Good Morning Campers!
Wish I WAS camping.......a glorious week of weather & not a tent flap in sight!
I spent yesterday morning in the broad bean patch, picking the last of the crop (which would have been 4 times bigger had the local sparrow army not decided to hold a 'Who can peck off the most bean flowers in the shortest time' contest). I remember the first time I ever tasted a broad bean. As a very small child, I spent a week with Grandma as a break from my new baby sister (with hindsight, they were probably all having a break from me) Grandma gave me a home-grown broad bean to try & I thought it was one of the most disgusting things I had ever tasted. Now, of course, I love them & will be growing them every year.
I picked the last few beans & podded them over a coffee on our courtyard, then went back to clear the bean patch ready for sowing baby turnips. The plants were as tall as me (not difficult!) & it was only in pulling them all out that I realised what a great little wildlife area it had been - a mini-safari.
First, I noticed how many ladybirds there were. I hadn't really seen many this year, but the greengage tree, which overhangs the bean bed, has aphids, so the ladybirds have moved in to dine in style. All the ladybirds were different......(Albert Whiskers photo-bombed this picture. I made the mistake of rattling the chicken manure pellets & he instantly appeared in the hope of 'Dreamies').......
............including this big lad below.......
....who looked like he'd already eaten all the aphid pies. Could he be a Harlequin? I don't know.
Then, a few plants later, who turned up but this beauty?
I assume this is a moth caterpillar. It certainly isn't the green caterpillar of the small white butterfly. I'm well up on them, having experienced what their robbing gobs can do to a row of cabbages! The photo doesn't really do justice to the chevron markings in different shades of green.
Well, I'd just about got all the beans out by this point, but under the watchful eye of the critter in this next picture. Can you spot her?
Wood pigeon nest! She watched me the whole time, but didn't once leave the nest, not even when I was trying to wrestle a polytunnel over the newly sown turnips. This is a later nest, as we've had one up behind the pear tree again this year, too.
Later, I popped back down to the shed to clear up & there was a distinct drumming noise from the shed roof. Der-dum, der-dum, der-DUM........ Most odd. Too rhythmic for it to be apples falling off. Assumed (like most weird noises around here) that it would be cat-related. I went out to have a look & disturbed the culprit - a large sparrowhawk using our shed roof as a plucking-post. Enough to send Chris Packham into a frenzy of trouser-rubbing! It flew off when it saw me, lunch firmly between its claws. I don't like to think of 'our' sparrows being prey, but that's nature, & I'd be lying if I didn't just slightly hope that the victim was the Chief Bean Flower Scoffer. I quite regularly see a sparrowhawk in the garden, so assume they nest nearby. I had already found part of a wing & plucking evidence earlier this week & would normally have blamed Albert Whiskers, but he is a very lazy cat & he was also at the vet at the time the 'evidence' appeared, so he's off the hook on this occasion.
So that's the broad beans finished & out, & the baby turnips sown. Everything else cropping reasonably well.
Anyone out there who thinks it's too late to sow any food.......it isn't! You can still sow all manner of lettuce & salady stuff, spring onions, beetroot, turnips, radishes & some of the oriental stir-fry greens. Tastes better if you've grown it yourself, honest!
Till next time,
C x
Hello Campers,
Well, I've had a very pleasant afternoon making hot pineapple chutney & I thought I'd kick in my recipe in case anyone else has any hot pineapples going spare or a boring sandwich which needs some summer sparkle.
I have a world mango shortage to thank for the creation of this recipe. A couple of years ago, I really fancied making some mango chutney. Our local market always has them, so but on this occasion it was completely mango-less. Tried two supermarkets. Nope! I didn't find out until a few days later that there had been some sort of a problem with a big mango crop & imports had been much reduced.
Anyway, the Big Hairy Half of the Relationship suggested I use pineapples instead. I snottily replied that they'd be a fat lot of use in MANGO chutney & stomped past a market stall positively heaped with pineappley loveliness before deciding that I'd give it a go. And having now refined the recipe further, it's good stuff! Here it is, in case anyone fancies having a go:
Hot pineapple chutney
4 pineapples (you need about 5lbs of chopped flesh after peeling & coring)
1kg cooking apples
900g white granulated sugar
350g onions
3 garlic cloves
50g fresh root ginger
4 -6 scotch bonnet chillies (or other habenero type)
2 level tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1200ml white wine vinegar
(Makes about 6 or 7lbs)
Put your preserving pan next to the chopping board & prep all the ingredients straight into it, as this saves on faffing around & washing-up. Peel & core the pineapples & chop them roughly into 2cm pieces. Peel & roughly chop the onions. Finely chop the garlic. Get the rubber gloves out for de-seeding & chopping the chillies, as Scotch bonnets are fiery beasts, but have a great flavour. Peel & finely chop the root ginger. Peel, core & roughly chop the apples. If they start going brown as you're adding them to the pan, just pour over the vinegar. Add the spices & salt. You've now go everything in the pan EXCEPT THE SUGAR which is correct!
