Living a contented creative life.

It’s been an exciting week. We had some much-needed work done in the garden.

When we moved here 20 years ago most of the garden was covered in concrete, much of it old, broken crazy paving. Over the years we removed a lot of it to produce growing areas. Some of the ground though was not reclaimable. There were old brick foundations underneath or tree roots. We made the best of what we had and enjoyed the fact that there were mature trees and space to move around but trying to make the hard surface look presentable was always a problem. We’re no longer “Spring chickens”! So we decided to call for help.

Here’s what it looked like two days before the team set to work. What a mess!

Now look at the same scene. I can’t believe the transformation.

It’s hard to believe these are the same borders. They look so much better.

The sandstone needs a final sweep once it’s settled to bring up the subtle colours. We were ready to improve the pond (on the left) and now we intend to restore the edges and put in some lovely plants.

Because I’m very keen to protect the environment I think it’s best to have as little hard surface as possible but this was replacing existing concrete. The surface beneath had tree roots so it wan’t possible to plant in it and it was a route to the rest of the garden. The sandstone has a smaller carbon footprint than concrete so I feel reasonably happy that this has been worth doing. I’m thrilled with the results. This part of the garden looks tidy and posh at last.

The team were very considerate and did their best but inevitably some plants were a bit crushed during the process. I think the tiny emerging Snowdrops edging a path will recover though and the perennials will send up fresh shoots in time.

Meanwhile under the apple tree lots of Snowdrops are pushing up in different stages of growth. A few have flowers but there are many more to come in a couple of weeks. The Hellebore buds are increasing and some are even opening their petals.

In two pots by the garage door there are some lovely little white Bellis daisies. These have grown from seed dropped by last year’s flowers. There was just enough of them to divide between the two pots and now they’re flowering. Although they look dainty and fresh they’re as tough as old boots and will take frost in their stride.

Late January, cold days and we’ve eaten all our favourites from the chocolate boxes.

Now’s the time for some baking to satisfy that lingering craving for satisfyingly sweet treats. Here’s my recipe for date and walnut squares.

You will need a large baking tin or a roaster for these.
Date and Walnut Squares

200g Dates
100g Walnuts
1 Orange
200g Brown Sugar
4 large Eggs
200g Self-raising Flour
2 heaped teaspoons Baking Powder
30g Bran
200g Sunflower Oil

Chop or break the nuts into small pieces. Stone and chop the dates. Grate the orange.
Grease the baking tin or roaster.
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan oven.
Beat the eggs and sugar together.
Add all other ingredients and mix well.
Spread the mixture in the tin and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Check with a skewer to see if the centre is cooked.
When ready, allow to cool and cut into squares.
Slide a spatula underneath to lift out.
Freeze well. 

Although I’m keen to tidy the garden following the make-over it’s been a bit too cold. I’ve enjoyed a walk around with my camera as usual and snapped a few lovely sights. The Garrya tassells are even longer and looking very graceful. Frosty leaves are always pleasing and it’s good to see the daffodils appearing through the cold soil.

Here are more glimpses of life in the garden.

While it’s cold and I’m not inclined to work outside I like to knit so I got my needles out and started a project. I’m knitting a jacket with a wool-rich yarn in lovely subtle, random colours. Warm to the touch and looking very promising.

Another week beginning and more to do. I hope you’re enjoying reading about my own experience and that you’re having a good time yourself.

The wonderful support I’ve had from so many readers has been heartwarming. I can’t begin to tell you how much it means to me. Thank you, everyone.

I always mention my blog on Facebook so that readers know it’s there. Some groups don’t allow this kind of promotion so if you would like to see my blog regularly it’s best to “follow” me. That way you will be notified whenever a new post appears on Mondays.

With you again next week. Stay warm, well fed and happy.

Halfway through January and time to use some of the stored fruit and preserves. I brought some apples from the shed and made my apple and cinnamon squares. These make a lovely pudding on a wintry day and freeze well so there is always cake available.

Although the apples look blemished they are good under the skin and still taste wonderful. I changed my recipe slightly. I sprinkled the mixed sugar and cinnamon on top of the cake mixture instead of on the apples. A crispy, sweet topping. Works well and the apples were not sour.

