Apples and Air Fryers

Another week has flown by. The weather has been mixed but a few nice days allowed a bit of gardening. So many leaves everywhere. The garden looks very untidy and a bit sad as everything fades away. So, lots of sweeping and cutting back to do.

A few lovely marigolds and pansies to enjoy now. The rosemary is flowering with its delicate blue flowers and the leaves are fragrant as we brush past on the path.

The beans have finished producing and are looking bedraggled. I removed the French bean plants, but the runner beans are still to be done.

When the bean plants have been composted, I will prepare the bed and sow broad beans to enjoy next year. I haven’t much room for these, so I grow a dwarf variety called “The Sutton”. Not very big plants but plenty of tender beans. Always best to eat any beans while they’re small. The skins on broad beans toughen as they grow so I harvest these as soon as they reach a reasonable size. Delicious with new potatoes and mint sauce. One of spring’s great pleasures.

The last few French and runner beans were very much appreciated. There is nothing quite like homegrown vegetables. A meal that you’ve grown has all the freshness, taste and healthy nutrition you could possibly want. The carrots and celeriac are delicious, and parsley grows in abundance in the polytunnel.

My husband, Allan, has relined and refilled the pond. It had been leaking for a while and after we had some hard surfacing renewed the water had become contaminated. In Spring I’ll put in a water lily and a few other plants to give some shelter for the creatures who will live in it. It’s surprising how quickly a pond becomes inhabited. Frogs, insects and water beetles find their way to it without any interference from us and the birds drink from the edges. For wildlife in the garden, a pond is the best feature.

I collected some lovely leaves from the garden to appreciate the beauty of their shapes and colours.

Fungi are still appearing here and there. They often look a bit nibbled. Perhaps mice enjoy them. I don’t know. Never caught them in the act!

The strawberries are flowering and producing little fruits. I don’t think they will ripen but the flowers are really beautiful. Far too late for these but plants are becoming confused by the changes in the climate.

We may have to wait until next Summer for strawberries, but our apples are plentiful. I made more apple and cinnamon squares. These are probably my best recipe, or at least our favourite. The sweetness of the cinnamon and sugar topping is delicious with the tang of the apple, and the crumby texture of the cake is so satisfying. They freeze perfectly so I make full use of the oven by baking plenty at each session.

There has been a lot of talk about air fryers. I was intrigued and did a little research. Apparently, they use half the electricity of a conventional oven. That matters to me as we don’t have gas and our electricity charges are terribly high. My daughter has one and is pleased with it so I thought I would buy one. The one I chose is very small but versatile. It can air fry, bake, roast or reheat. I’m really pleased with the results.

It takes just two minutes to come to temperature, then the food is added, and the timer set. It tells you when to turn the food halfway through. Salmon fillets were really good. Frozen french fries take seven minutes in mine, cooked to perfection. Pork sausages take ten minutes with a turnover half-way through cooking. Superb. It’s not just the speed, of course. It’s the fact that it uses half the electricity. Something worth considering with the cost of fuel.

But in case you think it can only do junk food, I whipped two eggs with milk and sugar, poured it over apple slices and sultanas and baked it in the airfryer for twenty-five minutes on the bake setting. It was lovely. I intend to experiment more. I’m excited by it and will probably buy a larger one later on so that I can bake cakes and larger quantities.

Autumn always seems a bit melancholy to me because I’m not fond of Winter. However, I love the changes of the season. The colours, the mists and so on inspired me to write another poem. I hope you recognise the feelings I express.

Autumn Thoughts

Silver threads hang on the hedges,
Revealing a secret spiders' world
On mornings when the mist dredges
All the land with moisture pearled.
Apples lie beneath the trees,
A blackbirds' generous feast,
And heady scents our noses tease
Of leaves and earth and fruity yeast.
Mushrooms add a mystic mood
To a time of pleasurable decay,
When the body has ample food
And the soul is satisfied in every way.
Despite regret that Summer's ended,
Our senses give us every reason
To never be offended
By the gentle melancholy of the season.

I hope you enjoy autumn and find pleasure in the ending of the year.

With you again soon. Bye for now.