Skybluepink

productivity 101

At last the sun has come out so I can follow the instructions here at cottage smallholder to make my first attempt at dandelion wine.  Stuart is appalled and is muttering about diuretics and bedwetting.  He is quite an accomplished winemaker himself and is eyeing his demijohns protectively as if I might sully them.  Ha!  He'll be laughing on the other side of his face this time next year when I am sipping my crystal clear fresh dandelion wine and he has only a Pouilly Fuisse!

Whilst I set the dandelion heads to steep I moved on to the rosemary hair rinse from the wonderful mrs lear at the runcible bin.  We have a massive rosemary hedge and I could take enough clippings to keep Rapunzel in hair rinse for the rest of her life and not make a noticeable dent so why I didn't think of this before I do not know.  I am wondering about rosemary bath salts as well now.

However I used up all the sea salt on some more salt scrubs.  I have finished the two I made earlier this year and decided to replenish with some rose (my all time favourite scent) and a lighter apple and pear one for the on the go summer days to which I am looking forward so much.

dazzler

I planted three amaryllis ludwig dazzler this year and two of them have produced a second set of blooms.  As the weather is so dull after the glorious sunshine of last week I felt I needed something to remind me that it is actually summer. 

Waking up in the morning and seeing a grey sky, however beautiful the lambs and goslings frolicking in the field below are, is a little dispiriting but my pure and bright amaryllis always lifts my spirits.

I have a lone green wave tulip on my desk at work, a victim of an overenthusiastic cricketer she is my blowsey friend in the office.

because I am free to speak

I am posting on my blog today. 

Because I am free

• I can say what I like;
• I tell you about my faith;
• I can urge you to vote in a particular way at our next election;
• I can disagree with your political viewpoint;
• I can question the economic policies of my country;
• I can question that it is right that some people in my country starve whilst others feast;
• I can expect international aid should a disaster befall my country;
• I can expect an education;
• I am free from sexual exploitation;
• I will not face the death penalty;
• I can freely travel the world;
• I can read any newspaper, magazine or book;
• I can write and circulate any newspaper, magazine or book;
• neither my parents nor my children will be persecuted because I am a Christian (or indeed hold any other faith);
• if I am sent to prison I will not expect to die because of the conditions under which I will be expected to try to survive;
• my children have not been stolen, they have not been forced to bear arms, they have not been brainwashed;
• my children are still alive, healthy and with me;
• my children have a future;
• my family has a past, our history has not been erased;
• I can do all the above and a million more things. 

So can you, and you can disagree with me on every point above and that is your right, your freedom and your choice.  But millions of people, mothers, fathers, children, brothers, sisters cannot.  One of the most secretive and heavily controlled countries in the world is letting its people die rather than let the outside world in; another, once the breadbasket of Africa, is starving, in another over 150,000 people are being forcibly evicted and to enable land development.  Imagine that your child, your mother, your brother was in one of those countries.  What wouldn't you do to help.  God forbid, one day you might be that person.  Isn't it good to know that somebody somewhere cares and is fighting for your right to live?

There are a plethora of organisations dedicated to restoring basic human rights to every human being.  I don't need to tell you who they are.  Please, if you do nothing else today, write a letter, sign a petition, just stand up and be counted.  One day you may be dependent on somebody doing just that for you.

s'mores

Today I had a yen to bake cupcakes. It seemed like a good day for a spot of baking. Meg had to be at the vets for 10.30, I had a lunch appointment at 12.30, I had to send out the invoices, pay the bills, clear the guest bedroom and playroom for the next round of guests and take Susannah to Newcastle for her harp lesson.  Plenty of time for beating the batter then! 

The timings were a little tight and I was taking the cakes out of the aga as I ran out of the door.  We made the marshmallow frosting when we got back this evening and they are pretty delicious.  Not for the fainthearted they are sweet, sticky and not a little moreish.   From the rather good Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman I give you s'mores (the cakes not the barbecue snack).