My original recipe for these is on my post with the title “Cones and Cakes”. Just scroll back if you’d like to try it.

I also used a jar of my preserved tomatoes. I had plenty in the greenhouse during August so I bottled some. The colour, flavour and texture were still excellent. First time I’ve preserved tomatoes and very pleased with the results. I shall do more if I can this summer. I mixed them with onion and sweetcorn to stir into pasta with the pesto I made and froze last summer. Delicious.

If you love pesto and are tempted to buy one of those expensive growing Basil pots from the supermarket, here’s a little advice to make the most of it. Never allow the Basil to become chilled as the leaves will turn black and it will die. If you give it a small drink of cold tea every day it will last for weeks and you can pinch off the leaves as you need them. It will thrive on a warm windowsill.

Outdoors the weather has been mixed. Very mild and wet for a few days at the beginning of the week. Opportunities for lovely raindrop shots.

Some crisp, sunny days since with lots of wildlife activity. I think the birds are calling for mates already. I’ve heard a few new songs in addition to the lovely Robin who sings every day in our trees. The seed feeders are in constant use. I took a couple of photos through the window. Not as sharp as I would like but nice to see the little Bluetits coming and going for peanuts.

The bigger birds have been fighting over territory and food so I find lovely downy feathers floating around the garden.

While most of the plants are dormant it’s nice to look at photos of how they look in their prime. My Clematis “Freda” is just a tangle of bare stems now but will look wonderful in Spring. Here you can see how it looks now and how beautiful it will be again soon.

If you saw my post last week you might remember that I was painting a picture of a vase of summer flowers. I normally like to add a background to my paintings because for me it doesn’t seem complete without a setting. This time though I felt it would detract from the shapes and colours. I liked the sharp definition on the bright white paper. So here it is:

I hope you haven’t got the January blues and you’re finding lots of enjoyable things to make the winter pass quickly. With you again next week.

The first Snowdrop to show its lovely head has appeared in the garden. So pure and redolent of the beginning of a new year. Seed packets have arrived so lots to look forward to.

The beautiful Hellebore which always flowers first is bursting with blossom. Others are showing fat , lovely buds.

The Garrya catkins have grown even longer, the winter Jasmine has a few pretty yellow flowers and the golden leaves of Euonymus “Blondie” brighten the dark days.

Between the showers we’ve had a few sunny spells. Moments to treasure in Winter. Time to tidy the borders a bit, trimming back dead stems and fallen leaves. The dry stems of asters, lavender and phlox make really good starter material for the log stove so I chop those and put them in the woodstore. Even the bare branches of the trees look good against a blue sky.

The crows’ nest high in the Birches has swayed and shaken yet withstood all the storms for almost two years. Clever birds. I enjoy their raucous calling during Spring while they’re raising young.

A Jay visits the garden most days and I caught a glimpse of a lovely Thrush. The Blackbirds always chase them away so it’s a rare treat to see one so close to the house.

I love taking photos in the garden and from time to time I post a few on Facebook for others to enjoy. For the last two years I’ve had the Facebook ones made into an album. Nicer in some ways than sitting at the computer to view them and a pleasant reminder of seasonal treats. While I was slightly disappointed with the reproduction of some photos it is still a memento worth having.

Now that Christmas is over we’re all feeling a bit addicted to rich food and chocolate yet at the same time feeling the need to get back on track. After the frenzy, work and self-indulgence I’m falling back on my one-pan meals to satisfy my desire for tasty treats that are also healthy and easy. This recipe below is a winner and as easy as could be. A good way to use cooked chicken. When I cook chicken breast I usually do extra, cool it quickly and store in the fridge. Then the next day it’s great for a meal like this, chicken soup or mashed with mayonnaise for a tasty sandwich. Saves fuel and chicken is so versatile that it’s useful to have ready.

Chicken and Sweet Potatoes in a Creamy Sauce.

Cooked Chicken Breast
Garlic
1 Chicken Stock Cube
Carrots
Sweet Potatoes
Frozen Peas
Half-fat Creme Fraiche

You will need a large frying pan with a lid.

