Its raining its pouring...more duck tales

After seriously heavy rain, the ducks are the only happy things on the farm. They are growing fast and have most of their feathers.

While the hens are looking a bit bedraggled, the ducks are overwhelmed with excitement at the puddles.

I still have no idea how many ducks and drakes there are, but I'm hopeful there's at least one duck.

The beech tree was a casualty of the high winds. At least there will be plenty of firewood given that we seem to have missed autumn and gone straight to winter.

Green tomato chutney

One of the main reasons I like to make chutney is that I hoard jam jars for the occasion and so need to use them up.

The main thing I hate about making chutney is that you start with a large pan of lovely veg and end up with just a few jars full...

Anyway, there were green tomatoes left in the greenhouse so it was green tomato chutney time.

The chutney bible in this house is "Home Preserves" from the St Michael cookery library circa 1979. It's full of marmalades, pickles, preserves and chutneys of every description.

I have adapted the green tomato chutney recipe as follows:
4lbs green tomatoes, chopped
1lb apples, peeled and chopped
1lb onions, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
8oz sultanas
1 tablespoon pickling spice
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon chilli
1 pint vinegar
1lb sugar

Place tomatoes, apples, onions, garlic, and sultanas into a very large pan. Add the spices. Add half the vinegar and bring to the boil, then simmer for about an hour until the mixture is thick.

Dissolve the sugar in the remaining vinegar and add to the chutney.

Simmer, stirring frequently, until the chutney is thick (up to 1 1/2 hours).

Put chutney while hot into sterile jars and seal with lids or airtight covers.

Makes about 51/2lbs.

Enjoy.

I'm going to eat you little fishy fish pie

I finally made it to the local market on Thursday to get some fresh fish to make fish pie.

There was plenty to choose from and ended up with smoked fish and white fish (wish I could remember what type! I know it wasn't cod) and salmon.

Anyway, it got made into an exceedingly good fish pie and when I go back next Thursday for more I will just ask for the same again. One of the benefits of shopping locally!

Here is what I did. By the way, there are no quantities stated because it depends on how much fish you start with. I managed to make three pies us two mini ones for Miss Maisie.

Boil some peeled potatoes.

Put smoked and white fish into a saucepan, plus some salmon and/or prawns if you like. Cover with milk and simmer for a few minutes until the fish is just cooked and flakes. Drain and reserve the milk.

Sauté some onion and leek in butter until soft and mix with the flaked fish. Add some frozen peas.

Make a white sauce using the fish flavoured milk (whisk milk, butter and flour over a low heat). Add extra milk to make up the quantity.

Pour the white sauce over the fish and vegetables, then top with mashed potato. Sprinkle some cheese on top.

Bake in the oven until the sauce is bubbling and potato is golden.

Enjoy.

Meringues

In true Great British Bake Off style I was going to do a meringue showstopper.

However, it would appear that the Blacksmith has, in fact, eaten most of the meringues.

The (short) conversation went like this:

Me: Would you like some meringue for pudding?
Blacksmith: No thank you.
Me: Why? What's wrong? (the Blacksmith *never* turns down pudding)
Blacksmith: Do you promise not to hit the roof?
Me: That's not a good start to a conversation
Blacksmith: Promise?
Me: Hmmmm
Blacksmith: I have a confession to make
Me: Hmmmm
Blacksmith: Those meringues you made were the best ever
Me: You've eaten them! I was going to make a showstopper!
Blacksmith: But they were lovely. Oh, and I've had half the cream as well.....

So, pictures of a towering meringue resplendent with cream and raspberries will have to wait.

In the meantime, to make meringues:

You need 2oz of sugar per egg white.

Whisk egg whites until they are stiff. Check by tipping the bowl upside down. If they stay in the bowl, they are ok. If not, then clean up the mess and start again!

Add sugar one tablespoon at a time and whisk well. Keep going until all the sugar has been added and you have a bowl of white glossy meringue.

Use a piping bag to pipe out the meringues. Place in warm oven (about 130C) for about an hour then turn the oven off and leave overnight. Don't open the oven.

The meringues should be crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside. Enjoy!

Ps there will be a better pic at some point of a meringue show stopper

We have a winner!

I've always wondered who wins competitions in magazines. It turns out its me!

Yes, I have won two tickets for the North of England Horticultural Society Harrogate Flower Shows after entering a Garden News online competition. Hurrah!

It's on 14 - 16 September at the Great Yorkshire Showground. While i would love to go and get some inspiration for the garden, unfortunately Miss Maisie and I won't be able to go.

It seems a waste not to use the tickets. So, if you fancy going, let me know!

Fruit soda bread....warm with butter

I had some buttermilk about to go out of date and so this was the easiest thing to make late last night.

The recipe is adapted from the Avoca Cafe Cookbook. However a lot of the recipes in it make large quantities so I halved the ingredients.

Mix 225g (8oz) plain flour, 12g(1/2oz) sugar, 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda and 12g (1/2oz) sultanas (I used mixed dried fruit).

Add 200ml buttermilk slowly and mix to form a dough.

Form into a round, place on a non stick baking tray, flatten a bit and cut into quarters.

Bake at 200c until cooked - about 30 minutes depending on your oven. The bread should sound hollow when you tap it on the base.

Let it cool a bit then eat! Preferably warm with butter.