Cake

• 75g plain flour
• 175g crushed digestive biscuits (I used 20 mixed plain and chocolate)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 125g butter
• 150g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 generous tsp vanilla extract
• 180ml milk
• 120mg chocolate chips (I used a mixture of white, milk and dark)

Frosting

• 2 egg whites
• 50g sugar (I used golden caster)
• 180ml golden syrup (I have no idea how much I used I added until I was happy, about 4tbsp I think!)
• REAL (not the yucky shiny vermicilli) chocolate sprinkles

Mix dry ingredients.  Beat butter and sugar until creamy and add beaten egg slowly.  Add vanilla and then the flour mixture and milk alternately.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Spoon into cupcake papers and bake for 20-25 min at 180/350/gas4 (or in my case 150 aga for 30 min rotating the trays to ensure they are all evenly coooked!)

I adapted the icing to a more traditional cooked frosting.  Beat egg whites to stiff peak, add sugar gradually and then golden syrup slowly until thick.  Place bowl over pan of hot water (I didn't put it on the stove) and continue to beat until thick (about 3 min with hand held mixer).  I used an icing bag to make the dollops on the top but a teaspoon would do the trick just as well and decorate with chocolate sprinkles.

new toys

On Saturday my Nikon D40 arrived and I haven't stopped playing with it. It is simply the most wonderful new toy I have had for years. The family, and this weekend's guests were less sure and much muttering about paparazzi style intrusion was heard from the grown ups, whilst Beatrice and Susannah presented themselves on a regular basis as subjects for my photographic experimentations.

Kitchen tulips

Fyero

Supper on Sunday evening

Jack

Eloise and her new friend!

The more observant amongst you will now be asking why the plural of the title? What other toys have landed chez Smellie. As soon as one particularly large bill is settle by a client I am ordering my new bike, a Pashley Princess just like this one.

summer suppers

Last night we had supper in the garden, the dogs (attracted by the possibility of food) stayed by our feet and did not take themselves off for a quick hike round the village dustbins, the girls played cricket and dangled off the swings.  The pinot grigio slipped down beautifully and the sun gave everything and everyone a gorgeous shimmer.  Sometimes there is no better place to be than home.

The lamb came out  very well and is so easy to make.

• 50g almonds, flaked and toasted
• 20g mint leaves
• 10g parsley leaves
• zest and juice of one lemon (recipe only calls for zest but I think it needed more)
• 125 ml olive oil
• 15g grated parmesan
• salt and pepper to taste.

Put whole lot in food processor and zap until of required consistency.  This is so tasty I had to lock it in the fridge to keep Eloise's fingers out!

• 250ml of chicken stock (hey ho, good job we had chicken on Monday!)
• 250g frozen peas
• 2 x 400g tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1tsp (I used about 2 tsp) paprika
• lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste.

Bring stock to the boil, add peas and boil for about 2 mintues then add chickpeas until heated through.  Take off heat add paprika, lemon juice, salt and pepper and mash (I used a hand whizzer as I wanted a smoother mash.

Fry lamb steaks on both sides and I served with tomatoes roasted on the vine with basil infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

The exploding rhubarb cake came out quite well in the end and the mooncrater surface was well hidden by the cream.

It was a little pudding like, but that could well have been because I had been injecting the syrup into it , just as easily as a result of its earlier explosive qualities.

Post supper doze.

happy families

The greylags have come back to our pond alongside the moorhens for about four or five years.  But this is the first year that we have seen their goslings.   This is the family out for their morning consitutional at 7.00am this morning.

It was (and still is) a beautiful, beautiful day. Camera in hand I thought I would record the results of those tiny little shards of green, the pictures of which I posted way back in February.  Many of the early and species tulips are on the way out, but the alliums, foxgloves, lupins, irises and lilies are all coming along well.  The greenhouse is fit to burst with seedlings and even the dahlias and chrysanthemums are peering though.  Once again I seem to have limited success with ranunculus (I am sure I am just providing endless midnight feasts for the fieldmice), but the bluebells are, I am delighted to say, doing wonderfully.  My little one man campaign to reintroduce Hyacinthoides Nonscripta (the native English bluebell) to our farm is developing nicely.