Peel the carrots and sweet potatoes.
Slice the carrots thinly and the sweet potatoes into thick slices.
Put a small amount of water into the pan, bring to the boil and crumble in the stock cube.
Add crushed garlic, carrots, sweet potatoes and peas.
Chop chicken into small pieces and add to pan.
Don't put a lot of water in. The vegs don't need to be covered, they will partly steam and have a lot of flavour.
Bring to the boil, then turn heat down, put on the lid and simmer for about 15 minutes ( this will depend on the amount you have put into the pan. For two servings it takes 15 minutes to tenderise the vegetables and thoroughly reheat the chicken.)
When the carrots and potatoes are tender, stir in a couple of spoonsful of creme fraiche and gently stir to make a delicious sauce.
Serve immediately.
If you have a few basil leaves on hand to decorate, they go well with the flavours.

Meals don’t need to be fancy and complicated to taste good and provide nourishment. This one ticks all the boxes.

The lovely bouquet my husband gave me on Christmas Eve lasted well. Once the roses had withered I saved the carnations in a smaller vase to enjoy for a bit longer.

Talking of bouquets, here’s another! I started a painting last week of some garden flowers in a favourite vase. Here’s how it’s progressed so far.

Nostalgia for Summer days and the garden full of colour and scent. Spring is not far away with cheerful daffodils and the heady scent of hyacinths but much to do before then.

With you again next week. Meanwhile stay safe, warm and well and find plenty to carry you through the darker days.

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone. Time now to believe we can make a new beginning, shed the old life of last year and look forward to a fresh start, renewed optimism and determination. Of course, it’s not always easy but “hope springs eternal” as the saying goes and it’s this renewal which lifts our spirits and keeps us striving onward.

My new year resolution is to keep it simple, make it satisfying and prioritise what really matters.

Time to start filling in a new diary. One for everyday matters and one for my gardening notes. What details will fill those pages this year? My projects, milestones and mundane domestic occurrences in my “week to a page” and my successes and failures in the garden in the “day to a page”. I just love beginning a fresh record. Lovely clean pages full of promise.

I like the plain black ones. They seem serious and look good on the shelf afterwards. Interesting reading my gardening notes at a later date and useful for checking when events took place.

Just looking around the garden proves that the old year may have gone but the new one is already showing signs of life. Snowdrops are peeping through the soil, hellebores are budding and flowering, winter clematis “Freckles” is opening its pretty bell flowers and another tiny rose is blooming. Leucojum has shot up it’s fresh green leaves already but it won’t flower for a few weeks yet when it will have snowdrop-like flowers.

I have ordered my vegetable seeds. Too many to mention but including old favourites like carrots, parsnips, leeks, courgettes and cucumbers. Something which always fills me with anticipation and hoping that I’ll achieve my best in the garden. I never get everything right. Some crops fail, pests take over or I simply don’t do what I need to do at the right time but at the beginning of the year I’m brimming with excitement and intentions. A lovely feeling and one which I enjoy every year even though I’ve been gardening for half a century!

I used to grow my tomatoes from seed but three years ago I tried buying grafted plants. These are said to give a greater yield. I’ve been very pleased with them. We particularly like plum tomatoes. So delicious, thin-skinned, few seeds and good raw or cooked. Last year I grew “Guilietta”. Lovely flavour and big tomatoes.

The Spring cabbages are ticking along and will begin to grow next month. The leeks are delicious and the parsnips are fat and very sweet.

Indoors, my Christmas cactus is flowering again. I don’t think this is really a cactus despite the common name for it. It’s probably a succulent. It’s ancient, a bit like myself, but it keeps going. I’ve had this plant for at least 30 years and although it’s looking tired and battered it still produces lovely flowers in late December and January. It has a broken stem which , despite all odds, healed and clings to life. A lesson to us all, I suppose.

New projects are waiting. I have yarn and a pretty pattern for a cardigan to knit. As last year was drawing to a close I did very little painting. Reading, knitting, baking and other things took over but I feel something is missing if I don’t paint. With the beginning of another year I resolved to return to it so I’ve drawn a vase of flowers and it’s now ready for the pleasure of stroking paint onto paper and trying to create something lovely.

