pontack sauce

It’s a good year for elderberries – surprising given how we tried to have all of the flowers earlier in the year as fritters, champagne and cordial, but still the elder is laden with berries.

We picked few kilos and I now have two gallons of apple and elderberry wine on the go.  What to do with the rest?.

I did have a go at making an elderberry rob – apparently a cold cure – but it really wasn’t that special, and unfortunately came at the same time as strong competition:  we had just made a load of freezer-space giving blackcurrants into home made ribena- by following the recipe in the river cottage preserves book, and it was wonderful – well the rob was lame by comparison and  went by the wayside after that.  That and it set in the bottles….

So – I decided to try pontack sauce.  It seems to be raved over, and mutterings of how it is best stored for seven years and the like.  Again, I followed the recipe in the river cottage book.

It’s erm… strange, interesting, odd.. I’m not sure about it.

Maybe those seven years are a requirement?

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ducks and turkeys

The ducks are growing so fast – so much faster than chickens. And why do chickens get blamed for being.. well.. ‘chicken’ about things? Ducks are the scaredy cats.  Ack.. must stop mixing in my animals 🙂

They are lovely, have outgrown their bowl pond are are making use of an old tin baby bath (complete with pink ducks!) hurray for freecycle. We are nearly finished on phase one of the duck run, so they will have more water and more room to run about soon.

Meanwhile the turkeys are also increasing in size dramatically.  They seem very heavy on their feet – Not sure if they will make it to thingymas.  Totally new to turkey keeping.. so learning as we go along.  I think they are both boys.. one seems definitely, the other not so sure! – but we had visitors looking at them at the weekend, and they both ‘showed’ to them – all fan tails and fluffed up feathers.  They change colour all the time depending on how excited they are… so odd.

The ducks are charming… the turkeys are ugly, it has to be said.

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pumpkins and squash

Temperatures dipped low over the weekend, and thoughts turn to frost. With that in mind, we harvested our pumpkins and squashes – the plants were dying off anyway.  And they now lurk in the cold store with the apples and wine etc.

We have been failing miserably at growing butternut squash. We manage a few – but not worth the ground they occupy.  I tried a different variety of seed, without much change in luck, and this year I decided to try a different squash too – Crown Prince.  I don’t know we have such trouble with butternut, we manage pumpkins, vegetable spaghetti (spaghetti squash), courgettes etc, no trouble.  And Crown Prince was a doddle too.  So that’s it – I give up on butternut, from now on, I shall put in more Crown Prince.

With veg growing, it is often worth persevering, particularly if you like the veg in question, until you find the way to grow something – leeks for example are a success this year – I’ve stopped sowing them in a seed bed as the packet suggests, and sow them indoors in modules, and now we have a couple of rows of fat leeks waiting for us.  Now I’ve cracked it – we shall grow lots more next year.

Sometimes you have to accept defeat, and after many years of poor butternut yield, it is hard to keep trying when another delicious squash grows well instead.

Pumpkin pie anyone?

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courgette recipes

As I mentioned the other day, we have been attempting to eat our courgette mountain, rather than freeze it all. This has lead to some experimenting, as well as our favourites, such as courgette pasta sauce, or courgette bhajis.

We tried this courgette and chocolate cake.  It was nice.. but although the icing was very chocolatey, the cake itself actually did not taste much of chocolate, and the spice threw it off a bit too,  It has potential, to be re-worked into something, but as riverford do a recipe that does work…. I’m not really sure why I tried a different version.

I tried these cheese courgette and tomato muffins. We liked them. Though perhaps a little more cheese next time.  The courgette was unnoticeable, but perhaps make the muffins stay moist. The disadvantage with them… only used one courgette.

But the big winner (no not the courgette used by a woman to fight off a bear...not in my case anyway), is the courgette mexican one pot.