These heavenly scented narcissi avalanche almost didn't make it into the garden at all.  I found the bulbs lurking in the back of the greenhouse.  They had already started to sprout and didn't go in until January!

I'd totally forgotten about apair of imperial fritillaries at the back of the courtyard bed, they were a welcome surprise!

The view as I come down the lane, I am sure I am a dreadful liability as I slow down terribly to inspect the beds before I turn in, just to check what's out and what's still coming along!

In fact I am feeling quite spring like today and planned lamb with mint and parsley pesto and  chickpea mash (In the Mood for Food).  I thought I would use some of our abundant rhubarb on a new recipe, rhubarb tea cake. Ho hum, I adapted it for a single loaf rather than the eight little ones as dictated by the recipe (Donna Hay I think, possibly US Country Living - it's been in my recipe file for a few weeks and was due an airing). I carefully planned the extended cooking time and need to cover to prevent burning.  I set alarms to prevent any burnt offerings to the Great Aga God (who has a tendency to gobble up my most precious baking).  Cake was removed, tested with skewers (all came out dry) and left for a few minutes before turning out.   At which point the Great Aga God let out a whoop of delight as the uncooked centre burst forth upon my counter top.  Refusing to be bettered an oven I have instead invented the rhubarb and cake version of Eton Mess.  I returned the whole thing (in its various bits) to the tin and thence the oven.  It looks as if it is almost cooked now (as the raw bits are now on top it is much easier to tell!)  The syrup and the remainder of the rhubarb are finished and will be assembled with the cream tonight in an artful display which will not even hint at the disaster which befell me this morning!  Pictures tomorrow.

brunch

Since we at at 1.00pm it really wasn't brunch, it was lunch.  But in my mind eggs benedict is a brunch meal, regardless of the time of day it is eaten.  The Hen Herd and Honker and Hooter are on supercharged production at the moment and after a fallow year or so (no thanks to Monsieur Reynard who has been known to pop down from the woods in broad daylight at treat our herd like the local branch of Waitrose) we haven't got our regular egg takers back on board so we have been harking back to some of our old eggy favourites (it's iles flottantes tonight for pud by the way if you happen to be passing).

Personally I could eat eggs benedict for every meal; it combines all my favourite ingredients, hollandaise sauce (I can eat it straight out of the bowl and I will confess to licking my plate clean today!), poached eggs and spinach.  Stuart corrupted his with some ham, which I know is the traditional recipe, but I stayed away from such heinous adulterations and kept my plate pure and simple (and very high in cholesterol!) a sort of benedictine eggs florentine I suppose.

Replete, I have returned to my craft room and am, at last finishing our Cornwall album (only about 9 months after the holiday in question).  More of that tomorrow perhaps.

travelling books

 

I have been tagged by Fiona at the wonderful Cottage Smallholder.  The blog tagline is "stumbling self sufficiency in a small space".  Well I can't vouch for the size of the smallholding, but if she is stumbling then I am flat on my face!  Do go and visit, even if all you ever do is watch the supermarket bought coriander plant die on your windowsill you will find yourself drawn into the plans, recipes, gardening tips and not come up for air for a good long while.

For this meme I have to pick up the nearest foodie book and do the following:

1. Open page 123
2. Find the fifth sentance.
3. Post the next three sentences.
4. Tag five people and acknowledge who tagged you.

This was fun.  We are going to southern Italy in the summer and I have just taken possession of the superb Food and Wine Guide to Naples and Campania by Carla Capalbo.  It is stuffed to the gunnels with  information on restaurants, wineries, olive oil producers, cheesemakers, and hundreds and hundreds of other tiny artisanal food and wine producers.  I have been dipping in and out of it every evening as I curl up on the sofa and I now know that I need at least a year's holiday to see all the things I would like (and that doesn't take into account anyone else's requests for beach trips etc !!)

