Hello!
1st September can only mean one thing : Christmas stuff in the shops. Bah, I say, BAH! That element of the onset of autumn I do not relish one little bit - can't we at least get Bonfire Night out of the way first? BUT looking on the bright side, September also means trees groaning with ripe fruit, juicy brambles down the lane and the trees starting to turn into hues of burnished gold - with a bit of soggy brown thrown in no doubt.
We have 3 mature Victoria plum trees and this year there are so many rosy golden plums we will be making jam and chutney for months - hurrah. The Bramley apple tree is weighed down with huge red and green orbs, unfortunately most of the apples on the higher branches are rotting in their too-close clumps and we can't get to them before they are ruined. How the chickens haven't been felled by the falling ones plummeting to earth or bouncing off the shed roof I don't know!
At work we have freshly-picked brambles to go with Bramleys in yummy oaty crumbles.We made little steamed blackberry sponges too, with lemon and honey to have with hot custard or cold cream. We're looking forward to changing the menu soon - the salads will be on the wane and there will be a welcome influx of homemade soups, casseroles and pies. Not that any of us would complain if we had an Indian summer over the next few weeks, it would be lovely to have hot sun for a bit longer. But I'm really looking forward to being able to cook proper comfort food again. As the weather cools down people will drop in on their weekend hikes in boots and fleeces with rosy cheeks and cold hands ready to wrap around a mug of hot chocolate or a bowl of pumpkin soup, or to tuck into a deep-filled steak and ale pie with creamy mash to have with a pint of the local brew before they stride off suitably fortified, their breath billowing on the frosty air - or not, as the case may be ... if we have a damp and murky autumn they're more likely to be peering reluctantly into the gloom and mist and deciding to stay for another pint!
So, the nights are drawing in noticeably now - the chicks are zigzagging off to bed by 8pm and the runner beans are finally slowing down their mammoth production. We had a tasty lunch the other day - a salad of runners mixed with cannellini beans, red onion, a garlicky vinaigrette, smoked crisp bacon and toasted flaked almonds - if I'd had some pine-nuts they would have been great instead but the almonds were tasty and it all made a suitable accompaniment to homemade puff-pastry pizza tarts filled with pesto, parma ham, ripe tomatoes and melting cheese. Then warm oozing brownies with boozy cream afterwards ...
More veg watch : although the beans have been a huge success in our novices' veg garden, I'm afraid we were too idle with the weeding to have a successful crop of carrots and everything was a bit overcrowded so the vast courgette plants overshadowed the peppers and chillis and the courgettes never grew much bigger than a manly-size finger - tasty though. The strawberries were delicious though we only had 7 and they got eaten straight off the plants and the tomatoes are in full swing but next year must do better with feeding them and staking them. We've pulled out all the broad beans and peas now - moderately successful on both of those but the broccoli has been nibbled heavily and is covered in furry caterpillars, so the best we can do is feed the holey leaves to the chicks who would do ANYTHING for a bite, broccoli leaves are their absolute favourite. They also adore the runner bean leaves so they get daily treats of both. If only I were so easily pleased!
As regards Lobster Cards, there was an exciting event in August - the Telegraph contacted me and asked for images so that they could put a small feature in the Saturday magazine on the Food News page - it was a wonderful snippet and generated a flurry of welcome sales - things had been rather quiet over the summer so far - so thank you very much to the Telegraph and specifically to Carolyn Hart for that very timely piece of free advertising! I've sold lots of jute bags, cards and cookie cutters and am about to introduce a new design of jute bag and some more lobstery artefacts the shop so watch this space ... and thanks to all of you who have purchased so far and for reading this blog - I'm looking forward to sharing more cooking tips and photos with you again soon.
Must go bake ...
Happy cooking!
AMT
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