Month: August 2014

Border Patrol

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Mouse is now allowed outside. Its a big, dangerous world out there. And she is just a tiny, young thing. Clearly she will need protecting.

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Please don’t climb too high.

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Genepi and I have volunteered ourselves as her Body Guards. Genepi is a bit half-hearted about it. I, on the other hand, am taking it very seriously.

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I’m not going to let her out of my sight. Right behind you, Mouse.

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Mouse: ‘Thank you very much Nanny Blog – you are an excellent watchdog, but I can’t help feeling a little bit stalked’

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Peace at last – in my Watering Can of Sanctuary

Recipe : Cépes Persillade

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We have a neighbour who is a gifted mushroom gatherer. She knows what she is looking for and where to find it. Lucky lady!

I’m talking about ceps or porcini mushrooms. We bumped into her after one of her hunting expeditions, and ended up with virtually her entire basket of booty.

Some of the mushrooms were at the point of maximum ripeness, others would last a few days. But I decided to cook them all in one batch, and then keep them in the fridge to dip into throughout the week. They have been added to brunch omelette, risotto (of course), slow roasted shoulder of lamb and simply on toast.

Cook and Come Again Cépes

  • Servings: depends
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

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Ingredients :

  • Cépes / Porcini mushrooms
  • Duck Fat
  • Garlic, minced
  • Parsley, chopped
  • Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Clean the mushrooms. Using water is a big no no. Perhaps use a damp sponge or kitchen towel. Then slice or chop. Heat up the duck fat. Nice and hot. Fry the cépes until cooked and golden. Breathe in the aroma.

I added the garlic mid-way through cooking. And the parsley and seasoning at the end.

Some were devoured almost immediately. The rest went into the fridge in a tupperware container.

Tip : When it came to making omelettes, I whisked the eggs, added the ceps and let the mixture rest for a couple of hours, before cooking.

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PS I let Dallas do the recipe section. Apart from anything they won’t let me near the sharp knives, not to mention the cooker. Blog

Crayfish Tale

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‘Our’ Lake is being drained. At this time of year it is normally pretty empty anyway, because the farmers use the water for crop irrigation. Mostly for the maize and soya beans. Here it is, or rather isn’t,  in 2012…

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This year though, because its been so blinking wet and rainy, the lake has remained full. And very, very verdant around the edges. In some places, its like a tropical rainforest. The bamboo especially is thriving.lake_bamboo_1

The farmers are letting out the water, so that they can tackle the overgrown bits. I have no idea what they intend to do exactly, but will no doubt soon find out.

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The upside of this is that the fish are all getting concentrated in a smaller and smaller area. You would think that that would improve my chances of catching one. But it doesn’t. The fish hold all the aces in their watery world.

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the dot in the middle of the lake is me – click on image to enlarge it.

I’m not entirely sure what I would do with a fish if I caught one anyway.

Another aspect of the lake draining are the crayfish. As the water recedes, they are being revealed in great numbers. We all noticed them, except for Genepi. Completely oblivious.

gen_crayfish_1Genepi, look down, you numpty. And, quickly, put that tongue away!

 

Sunflower Safari

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Sunflowers to the north of us, sunflowers to the south of us. They have got us surrounded. The farmer planted them later than everyone else’s, as usual. And they are now at their peak.

Dallas declared it time for a Nature Walk, to principally check out the bee activity on the sunflowers. And also to see what other bugs and butterflies are out and about.

True enough, the sunflowers were abuzz.

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Coming up to midday, and its getting hot.

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The thistles and teasels were also teeming with life. Butterflies, beetles and bumblebees…

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Spiders and wasps…

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But the key thing is that those honey bees are out working their little socks off, and very soon we will be able to see if they have managed to perform their alchemy. And transform sunflower dust into scrummy honey.

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Honey harvest in about two weeks time, all being well.

 

A big white box

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blog_mouse_box2Dallas came home with a mysterious big white box. She muttered something about Christmas. Surely its a bit early for presents?

She put it down on the grass, and we went to investigate. Judging from Mouse’s reaction the box isn’t empty!

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It was taken over to the hen enclosure, opened up…

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And out popped this handsome (?) fellow. Not a hen or a cock, but a capon. He is 8 weeks old.

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Poor chap had an operation a couple of weeks ago, when they cut off his bits. There won’t be any baby chicks or cock-a-doodle-doing. The idea is to fatten him up, ready for Christmas Dinner.

What are the chances of that, I wonder?

He came from a local poultry farm, which produces all manner of ducks, hens, guinea fowl, geese etc. It was Dallas’ first visit and the very kind farmer showed her around. This is the capon hut.

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Normally they are outside in the fields, but because today is Pick-Up day they stayed indoors, ready to be united with their new owners.

Our capon should be fine to live in harmony with the Chicky Girls, and be free to graze during the day. I will report back on that.

His name is Baubles.