So here it is:

"Until recently, the area [Vesuvio] was known for the vast quantities of grapes it produced, but not for the quality of its wines.  That is now changing somewhat, and new attitudes to winemaking are paying off; those willing to reduce yields and take more care in the cellar have been able to improve thier wines enormously.  The most successful grape varieties on the volcanic soils, and the essential components of the white Vesuvio DOC and Lacryma Christi, are: Code di Volpe (at least 80% - it may be accompanied by Verdeca), Falanghine and Greco (up to 20%)."

On the grounds I took a foodie book about Italy I am tagging five people and asking them to pick up the first book set in a foreign country, it could be a novel, a guide book, a travelogue, a history, anything at all, just not about or set in the country in which you live.

the inadvertent gardener - green fingered Iowa gardener who never ceases to cheer me (green fingered Sunday is an inspired idea).

the runcible bin - a delicious mix of everything I love from knitting to cooking via Budapest.

elspeth thompson - who is building a beautiful new home out of old railway carriages and posts gorgeous photographs of the work in progress.

northern angel my great friend Gill who has the knack of turning the most simple art project into an item of outstanding beauty (I really am not jealous, honestly!)

ambrosia and nectar - Anne Marie's travels through her kitchen and other foodie places.  Her recipes are superb and a little bit different.  Lots of fun.

mood food

Sometimes I know exactly what we are having for supper.  Monday and Tuesday are usually some variation on the leftover roast, we have hundreds of roast recipes but do have a tendency to head back to the old favourites - stovies, shepherd's pie, teriyaki, lemon chicken and sticky sticky beef are the hard core.  Sometimes I haven't a clue (I hate days like that, I do like to be prepared) but fridge contents lead me in the appropriate direction, and in an emergency, Honker, Hooter and the Hen Herd ensure an endless supply of eggs (so why does Eloise hate all egg recipes unless they are cakes or puddings?).  But there are some days when I know what kind of food I want but I can't really be sure what actual food I want.  In other words I know that I want, for example, sloppy, comfort food to be eaten out of a bowl in front of the tv or whilst I finish my book but I have no idea what is going to constitute that meal and I spend ages dipping in and out of recipe books and in and out of the fridge and pantry and all the while the offspring look hungrier and hungrier and start to mutter about unsafe parents and then stuff their faces with crisps and chocolate biscuits and so have no appetite at all by the time I find the perfect solution to my mood food dilemma.

So, there I was in Waitrose with only 53p in my purse and I needed to buy precisely 1 florentine biscuit and two duck biscuits (as promised on the way to school that morning) and could hardly use my debit card for that.  I upped the bill with a copy of The Times and some pencils (yes I know I COULD have done a huge shop, but I didn't need anything) so in order to justify the use of the bank card I bought In the Mood for Food.  Divided into sections such as Comfort Food, Naughty but Nice, Healthy (I do like the concept that I can have non-healthy food - everything does have a tendency to be all beans and hairshirt sometimes!), Lazy, Romantic, Extravagent and so on, it does what it says on the cover and I love it.  I am tempted by "One Perfect Ingredient" for much the same reason, it meets the "what to cook NOW" need.  Anyway, the recipes.  So far so good, to be fair, some are very basic and I could have come up with them myself - but the point is that at 6pm I don't I need someone to prompt me.  Leek, dolcelatte and pancetta risotto was a hit (but with the rice crisis might turn out to be a one off!).  Cheese, Onion and potato pie also scored highly but as usual had to sneak in some bacon for Stuart.  Eloise, the gazpacho queen loved the gazpacho salad.  In fact she is rather fond of the book and has "borrowed" it.  I did venture into her room and managed to reclaim it without resorting to a JCB.