Living a contented creative life.

November is an intriguing month. The beauty of Autumn all around us but the hint of Winter about to arrive at any time. So far, here in my part of the UK, it’s been very mild and damp.

It’s been very much like Spring with the temperatures, light levels and absence of frost. The result is that some plants are still producing flowers and others are flowering again. Only odd ones, here and there around the garden, but full of life and loveliness. Here are some which caught my eye.

The leaves have been a joy to see as they change to glowing golds, oranges and reds.

As they fall they carpet the ground. The damp earthy scent of Autumn is such a pleasure.

I have enjoyed a few very late semi-ripe strawberries as they’ve continued to fruit. Most are being eaten by snails but I found a few nice ones which were delicious.

Some lovely berries are lighting up the garden and there are new catkins on the Garrya.

In Spring I planted an annual called Sanvitalia in a narrow border. These are amazing little yellow daisies which flower from May until the frost begins. They never need deadheading and always have masses of lovely flowers. Such a good plant!

The apples have been abundant this year. I sliced and froze some but we had a problem with the freezer so I made Apple and Ginger Jam. Absolutely delicious and easy to make. Not my own recipe this time. This is in Beryl Wood’s book, “Let’s Preserve It”. A book well worth having if, like me, you enjoy preserving fruit and vegetables.

There are plenty of apples stored in the shed to use over Winter. I hope the mice don’t find them!

A few at the top of the tree are hard to reach but when they fall they feed the birds and other creatures.

It was time to remove the tomato plants and a lot of green tomatoes. For the first time I made Green Tomato Chutney. I adapted a Beryl Wood recipe to suit myself and it turned out well. It’s quite sweet but tasty and with a little bit of chilli heat. Here’s my version:

Green Tomato Chutney
Makes four or five jars.

1kg green Tomatoes
230g Onion
1 red Chilli
230g Cooking Apples (prepped weight)
225g Sugar
285ml Malt Vinegar
half a teaspoon Salt
1 rounded teaspoon Ground Ginger
1 rounded teaspoon Mustard Powder

Chop the washed tomatoes. 
Peel and chop the onions into small pieces.
Chop the chilli finely. Wash hands carefully afterwards to prevent irritation.
Put all ingredients into a large, heavy-bottomed pan.
Stir to mix and bring to the boil.
Turn down the heat and simmer for about half an hour until vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile, wash and rinse well five jars with sound lids. Don't wipe the rinsed jars. 
Put the jars into a cold oven and turn the heat to low. 
Wipe the lids with kitchen paper and place somewhere warm but not in the oven.
Place a large wooden chopping board (if you have one) on the worktop next to the stove. Cover with kitchen paper or a folded teatowel. This will prevent the hot jars from touching a cold surface and cracking. Or just use a few layers of newspaper.
Have a ladle and a funnel ready.
Increase heat under the pan and boil rapidly  until thickened. This will take about another half an hour. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. ( A long handled wooden spoon is best as the boiling chutney spits).
When it has thickened sufficiently, remove jars from the oven one at a time and place the funnel in the neck. Ladle the hot chutney into the hot jars and leave a small gap at the top. 
Using a cloth to protect from the heat, screw the lid on tightly.
As the jars cool they will seal if this procedure is followed. You will hear a popping sound as the lid seals.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks because I also made my Christmas puddings. I love these and they’re so much easier than using the traditional method. Unfortunately, my detailed instructions are too long to include here but they are in my cookbook if you have it and would like to have a go.

Instead of steaming up the kitchen, these steam under foil in the oven. The kitchen stays dry and you don’t need to worry about it once it’s in the oven. I make them as individual puddings and freeze them. Each pudding only takes a minute in the microwave to thaw straight from the freezer. I serve them with Rum Sauce. My recipe for this is also in my cookbook which I produced at the request of my readers.

Here is the link if you’re interested in my Earthy Homemaker’s Cookbook. Let me know if you don’t want to buy it but you’d like the pudding recipe. I’ll see if I can help.

https://geni.us/eANQu

So much more to tell you but I will save it for next time. I hope you’re enjoying the run up to Christmas as much as I do. With you again in a couple of weeks. Bye for now.

October ending; November beginning. Autumn truly underway. Leaves are falling like coloured rain and swirling around in the chilly wind. Drifted piles lie in scented heaps where hedgehogs sleep and insects hide away until Spring warms the earth again.

In the garden I’m finding changes day by day. Leaves of such beauty are either clinging on or fluttering on the ground. Here is a selection I caught with my camera.

The late roses and a few lovely flowers are defying the chill wind and making the most of the fading sun.

Bright berries and the buff colours of seedheads are pleasing too. The Euonymus europaea has vibrant pink pods with orange seeds. The seedheads of Liatris stand tall and stiff in the border.

The trees and shrubs are changing every day and give a mellow tint to the garden. The Acers are not yet in full glory but their transition is beautiful. Hawthorn leaves shine out in golden yellow.

The vegetable garden supplies food all year in the polytunnels. Parsley grows abundantly under cover and doesn’t suffer from mud splash as it would out in the rain. I’ve given away some because I’ve already frozen portions and it will go to seed if it’s not picked. Lovely to have some fresh in the winter though if I want a sprig or two so I want to keep it growing.

