Sunlight, Planning and Painting

The garden is winding down. Not much colour now except for a few tiny stray roses and the last of the asters and marigolds.

Meanwhile, the evergreens are doing their job of providing year-round colour and form. The blue-green grasses and the conifers give some structure to the fading garden and still please my eye when most things are a sorry sight.

In the veg garden, the carrots, parsnips and celeriac are providing tasty meals. These are tucked away in the polytunnels, protected from the weather. Such a pleasure to pull up some nice fat carrots or a long parsnip. I do a lot of nibbling while I’m chopping them in the kitchen. The flavour is wonderful.

Kale and sprouts are coming on outside. The kale is looking good. I grow “Red Winter”, sometimes called “Red Russian”. It’s a very good one with tender leaves which can even be eaten in a salad. I especially like them steamed over boiling potatoes. Saves fuel and then I can add the cooked leaves to my cheesey potato bake. This is simply mashed potato with added cheese, over onion and kale, and browned in the oven. I shall be doing less of these though now that electricity is so expensive. I shall be using my air fryer more. I’m thinking of dishes I can cook in it.

I tried baked apples. Wonderful. Took only about twelve minutes. I did it for fifteen but that was slightly too long so next time I shall try ten and check to see if that’s enough. I think it will be.

I cored two cooking apples and stuffed them with a tablespoon of soft brown sugar and half a teaspoon of cinnamon for each with a few sultanas. I put them in a silicone liner and cooked them on the bake setting at 180C. I allowed them to cool before eating with oat cream. Fabulous!

I didn’t take a photo because I had slightly overcooked them. The sugar had burnt a bit on the outside. Not an attractive picture but I can assure you they tasted divine.

I’m trying to use some of my frozen food because my Christmas baking will be underway next month, and I shall need the freezer space. Swiss rolls filled with cream, mince pies and cranberry sauce. I like to do these ahead of time. They all freeze well and save me from feeling frazzled at Christmas.

Fortunately, Christmas cake doesn’t need freezing. It needs to mature with a few splashes of booze to make it extra special. I prefer it reasonably fresh though, so I make it on or around my birthday in November. My daughter helps me. It’s a tradition which began when she was a teenager. We love doing it together.

For some reason I forgot to put my Christmas cake recipe in my cookbook. I’ll put it on my blog instead. I might have done it in a previous post. I’ll check. My Christmas puddings, cranberry sauce and two cream-filled roulade (Swiss roll) recipes are in my cookbook. If you’d like to pick up a copy before Christmas, you can find it on Amazon with the link below.

https://geni.us/eANQu

It’s hard to believe Christmas is only weeks away with this unseasonal weather. Sunlight is flooding the living room and highlighting my glass and pottery in the cabinet. The houseplants are thriving with the extra warmth and rays of the sun.

The light is also good for painting. I’m working on one at the moment. It’s a view of the garden, out of the window. I took a photo, then drew the image and now I’m painting it with gouache. Here’s a glimpse of the work in progress.