best. Still, I managed to salvage enough to make this and it worked out just fine. Perfect with some thick Greek yogurt on the side.

And then there were the birthday doughnuts. A special request - might have been inspired by the bake-off? Anyway, I had never made them before and now I have. Yes they are pretty misshapen - okay - very misshapen, but they were such fun to make and they tasted fantastic. Plain, simple sugar ring doughnuts (recipe from tesco online). Could even be a new November tradition!