It uses 750g of courgettes – result! and is delicious, with different flavours to my usual Mex ways. The family loved it.. even my carnivore men who are inclined to enjoy vegetarian food, but enquire what meat we are having with it…  I’ve altered it only a little, using chilli powder rather than chillies; the first time I made it it was so hot I felt spacey all afternoon after having some for lunch! Now just nicely hot, lovely with rice, or in a tortilla wrap. Nom.

I’ve frozen some.. yes I know, this might take away from the point of not filling our freezer, but I wanted to see how it worked, and we only have limited access to mint etc, until the first frosts come.

Hmm the last 5 entries on my 52 recipe challenge are all courgette based.. the list gives away what time of year it is!

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free firewood

Yesterday afternoon, three things happened all at the same time: himself finished work, it started to rain, and a sign went up next to a skip that read ‘free fire wood – please help yourself’

I got my rigger gloves and we started to help ourselves.  It rained harder. We got wet.  Other villagers came out to skip dive alongside us.  It was nice, good spirited, stepping out of each other’s way – taking turns, helping each other etc. And so much better than the wood being tipped.

Then it seriously poured, and it was just us.. and then even we gave up.  But we have another stash of wood.  More to be cut up and stacked. – several evenings worth of warmth.

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rayburn and heating plans

We lit the rayburn last night, first time all summer (apart for during its service). It’s like the return of an old friend.  The heart of the home. warmth cosy kitchen, the urge to cook constantly with us, and a forever hot kettle.  Also the huge bills, but let us not dwell on that.. let’s think about the drop scones and crumpets and the lovely hot water at last!

I did harbour hopes of having a new woodburning rayburn in place by now, and the solar tubes etc etc – We have been making progress, but it is slow.

We found out ( by going into chimney whilst the stove is cold) that the chimney breast needs a lot of work on it, it has been patched, in-filled and is ‘dodgy’ to say the least.. and the beams holding upstairs and our bedroom are set into this.  I can feel an acroprop moment coming soon.

We got a quote for having the whole job done by one plumber in one go (and that was without knowing about the chimney)… we had to sit down after that, and go back to DIY where we can.  Still it was a nice idea.

Everything we go to do in this house resulting in finding more work, but not complaining – we shall get there- just always slower than we thought 🙂

But we have made a start. We have bought our new thermal store (which is just a hot water tank that works the other way around – instead of the coil heating the tank of water, the tank of water heats the coil) with lots of tappings for all the things we want to ultimately connect to the system.

Took us a bit of effort to get this green beast upstairs, and next we shall have to make a level (cos our floors have interesting ‘character’ slopes going up and down) floor for it to stand on, and shore up the beams underneath so it is all strong enough to take the weight.  Then maybe we can plumb it in!

Slow. unsexy.. but progress!

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first hatch gone

That’s the first hatch of chickens from this year gone now – the last three pullets were sold today – and as they went to a friend, I shall no doubt hear how they are getting on – already seen pictures of them in their new home, and will be spoiled.

The pullets were all rehomed, apart from the friendly one, which has befriended himself – she even stands on his hand to be lifted to eat blackberries… – so I guess we are keeping her. – She is giving us an egg a day, so that’s not all bad.

The cockerels are in the freezer, awaiting the return of the rayburn for slow cooking.

The next hatch are growing first, and the cockerels are already crowing.  And the ducks are set to over take, growing at a stonking rate.

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an interview and a prize

Feeling the love today – two lovely things have happened.

First off, Susie, from useless beauty asked if she could interview me. I love Susie’s style of writing and her humour, and   I’ve never been interviewed before, so that was fun, and you can read it here.

Secondly, I entered a give away to celebrate the blogiversary (!) of Kate’s blog, 11 am/ Hawthorn time..

I was very lucky, as it was my name that was drawn out of the darth vader (in lieu of hat) .

Such cute robins, and they came in a lovely dragonfly purse.  I shall save the robins for my thingymas tree 🙂

Thanks so much to both of you 🙂

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