Back on track

Phew, what a month!

Surgery went well, and I have been recovering slowly but steadily.  Thank you for the lovely emails with get well wishes.

Not a lot of news to report.  Have spent my time resting and not being able to do anything, so the garden and house are a bit neglected and in need of some TLC.  Oh well, not the end of the world.  All will be back to normal soon.

I borrowed heaps of books from the library, thinking that would keep me occupied for the month.... then two days after coming home from hospital I passed out and gave myself a bad concussion...... so could not read, watch tv/dvd's or anything interesting.  Typical! lol

One thing I have been doing this past week is working on cross stitch designs for Christmas ornaments.  A piece of graph paper and a pencil is all you need.  Have started making some, and they are coming together nicely.  You can buy some of the ornaments and my jams, jellies and chutneys at the Chez Tante Mabel Christmas market which will be the last weekend in november.  Stay tuned for more details closer to the date.

I had grand plans of crocheting, stitching, reading and watching a few films on dvd over the past month.  All that has happened is that the cats have had lots of snuggle time and the dining table is still covered with everything I planned to occupy myself with. 

At least we have had some lovely sunny days, which has meant I could sit outside for half an hour each day and bask in the sunshine with Sophie.  She has been very happy to have me sit and stroke her and just spend time with her. 

It is starting to feel like autumn now.  The leaves are falling from the trees, the nights are cooler, and we have fog and mist in the mornings and a heavy dew.  We have actually run the heating a few times to take the chill off the air in the house! 

Our neighbours did the vendage this weekend.  I was very disappointed to not be able to join in.  Will have to wait till next year.  It is hard work, but very satisfying and it is lovely to be out in the vines at this time of year.

I love this part of the year when everything is starting to hunker down ready for winter.  The garden is lovely and the woods are bursting into gorgeous warm colours just as the temperature drops.  There is a special feel to the air that just makes you impatient for the cold weather to arrive so you can bundle up in jumpers and scarves and walk for miles enjoying it all.

The chickens are starting to get ready for the cold weather too.  Eating a lot more and heading in to bed earlier each night.  They start waiting at the gate to the chicken palace at about 7pm, and if I am not there by 7.30pm they take themselves to bed.  Very funny and cute.  Strawberries and tomatoes are their favourite foods, and I make sure I hand feed them something every day so they are happy to be approached and be near humans.  The rooster doesn't like to be patted, but the girls are ok with it.... well, I think they put up with it rather than like it to be honest.

This week sees the start of getting back into my usual routine, so I will have more interesting updates next time.

Thank you again for all the good wishes emails.

The magic of quinces

One of my favourite things about autumn is that quinces are in season. 

Yes, I know, they are ugly and a bit weird.  Hard as rocks and completely inedible raw..... but cooked they become the most incredible edible imaginable.

Applying heat to these ugly ducklings transforms them into aromatic jewel toned swans.  It is a true culinary magic.

There is an old quince tree in the orchard, and it was laden with fruit.  I gave away bags of it to friends and acquaintances.  The rest I cooked into jelly and paste. 

For days the kitchen - whole house in fact - smelt heavenly.

My hands, however, felt like they had been through a few sessions with the inquisition and lost out.... badly lost out.

There are many tricks and hints on the internet for preparing quince.  Before you go ahead and try them out, let me tell you that they DO NOT WORK.  Save yourself some heart (and hand) ache.  You can thank me later.

The only thing that makes it easier is to wash the fruit in a sink of hot water and let them rest a good half hour before trying to prep them.  The water needs to be hot enough that you can just barely put your hands in it.  This seems to soften the skin slightly and makes it a bit easier to peel them.  Cutting and coring is still hard work, sorry.

To make jelly from quinces is the simplest recipe there is.  Quinces are very high in pectin, so they don't need to much heat or sugar to reach a jelling point.

Jelly
First, wash, peel and cut into chunks about a kilo or so of quinces.

Put in large pot with about a cup or so of water (I actually cooked them in a pressure cooker to save time) and bring to simmer.  Cook till fruit is rose pink and tender.

Drain off liquid into a measuring jug.  Hopefully you have about a litre of liquid.  If not rest fruit in a strainer over jug and let all the juice drip out till the fruit pulp is fairly dry.  A jelly bag is great for squeezing out the liquid without getting pulp into it (pulp makes the jelly cloudy when it is set).  If still a bit short, top up with water.

A litre of liquid needs about 600g of sugar.  Put liquid and sugar into a saucpan and bring to boil, stirring frequently.  Once setting point is reached bottle and use prefered method of preserving.

Quince Paste
The leftover pulp is now going to be turned into quince paste.  You know the stuff that you spend a fortune to buy at the deli.... yes that stuff.  It is delicious served with wild boar (or any game meat for that matter!) and most people think it belongs on a cheese board.  Personally, I prefer it with meat, and take my cheese plain or with a little salad as the French do.

Place reserved fruit pulp (which looks a bit revolting at this stage - see photo above) into a large saucepan add about 500-600g sugar(depending on sweetness of fruit) and heat.  You must stir constantly!!!  You want to cook off the remaining moisture and turn it into a claggy, gluey mess.

Once this texture is reached, turn out into a baking paper lined tray and smooth surface. 