Bring the pan to the boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for 20 mins so the fruit begins to soften.
(This will give you time to wash your jars in hot soapy water & get them in a low oven to sterilise)
Now add the sugar & stir until dissolved. Bring the pan to the boil, reduce heat to a steady simmer & cook, uncovered, for around an hour & a half. Stir it every now & again to prevent it sticking. When any spare liquid on the top can be stirred in, & it is thick & sticky, it is time for bottling. Don't overcook it, as it continues to thicken a little on cooling & storing.
Then bottle as usual in hot sterilised jars. Have a clean cloth wrung out in very hot water to clean up the tops of the jars, then seal asap with clean lids.
This quantity made 7 jars & a taster-pot today. Just a note about the chillies - I use the Caribbean varieties of chillies for this recipe - scotch bonnet or similar habanero-types. They are very hot, but have a distinctive flavour in comparison with other hot chillies, such as the more usual cayenne types. I grew scotch bonnets a couple of years ago in our greenhouse & I've used up the last of the crop from the freezer today in this recipe. I used 6 of them, varying sizes. The biggest was the shape & size of a large strawberry, the others were smaller. I de-seeded them all (with my hands encased in matron's gloves!). I love spicy food, but there is only one inhabitant of 'The People & Cats Republic' in possession of an asbestos mouth & it isn't me or Albert Whiskers! If you don't like a hot chutney, then replace the scotch bonnets with a milder chilli variety, or just make something else.
This chutney is fine to eat straight away (which is just as well as the Big Hairy Half has been DIGGING IN WITH A SPOON!!) but like all such preserves, will mellow after even a month of storage.
Oh well, time to go & see what Albert Whiskers is up to......he hasn't wandered far from the back garden since coming home with a bitten ear this week. Unusual for him to be so sensible!
Till next time....enjoy the sun,
C x
Hello Friends,
Our furred friend Albert Whiskers has now been with us here at 'Hagstones' for two years. I thought it was three. That's the thing about Albert Whiskers. You soon feel you have known him forever.
He still looks pretty rough, doesn't he? He's very good natured, though, on the whole, despite the occasional chomp of his humans (not usually me!) which is for bowl-filling or general attention-seeking purposes. His behaviour hasn't really improved. Still arguably the worst behaved cat we've ever had. As if last night's tropical temperatures were not difficult enough to sleep in, I also had to contend with a 3 a.m meow-fest from the front drive, as he obviously decided it was far too hot to waste energy going round the back to enter via his own door!
I'm afraid Albert Whiskers has stayed out all night for the last 3 days. It's unusual for him. He likes his bed & the chance of a few 'Dreamies' while he's watching TV. The last few nights have seen him taking up position smack in the middle of the pavement at the end of our drive guarding his property as if his life depended on it. I assumed it was a new phase of local cat turf wars, but wasn't aware of any new cats recently.....particularly none that would bother our own large rugged lad. The neighbourhood moggies are:
- Taz - Small young black & white. An irritant & gets the occasional chase or bash, but no threat.
- Abbie - Teeny tiny brindle tortie. Threat level minus 3. Her human has complained about Albert Whiskers helping himself to Abbie's 'Whiskas' & hissing at her when she tried to get some of her own food!
-Big Grey Fluffy - Must be quite old now as he was on the scene years ago when we still had Willow. Siegfried's old sparring partner. Looks huge but most of it's wobble & fur. AW likes to know what he's up to, but no apparent conflict at present.
-The Tabster - Not bothered about him.
-Little Tabby Pink Collar - Not bothered about her.
-Hungry Blackie - Not bothered about him UNLESS the hanging around the kitchen door hoping for scraps tips over into taking the p*ss.
-Limpy Ginge - Really cute smallish ginger & white. Have horrible feeling Albert Whiskers may be implicated in the 'limp'. No threat.
-Tabby White Paws -Last big turf war was with TWP.Last seen rolling around the road with AW, locked in combat, screeching fit to wake the dead. Was soundly vanquished (Albert was chuffed with that one!) & has not been seen since.
-Splodgy - Not really bothered about scrapping. Chief concern is stealth raids through cat flaps belonging to others & robbing food. Only seen 3 or 4 times a year.
-Big tabby from further down the road - Looks like he might be handy, but never actually ventures further than his own gatepost.
