Category Archives: Uncategorized
14 Feb, 2012
The frost and snow of the past few weeks tries to persuade us to keep indoors, warm and cosy by the open fire. But it’s worth refusing – and braving the icy weather, all bundled up – for a traipse through the lovely countryside as Mother Nature’s winter coat is beautiful to see. I particularly love getting out early, on a bright, clear day to admire the pinky golden glow over the icy fields. Look at the way this husk of a weed gently captures and holds the snow in little snowy balls…and the way the frost makes patterns on the windows of my workshop…
May I suggest the warmest of home-welcome with a delicious, bubbling hot bowl of rich onion soup laden with golden, molten cheese? It tastes extra wonderful after a long walk in the cold. I found these giant, sweet onions at the shop and thought they would be perfect for my soup – and they were!
Everyone’s tired – home time it is. Back to our garden, the trees laced with frost.
Time to start cooking. Sometimes those old classic dishes are just the thing, don’t you think? So comforting. In this soup I used a drop of Calvados as I didn’t have any brandy. The slightly sweet and aromatic hint of apple really enhanced the savoury broth. As for the cheese, I love the nutty flavour of a good, aged Gruyere. But you could use another rich melting cheese, perhaps a Comte? Any good rustic bread makes a lovely toasted bed for the cheese. I used a marvellous wholegrain and walnut bread. Magnificent with the cheese. Sadly, the soup is all gone as I write this – I must prepare it again soon!
Before I say goodbye, I’ll leave you with a couple of images from my walks around the frosty village. I stopped in the church and spotted this beautiful earthenware jug – so I quickly made its portrait. And the trees, my friends along the path, wearing their bleak winter wardrobe.
More soon. It will be Spring before we know it – and with this being our first year in our new home and garden, each season brings a bit of surprise. I’m getting some hints of spring bulbs with the emergence of some tiny shoots amidst the snow. This garden needs so much work, and the prospect of some inherited spring flowers makes me very happy. I’ll keep you posted.
Px
in French Onion Soup, Photography, Soup, Uncategorized, cold, garden, mother, nature, warming soup, winter | Comments (13)
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29 Jul, 2011
What can be more fun when out on a country walk than finding some gorgeous, sun ripened fruit just waiting to be picked? I recently had a lovely expedition along a local bridle path in search of these beautiful little wild plums. My new friend S – a friendship made on Twitter! – who lives near me, remembered spotting these little plums on a walk a year or so before. She couldn’t remember the exact location, so we set off to seek them out. Do you know, I walk along this path so often, and yet there are so many plants. nuts, fruits that I’ve just ambled past without noticing. Not any more! My walk takes three times as long now I am vigilant for the treasures that foraging will provide. We not only found a wealth of delicious plums, but also spotted cherries, sloes, hazelnuts, and walnuts. The walnuts are still very young, yet so promising.
But this day’s mission was for plums and so plentiful they were that we picked lots. Too many for my family to eat right away. So I decided to make a plum syrup to drizzle on some pancakes or perhaps some creamy Greek yogurt. This recipe was a bit of an experiment, but it worked really well and the result is delicious. Sweet, slightly tangy and fragrant.
As you can see, these plums are quite small – I think they might be called cherry plums – and round. I knew it would be difficult to remove the stones before cooking so I didn’t worry with doing that. As it would all be strained later it didn’t matter to just cook them whole.
This syrup is so pretty isn’t it? Such a vibrant colour and the flavour is just as intense.
Inspired by the walnuts on the tree, I toasted some walnuts to sprinkle on the pancakes along with a dusting of icing sugar and the syrup. So delicious and nutritious too!
This is one of the walnuts on the tree near my home. I’ll be keeping watch over them.
As for the pancakes – well who doesn’t love pancakes? Some people love big fluffy American style hotcakes and some prefer the thin English ones that you eat with lemon and sugar. I love both. This time I decided to make an in-between pancake, not big and fluffy but with a bit of leavening for a slightly thicker pancake. Here’s this recipe for the pancakes.
Mix together 200g of plain flour with a pinch of salt, 25g of sugar and a teaspoon of baking powder. Make a well in this mix, and drop in two eggs and 50o ml of milk. Whisk it all together well until it is smooth like thick cream. I fry the pancakes with a few drops of rape seed oil so they have lovely brown edges.
It has been a busy spell for me. I will write more soon about an exciting project that I am working on. It is lots of fun but very consuming – but that’s for next time! Hope you are all having a lovely summer. Please drop me a comment and let me know what you are up to.
Pascale x
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11 Oct, 2010
So often, I hear people say how they love Autumn – that it’s their favourite season. Do you have a favourite season? I don’t think I can choose, but I do know that I love Autumn. It seems to turn up – all of a sudden – with that chill in the wind, the scent of woodsmoke, and a heady flourish of vibrant autumnal colour. It’s just so beautiful, isn’t it?
Another aspect of this time of year is the frisson of excitement I get about all the lovely seasonal events to come – harvest festivals, halloween and bonfire night, Thanksgiving for north Americans (I love this wonderful holiday) and then just around the corner…wait, that’s far enough for now. So here we are, enjoying a gorgeous October in rural England. I like to start each day with a walk around the village and in the countryside. It gives me a chance to collect my thoughts, nurture creativity, make plans.
At the edge of the village live these glorious ginger pigs. The couple who run the farm both have ginger hair, as do their three beautiful little girls. This always makes me smile. Past the piggies lies a bridle path with views over the surrounding countryside, replete with berries, pods, and golden leaves.
This is a really simple soup but so comforting and nourishing. The sage leaves – fried crispy in butter – add a truly delicious fragrance and depth to the dish. I love sage, and to me, it seems a little under appreciated. It’s very easy to grow too, which is good as you don’t need much and it’s handy if you can just pick a few leaves as you need them rather than buying a big bunch from the shop each time.
This is a good recipe if you have children who are fussy about vegetables. The soup is very acceptable but not always the sage leaves. I know about fussy eaters!
I’ll leave with a picture of one of the windows in our village church, made splendid for the Harvest Festival. I cannot do it justice – every window, shelf, and table in the church is laden with magnificent displays. Much to be thankful for.
Thanks for visiting, and please do drop me a comment if you wish. It’s great to hear what you think. And I love to visit other blogs so let me know about yours too. P.
in Autumn, Colours, Festival, Growing Food, Photography, Uncategorized, carrot soup, carrots, seasons, warming soup | Comments (10)
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