Place in a slow oven (100celcius) for a few hours till it takes on a solid feel.  Think of a rubber ball and you are aiming for slightly softer...lol.  You should be able to push on the surface and it rebounds instead of leaving a divot.  I leave the oven door slightly ajar so any moisture escapes and it dries faster.

When cool, slice and put into a lined container with a tight fitting lid and put into fridge.  Will keep for months if you don't cross contaminate with an unclean knife (yes I am talking about you double dippers who reuse a knife that has been used on something else!).

Perfect for bringing out at Christmas or for gifting to foodie friends and family.

Alternatives
I always add half a lemon to the fruit when I first cook it.  There is no need for the lemon, I just like the hint of flavour that it adds and the balance that it brings to the finished jelly and paste.  You could add spices to the jelly such as cinnamon etc if you wish to have a real wintery warmth and perfume.

Autumn Abundance

Life has been a bit busy lately.  Firstly, we had family here for a month, so that was fun.  No time for blogging though as any spare time was spent in the garden.

In fact, quite a few days I had them helping to prepare the bounty of the garden into winter stockpiles.  Well, I say they helped... but in fact my Mum seemed to eat as much fruit and green beans as she prepared..... hmmm.  All good though as we had more fruit and veg than we could cope with.

My arriere cuisine is filled to the brim with jars of compote, stewed fruit, jams, sauces, syrups and condiments.  The cellier is stockpiled with parsnips, potatoes and carrots, with more potatoes in one of the dependances.

 In one week I lifted over 130kgs of potatoes!  This does not count the potatoes I have lifted for eating over the summer.  A bit of a shock as it did not look like that much on the ground.  I had 2 rows like the one pictured.  Next year we may just put in one row I think.  Thank goodness for generous neighbours with tractors and potatoe lifters!

We did buy a second freezer, and it is cram packed with veg from the garden.  I have prepared enough green beans, courgettes and kale to last us till next harvest.  Also lots of blackberries, mirabelles, plums, raspberries and other sweet treats filling the shelves. 

Just waiting on the pumpkins to ripen and I can bring them in to add to the collection.  There are some citrouille and butternuts, along with something else that I have fogotten the name of.

I feel a little bit like a squirrel hoarding food away for the winter.

There have been a few fails.  For some reason the rhubarb and peach compote did not want to remain in the pots, and proceeded to ferment and fizz all over the shelf.  Really upset about that one as I adore rhubarb and peaches.  My first batch of tomato sauce did not work either.  It was simply pressed tomatoes with fresh herbs.  Think the herbs needed to be cooked or blanched before adding to the sauce.  I threw them in whole as it looked pretty, and so I wound up with mouldy sauce - even though they were put through a water bath.  Oh well, live and learn.

I do think I have done alright though considering I did not have a big steriliser and have been processng in small batches on the stove.  A huge time saver was my lovely pressure cooker which was an early birthday/Christmas pressent.  So nice to cook things in 30minutes instead of 6hours.

Now it is time to prune the plum trees, and tidy up the rest of the garden.  The apples need to wait till later, so at least the pruning is a bit more spaced out this year.

About 150 bulbs have gone in to the ground so far, with another few hundred to go.  My lawn is looking nice and shows real promise for being lush and verdant next year.  I have been attending gardening workshops at a local nursery, and have quite a few cuttings quietly sprouting away, ready for planting next spring.  Next week we look at dividing plants, so I will increase my stock again.  We have a real liking for grasses, geraniums and lavenders, so they are going to be the main plants, with others scattered amongst them for interest.  Photos will have to wait till next year though as nothing to see now.

Les chats

We are well and truely into autumn now.  The trees are bare and the rains are falling almost non stop.  Everything is vibrant green again and preparing for its last big burst of growth and show before the cold really hits.

The neighbourhood cats have been taking advantage of every sunny moment.  If you want to know the most warm and sheltered place to laze the late afternoon away ..... find the cats. (The mornings find them arranged along the top of our firewood stacked behind the house...the first place the sun hits each day.)

It is quite common to have up to eight cats lined up along the base of our front walls, or in the gutter along the road, making the most of the thermal mass and the suns last lingering rays, before the sun sets.

One of the oldest cats in the allée is Maiena.  She is so pretty and has a cute little tiny meow.  I managed to catch her napping on the terracotta tiles on top of our neighbours wall, soaking in the last of the suns rays for the day.

I love the way she has melted in to the undulating curves of the tiles so that as much of her as possible is absorbing the warmth from them.  The dreamy expression on her face shows exactly how much she is enjoying basking there.

It is a cats' life!

Autumn

Well, autumn has arrived and with it the crisp cool days and grey weather.

We lit our first fire in the fireplace yesterday.  Took a bit to get it going.  These european woods are not like the Aussie ones.... a different tactic is needed.

This is my effort of today.  Not perfect, but it has been burning all afternoon and the lounge and dining (as well as our bedroom upstairs) are toasty and oh so comfortable.

The boys are discovering the delights of a wood fire too.  Eric has not left his post on the armchair beside the fire since he realised how warm it was.  Guy keeps enticing me back in to the lounge so he can toast in front of the fire.... but being my shadow, he has to leave it each time I do.

Off for work for the next week, then back home and time to get on with the autumn chores in the garden.  The apples are ripe and I have already had a bucketful from the wild tree in the wood. Delicious, crunchy and tart.  Makes fabulous compote too!