Sunday Sevens..14 August

Somehow, Saturday morning breakfasts are the best of the week, not only time to make these little scotch pancakes (they are low GI and wholemeal!) but all the lovely promise of two days to enjoy.

We went on with our local to Glorious Goodwood Ladies Day, it was a beautiful morning – I think I enjoyed seeing the outfits more than the horses. This red dress really caught my eye – these sisters were enjoying pimms before the racing. Unfortunately, after an hour of sunshine the rain set in! At one point we could barely see the horses! I came home with the same money I left with – having only lost one bet! which was quite an achievement.

My cucumber is really doing well – the fruits are enormous! We are investigating a couple of recipes for preservation – it would be nice to enjoy the freshness for as long as possible. My tomato plants are also giving a few ripe fruits – delicious and sweet. It has encouraged me to buy some winter cabbage and spinach seeds to see us through the winter. The veg box I bought a couple of weeks ago is still going strong – with a few fattening leeks among the seeding herbs.

We took a trip to Little Woodham in Gosport – it is a delightful little living history village – populated by re-enactors of the mid 16th Century. More on this visit soon.

 

We are enjoying having the Aga – it is our only cooker – it’s gentle heat is always welcome – despite the summer our kitchen remains pleasant. I decided to try a cooked cheesecake recipe – as the warming oven is perfect.

I find that if you cook the biscuit base with the cheesecake it comes out all soggy – so I made the cheesecake first then added the biscuits to the top.

It might look a little messy, but it takes delicious!

Mr D made some poached peaches for breakfast on Sunday… enough to bring the sunshine for the rest of the week.

Ode to Autumn – Make your own Harvest Wreath

I really enjoy walking my dog, we follow a path along a hedgerow and it is a real pleasure to see how much this changes over the seasons. It reminds me of school projects, collecting leaves from the nearby woods, the seasonal displays that seemed to create a wonderful rhythm with nature. 

Last year I was enthralled by the pretty shapes of the ivy leaves and they inspired me to make a winter wreath. This September the hedgerows are full of fruit and berries, the hawthorne berry looks so bright and cheery, blackberries abound but its the shapes of the foliage that catches my eye. Filigree leaved ferns, the flowers of the ivy, the marvellous variety of shapes of the leaves from oak to maple. 

These tiny crab apples simply spill from every branch, in clusters of tiny apple perfection – 

they seem like food for fairies. 

The wheat has gone, leaving behind stalks and dry earth but I felt inspired to pay homage to Autumn and create my very own Harvest Wreath. Salt dough is the perfect medium, as bread distorts the shape as it proves. It also means that I can keep the wreath to display next year if I want. 

Make a dough using half salt to flour, (I used two cups of flour and one cup of salt) 

Add enough water to make a dough and then divide it into three. 

Put two lumps of dough in a plastic bag until needed to prevent the dough drying out. 

Roll out with a rolling pin until about 0.5cm 1/2 inch, thick

Use a saucer or side plate to create a circle template. 

Then add a handle, (you can use the plate edge to create smooth curves) 

cut away the excess dough.

 Place the plaque carefully on a baking tray lined with parchment. 

Roll out sausages of dough in long thin strips and cover the ‘handle’ area. 

dampening the area with a little water to stick the strips to the base. 

Make a little bow at the curve and add a little mouse if you like. 

Place two paperclips with their closed end overhanging the base 

at the 11o’clock and 1 o’clock positions. 

Place a little dough over the top to seal them

ensuring there is enough visible to allow you to hang the plaque

Make the ears of corn: make a small sausage about 1cm half an inch long, 

snip along the sides with small scissors. 

Dampen the base a little with water, lay the corn down starting from the outside and 

working towards the centre. 

You can make bigger/smaller ears of corn if needed to fill gaps. 

When your dough model is complete place in a low oven until hard. 

Depending on your oven it can take hours or left overnight. 

If it doesn’t brown up as much as you like you can use watercolour paints

or felt tips to highlight areas. 

When you are happy, seal with a spray varnish. 

Hang your plaque somewhere you will enjoy seeing it, 

but protect it from excess moisture otherwise it will crumble. 

ttfn x 

Golden harvest!

I thought I would try some different varieties of carrots on my little allotment.
I got these seeds from an on line catalogue they were a mixed variety some were purple others were yellow. They have grown up beautifully, and these taste divine!

I think carrots in the shops are pretty tasteless unless you buy organic, but by far are the ones you can pull up yourself, wash off and eat!

Carrots are very simple I found the hardest part is the thinning out, it seems so cruel to pull out the tiny seedlings, but unless you do the carrots don’t have room to grow. The other great thing about carrots is that you can plant all year round, summer and winter.