The Colour Red

All my life I have loved the colour red. My kitchen walls are painted red. So cheerful, warm and inviting. Fifty years ago I bought a set of red pans. After all that time I only have two left but they’re often used and still appreciated. One small saucepan which I use exclusively for boiling eggs and one stock pot without a knob on its lid but still used sometimes for making jam.

I treasure these, partly because it’s unusual to find red pans but also because I have had them for so long. Reminders of another home, far away, and another kitchen.

Red kitchen accessories please me too. Red gingham curtains and a check tablecloth I bought in a street market in Calais years ago. Red teatowels and other bits and pieces.

Red is so vibrant in the garden as well. The beautiful berries are glowing on the hawthorn tree, on the cotoneasters and skimmia. Reminders that summer is over but pleasing nontheless.

The greenhouse is ablaze with red tomatoes. I’ve grown big plum tomatoes this year. Really good to eat, not many seeds, juicy and flavoursome. I’ve had a few problems with them but they’ve still done very well. What a glorious sight!

They all seemed to be ripening at once so I decided I must act quickly to preserve them. Although I’m an old hand at fruit bottling I haven’t done tomatoes before. I consulted my Soil Association preserving book for advice. I think I succeeded but only time will tell. They look fine and the jars have sealed so fingers crossed that they keep their colour and taste good when I use them. Here are a few photos of what I did.

I used lemon juice, a little salt and sugar to coat the chopped tomatoes before packing them into the jars. Then the lids and bands went on and I put them into a cool oven, increasing the heat to 150C once they were warm. Then left them at that temperature for an hour.

When I took them out some of the juice had boiled out. I had some boiled water with a little added sugar and salt ready to top up the jars. I managed one, a little in the second but then the third sealed before I could do it. Lovely to hear the popping sound as the lids are pulled on by the vacuum which forms inside.

Needed a walk around the garden after kitchen work. It’s all a bit restrained now but there are some nice bits here and there.

Signs of early autumn as the colchicums pop up beneath the acer. Delicate beauty despite their annoying habit of falling over.

And now that summer’s ending a little poem came to mind. Here are my thoughts on this time of year.

Changing Seasons
The fragrance of the damp earth
Mingles with each fallen leaf
And lavender wafts its sweet scent
Now summer's days are brief.

The wasps are feasting on the fruit
Which drops upon the ground
And butterflies with their dainty tongues
Sip without a sound.

Toadstools, mushrooms, instantly appear
Spontaneously rising in the night.
Their ever fascinating forms
A strange but pleasing sight.

Blackberries glisten in the hedge.
Despite their ripping thorns
They're gathered eagerly and eaten
As early autumn dawns.

Each season has its pleasures
And summer's soon will end
But another one will take its place
And our melancholy mend.

I hope you’re enjoying fruit, flowers, lovely woody scents and all the pleasures of this time of year. Bye for now. With you again next week.