It’s a little late for tomatoes. The greenhouse plants have been removed and any remaining tomatoes brought in. I gave away a basketful of green ones but I still have more to keep and hopefully ripen. There are two plants still in the tunnel which I’m hoping will be ok for a few more days.

Apples have been so generous this year and some at the top of the big tree are still clinging on. A long pole with a basket at the top to capture them helped to rescue a few. I don’t know the names of our varieties but they make the most delicious stewed apple or a pie. Sometimes I make my Apple and Cinnamon Squares instead. My recipe for these is in my Earthy Homemaker’s Cookbook which can be found with this link.

https://geni.us/eANQu

I made two banana and cranberry loaves to freeze for later and orange and banana squares to use up some ripe fruit. My recipe for the loaves is in my cookbook. They’re very satisfying served in buttered slices. All my cake recipes freeze well.

I will be making my Christmas puddings this week. More about those next time but if you have my cookbook the recipe is included with full instructions. It’s a good recipe if you don’t like a steamy kitchen. These are steamed under foil in the oven in individual pudding bowls. Not difficult to make but too detailed to be explained on my blog unfortunately.

Soups are wonderful in the winter or just for a warming and satisfying meal. I tried a little experiment. I wanted to include some protein but hadn’t any suitable meat so I tried using white fish. It might sound unappealing but it was really good and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I made a basic soup with onion, potato, carrots, parsnips and good vegetable stock cubes, then I added frozen peas and a fillet of frozen white fish. I added the whole intact fillet to the hot liquid because I knew it would flake as it cooked. When the soup was ready I blended it. It tasted basically like pea soup but with fish added. It was surprisingly good and easy to do. I think this is probably what a fish “chowder” is. I will certainly make it again.

I’m about to paint another picture but I have only done the drawing so far. Meanwhile, as it’s time for winter pansies here’s one I did some time ago. Drawn, as usual, from my own photograph, drawn, then painted with gouache.

I hope you’re enjoying the glorious Autumn colours in the countryside and in your gardens. With you again in a couple of weeks. Bye for now.

October is a time of gently pleasant decay. Leaves are turning to mellow golds or burning oranges while berries blaze with glowing colours. The garden is winding down yet full of sights and scents to please me.

The marigolds have curled seeds which promise more beauty next summer and the Rudbeckias have almost black cones with bronze drooping petals as they slowly fade.

Wildlife is making the most of the seeds and berries. Little frogs are hopping about and the birds have been busy.

The strawberry plants have produced a late crop but most will not ripen before the frosts begin. I did find one lovely big red one. It had been nibbled but I washed, trimmed and ate it. It was so delicious it made my day.

The Asters are glorious at the moment. I just love their daisy flowers and so do the bees and butterflies.

A few late roses are blooming, the fuchsias are at their best and a few other pretty flowers are putting on a show.

In the vegetable garden, the leeks aren’t growing well. The soil in that part of the tunnel is poor and dry. I will have to perk them up with some comfrey pellets or liquid seaweed. Tomatoes are still ripening but I had to remove one plant because I needed the space. I gave away a basket of green tomatoes because I couldn’t use them and didn’t want them wasted.

We’re enjoying the carrots and kale. I had some leftover cooked kale. I try to use up leftovers in imaginative ways because “scratch meals” often turn out to be a tasty treat. So, I put the kale in the food processor, added a bit of onion, crumbled Cheshire cheese, a crust of bread and an egg with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. I whizzed them together then put the mixture into individual-sized aluminium pudding bowls and cooked in the airfryer. They were delicious.

I really value my food processor. It makes so many interesting combinations. I use up cooked meat or salmon by mashing them with other ingredients in the processor and make little flat cakes. Browned in a little heated oil in the frying pan and served with vegetables and chutney they make a very satisfying meal.

Like most people I enjoy a good cup of tea. For years I used teabags but they didn’t break down in the compost heap and I discovered that many were made of plastic. So I began to use loose tea. It makes a lovely brew and the tealeaves decay in the compost bin.

I also love teapots and have a few. Our everyday one is a dribbler without its lid but it makes just enough tea for the two of us. For guests I have a bone china one with gilt edging. We had a fad at one time for Lapsang souchong tea which has a satisfying smokey woody flavour and for that I used my little Chinese teapot with a dragon design. But I have two teapots purely because I love the look of them. One has a lovely chintzy flower pattern and is in the bedroom just to look pretty and the other is an Art Deco one which stands in the kitchen. I also have an ornate Indian one (which needs a good polish!) and another Art Deco green one. Last, but not least, I have a metal one with a nice round belly.

Soon be time to think about Christmas baking. I think I have enough homemade mincemeat leftover from last year. It will have matured well with the brandy I put into it and will be even more delicious. Homemade mince pies are such a treat. We eat them for weeks from the beginning of December.

But, let’s enjoy the subtle changes of Autumn in our gardens and countryside before we snuggle down for the Winter. With you again in a couple of weeks. Bye for now.