The Chicky Girls

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blog_hens2One of the tasks on my job description is Checking the Chicks. I try to keep them roughly together, with limited success. Let me introduce the Chicky Girls. Four lovely egg-laying hens. Lovely hens, lovely eggs.

The leader of the pack is very definitely Harriet. She is by far the most brazen and bold. She knows she really shouldn’t be in the kitchen. harriet_kitchen_gen Their day starts when they are released from their compound and they head straight over to the house for breakfast. A generous handful of corn each. harriet_kitchen_blog They then pootle about all day, rummaging around in the grass and undergrowth. Occasionally one will head back to the hen house to lay an egg, and then emerge squawking madly trying to relocate her sisters.

Come evening they head back to their compound, tummies full. And are locked in for the night. This is because we have regular, unwelcome visits from our neighbour, the Fox… M2E1L0-51R350B300 M2E1L0-49R350B300 He is not our friend.

The day the well caught fire

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We had just finished our early morning walk, when it sounded like Chinese New Year at the bottom of the garden. Loud bangs, flashes, puffs of smoke and flames.

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Electricity + Water = Sound & Light

The drama was centred around a little building which is a pumping station, or used to be. It sits above a natural spring and well, and once supplied the whole village with water. It is no longer in use, and we were told that the electricity had been cut off years ago. Which seems to not be the case.

Andy called the Electricity Company, and they promised to arrive sometime today. I was shepherded inside and got on with my bowl of Blog Flakes. The fireworks continued. Bang, bang, splutter, fizz. Somewhat surprisingly the EDF were with us within about an hour, saw the fire and Rushed!

well_5Hats off to them for their prompt service. Electricity to the house was restored and I was allowed back outside to do some Patrolling and other important stuff.

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A Tale of Two Hives

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We were rejigging the strawberry patch. I have made an Observation about the vegetable patch. During a couple of weekends in late spring, They put plants into the ground, and then spend all the rest of the summer pulling other plants out.

Andy says its called Weeding. It seems to take up an inordinate amount of time.

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There was a strange noise – it started as a low hum, and got louder and louder. And then a black cloud came low over the trees. Aaarghh, a swarm of bees coming straight at us. Run for cover.

We made it indoors and luckily they buzzed off quite quickly. But from whence had they come? Time to check out our hives.

Hive Bee was fine and dandy. Lots of bees and lots of lovely, sticky honey.

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Sadly the same could not be said for Hive A. It was completely infested with Wax Moth, and it must have been our bees who had just emigrated. The hive was in a right old state. Quite repulsive. Upsetting. And needing some urgent action.

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As there were no bees in residence, no viable colony, it was an easy decision to simply destroy the whole lot. All the frames were thrown on the bonfire and burnt.

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And the shell of the hive thoroughly cleaned out. It will be treated with a blow torch too to get rid of any remaining eggs. And will be beepopulated next year.

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To end on a happy note, here is a Carpeneter Bee either pollinating or being pollenated by a Passion Flower.

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Walking with Destiny

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One of my very favouritest places in all the world is The Lake.

We go there often, and run and run. And swim and paddle. Chase fish. And birds.

Genepi rescues drowning sticks. Often we have the whole place to ourselves.

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Today we had some Special Visitors.

Let me introduce Destiny, my No. 1 lady. Mother of my children. We had a planned pregnancy. Six kids in all.

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She brought our daughter, Gibsie (Genepi’s sister), together with the Big Aunties, Eden and Delphi.

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And we all went to The Lake, all 6 of us. Plus Dallas and Isabel, our chauffeurs.

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Genepi and Gibsie played racing games. They are both dead fast. And they love being together.

Destiny did sticks. I did my own thing. And the Big Aunties had a play fight.

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Eden is a Pyrenean Mountain Dog (with a hint of polar bear). Delphi is a softie, with gorgeous eyes (don’t tell Destiny I said that).

 

Reine Claude keep falling on my head

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Reine Claude plums (aka Greengages)

I’m avoiding walking under the ancient pear tree at the moment. Too hazardous. If  the falling pears don’t get you on the noggin, then the wasps feasting on the rotten fruit might.

So, when Andy and Dallas started collecting the plums, I was hesitant to participate, being au fait with the perils to be had in an orchard. Indeed, for every plum plucked by hand, two fell of their own accord.

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Genepi is more gung ho than me, so braved standing near the trees.

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They collected basket after basket of fruit, mostly greengages, but also some Bramley apples, dark plums and pears. Now the kitchen table is laden. Question is what to do with it all. Dallas ran a few ideas past me, but frankly, for fruit-based recipes I’m next to useless.

Although I do like to help in the kitchen.

We have just finished a big batch of Greengage, Apple, Chilli & Ginger chutney and some Greengage & Vanilla Jam.

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Mouse helped to reduce the glut, by turning a plum into a football. For about 2 minutes. Then it squished all over the tiles.

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