Loss and Renewal

It’s been a week of great sadness and yet, also, a time of hope and renewal. The death of our Queen shook the nation but the ascension of King Charles offers hope and continuity in a time of turbulence and trouble.

At times of social upheaval, we take comfort in the familiar things in our lives. For me, like most people, first and foremost my family but then my home and garden. My home represents not only shelter but a sense of stability where our belongings are treasured and kept as long as possible. My garden provides renewal where each new year brings new life, change, and optimism.

Although the year is fading gradually, there’s so much going on. The welcome rainfall has revived many things and stimulated others.

I thought the runner beans had given up but suddenly their scarlet flowers are blooming again and delicious pods are growing. The purple beans are growing well too. Their lovely purple flowers giving way to tiny green beans which darken to almost black as they grow to maturity.

The strawberries finished fruiting weeks ago but a few snow-white blossoms have popped up here and there. Probably won’t amount to much but there just might be the odd berry to savour.

Even my clematis “Freda” has a spray of new flowers. Never known that to happen to it before at this time of year.

Sadly my leeks seem to be dying. A few weeks ago, I found they’d been attacked by allium leaf miner. I tried an experiment. I cut them down to a few centimetres from the ground and they seemed to thrive. The leaves grew back and they looked promising. However, this week they’ve flopped and the leaves are withering. It looks like we will be without leeks this winter. Gardening is always a gamble. When it works it’s wonderful but sometimes, despite, best efforts, it just goes wrong.

There are always pleasures in a garden though. I caught a few snaps of flowers and leaves dripping from the refreshing showers. Here are some of them.

Under the trees, despite the dryness of the soil, pretty little cyclamen are appearing.

The apples keep coming. I’ve given some away and baked cakes, made chutney and this week I’ve made mincemeat for Christmas. It has time to mature. In December we like a warm mince pie with a glass of sherry on a cold afternoon.

As with all preserves, scrupulous cleanliness is essential to prevent moulds developing. The jars should be washed and rinsed carefully and placed in the oven. The oven needs to be switched to a low heat and the jars allowed to dry. Lids should be carefully dried with kitchen paper and kept clean until the jars are filled.

There are lots of recipes for mincemeat. Here’s mine.

MINCEMEAT

240g / approx. 8ozs Vegetarian Suet

340g/12ozs Raisins

340g/12ozs Sultanas

225g/ 8ozs Cooking Apples (peeled and cored)

225g / 8ozs Brown Sugar

115g/4oz Candied Peel

1 Lemon

1 teaspoon Salt

1teaspoon ground Cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground Cloves

1 teaspoon ground Ginger

2 tablespoons Brandy or Rum

The amount and type of spices can be varied to suit your own taste, eg. nutmeg or mixed spice.

Mince the apples, raisins, sultanas and candied peel. I mince them with an electric mincer/juicer but a hand mincer works well if you have one.

Add the suet, spices, salt and sugar.

Grate and then juice the lemon, sieving out any pips. Add the zest and juice to the other ingredients.

Add the brandy or rum ( you can add a little more or mix the spirits).

Stir thoroughly and cover. Leave for a few hours or overnight to allow the fruit to absorb some of the juice and brandy or rum.

Stir well again and put into clean sterilised jars and store in a cool dry place.

Usually keeps for 2 years and improves with keeping.

I usually add a little more brandy when I open a jar to make mince pies and stir it in carefully with a fork.

If you have a mincer, this is so easy to make. It doesn’t have the sharpness of bought mincemeat, which for me is an improvement. The spirits in it give it a delicious flavour and depth and it needs no preservative. Alcohol and sugar ensure it keeps well for over a year.

I have a new recipe buzzing around in my head. It will use more of the apples and I intend to add walnuts. Not tried it yet but might bake it this week. Been working out the quantities and I shall use one of my favourite ingredients, wheat bran. For fruit cakes, it gives a lovely crumbly texture and soaks up the juices.

With food in mind, here’s an old painting of a homemade loaf of bread ready for some butter and marmalade. I painted this with gouache.

I hope you find some lovely and satisfying Autumn jobs of your own to do and enjoy the coming season. Bye for now. With you again next week.