So that was the puzzle. No-one of any threat to Albert Whiskers, yet every night he has been taking up position, wired like a sentry, waiting for whatever or whoever it is. I happened to peep around the bedroom curtains a couple of nights ago & that solved the mystery. Albert sitting up on the wall while a dark shadow padded down the street...........Genghis!! I'd forgotten about him. This cat is a local legend. I can go for months without seeing him, but he always reappears. He is a large, lean, but muscled black Tomcat. From the size of him & particularly the width of his head, I'd guess he's still very much in possession of his love-nuggets. His territory is extensive. I've seen him at the far southern end of our village, as well as our 'town' end & he is also known to wander the edge of town on the other side of the roundabout. That's a busy junction with a major A-road, so I assume he crosses underneath, using the subway. I know there have been feral cats/kittens in the village & wonder how many of them have been sired by this big wandering boy. I have never seen him sitting down or standing still. He roams constantly. He's always on the move, not rushing anywhere, but silently, purposefully. It's most noticeable when I've seen him coming up or down the old A46 Fosse Way. It has a narrow pavement on its far side & he will have his head lowered, looking straight ahead, putting one paw in front of the other, just walking. He's crossed our garden on several occasions. I have tried to get a closer look at him to see what condition he's in, but he doesn't welcome human contact. He would run away from Siegfried, but Siegfried lived a similar lifestyle for many years & no sensible cat, whether feral or otherwise tended to take him on willingly. I hadn't seen Genghis for ages, & wasn't aware that Albert Whiskers had even met him, but seeing his black shadowy form padding past our house the other night while Albert watched from just out of reach, explained why our own ex-street cat boy is on permanent nocturnal watch. I don't know where Genghis came from, whether he ever had a proper home or if anyone ever puts any food out for him. He is a good size. He's probably a crack hunter. I guess that the only thing that would change his lifestyle is trapping & neutering. That would probably not be easy. Part of the legend of Genghis is that he is only rarely seen & never in the same place as last time. Long may he prosper! (And there will always be a spare dinner at our door if he ever turns up in need of one).
So that's the tale of how Albert Whiskers came to be (hopefully temporarily!) a nocturnal guard cat.
Hope you are loving the summer weather.
Till next time,
C x
Hello Friends,
Well, there won't be any vampires stopping by at the People & Cats Republic tonight! If any tall, fanged, black cloaked individuals are thinking of flying by for a sneaky chomp of neck, they are going to find themselves well & truly repelled. Oh yes! You see, we have grown rather a lot of this......
........ & with the help of this.........
I've turned some of it into Garlic Pickle. It's an interesting preserve, this one. It's not the pickled whole cloves of garlic which appear in delis, along with the olives & sundried tomatoes. It's a sticky, quite spicy, very pungent preserve, almost jam-like in consistency. It's not difficult to make - maybe easier if you have some experience with preserves, as it'd be easy to overcook (garlic toffee, anyone?). The worst part is peeling 250g of individual garlic cloves, because that's quite a lot.
Put some good music on & just crack on with it. (Don't listen to the latest on the Tory leadership bunfight like I did........perfectly horrid way to spend more than a nano-second of my time but had got too garlicky to tackle changing the station). No need to chop the peeled cloves by hand. They can be speedily zizzed up in a gizmo. Then everything just goes into a large pan. It's quite a flavoursome mix of ingredients - mustard seed, fenugreek, lemon juice, cayenne, cumin seed, turmeric, as well as a bit of salt, some oil & sugar - & it just needs a fast simmer until thick & ready for bottling.
It even LOOKS stinky, doesn't it? Well, I can tell you that this pan of gloop made 5 small jars of pickle, which are currently sealed, labelled & cooling on top of the freezer...........
......but they won't be for long. Emma Macdonald, the author of this recipe book, suggests that it is nice used very thinly as a savoury spread on hot toast (a bit like 'Marmite'). I've tried that, & it's very nice.......................as long as you are not thinking of actually exhaling anywhere within a 20 mile-radius of any other life-form for the next 2 months. Yes, this stuff could fell an ox. It could fell a field of oxen. It could probably fell the field too. The Bigger Hairier Half of the Relationship, however (could you see where this was going?), is seriously in love with this stuff & will eat it on anything & everything, as well as straight out of the jar on a spoon! There may JUST be some of this batch left by the end of July (but only because I've told him that peeling all the garlic took me AGES & he's to make it last!). I'll be astounded if there is anything left by the end of August.
As for my trusty furred helper, Albert Whiskers, he's made himself scarce today. Suspect the fumes from the Evil Pan were making his fur & whiskers curl, but he'll be back when his cavernous tummy starts rumbling!
Cheers,
C x