There’s no point in trying to show a photo of the drawing as it wouldn’t reproduce well. When the paint is flowing I’ll show what I’m up to. Meanwhile here’s an old one. Like the beginning of a new year the steps are leading to adventures yet to be discovered.

Thank you to all for the kind comments during last year. It has been a pleasure for me to write my blog and to be told that it’s enjoyed. I hope the year has begun well for you and will bring all of us happiness and good health.

Another Christmas is over but the enjoyment lingers. The food was delicious, the wine was full of fruity notes and warmth and love completed all of it. But there is still time to savour the pleasures of the season.

My lovely husband surprised me with a bouquet on Christmas Eve. He’s not usually one for giving flowers so it was a very welcome treat. I didn’t have the energy this year to fill a vase with holly and berried twigs from the garden so this was an added pleasure.

Christmas Eve was a day of preparation and anticipation. I brought in the vegetables from the garden for my festive flan. They might have looked a sorry sight with their clinging soil but once washed and peeled they were a delight to the eye and tasted wonderful after cooking.

I took a few moments to wander around the garden and find a treasure or two.

Everything went to plan on Christmas Day. My flan cooked to perfection, the potatoes crisped and the parsnips roasted to a golden finish. The ice-cream was topped with my chocolate sauce and toasted pecans. It was delicious. Always good when hard work pays off.

My husband made a box for one of my gifts from my photo of clematis “Freda”. The same beautiful pink clematis that heads my blog. He printed it and also made a label before forming it into a slim box. It is so beautiful I shall never be able to throw it away.

I feel very fortunate and grateful.

Finally on Boxing Day it was time for putting my feet up. Easy food and lots of chocolate.

If you have turkey to use and not sure what to do for a change, try this one-pan meal. It’s easy, tasty and saves on washing pans.

Thinly slice an onion and cook gently in a little oil. Add thinly sliced carrots, a little water and a chicken stock cube. Stir to dissolve the stock cube and bring to the boil. Add frozen peas and cook for a few minutes until the carrots are tender. Add bits of turkey and frozen rice. Bring back to the boil and stir to combine. Add a little more water if necessary but the aim is to have most of the water absorbed by the time it’s cooked. If you have some dried sweetened cranberries add them to the pan. Turn the heat right down and allow to simmer gently until vegs are tender, meat is thoroughly reheated and cranberries are plump. The cranberries are not essential if you haven’t got them in but they do add something special to the dish.

A few scraps of ham left and not sure how to use them? Whiz them in the food processor or finely chop and mix with a spoonful or two of cream, creme fraiche or cream cheese and a dash of pepper. Makes a simple pate to use on toast or crackers. Makes a little go a long way because it uses up odd little bits. You can also add chopped herbs or snipped spring onions if you want to bulk it up a little and add flavour. You could do the same with any cooked meat. Done this way a dry meat like chicken breast or turkey is moist, very tasty and makes a fabulous sandwich..

And after all the eating, drinking and gift giving I composed a little poem to sum it all up.

Christmas Day

The wine flows, chocolate melts on our eager tongues.
The kitchen buzzes and tempting aromas fill the air.
As days go, this one belongs
Among the very best we share.

This is the magic that Christmas brings,
Traditional pleasures, the giving of gifts,
The thrilling sound as a choirboy sings,
The feeling that our soul uplifts.

As once again this special day is dawning
With bright-bowed presents waiting there,
We wake to another Christmas morning
Full of merriment, peace and prayer.

The preparation may be frantic, it brings stress and often sadness but there is nothing to equal the special feeling of Christmas and that’s why we continue to do it. I hope everyone of my readers has had a very happy time and you’re ready to start another year. Bye for now. With you again next week.

We’ve had a lot of rain recently. The garden was dripping, raindrops were glistening and the windowpanes were being hammered. I managed to catch a few glimpses of how it fell on leaves, twigs and other surfaces.

The fruit trees are bare now but beautiful, silhouetted against the sky and revealing the many lovely birds visiting the garden.

Christmas preparations were going on indoors. The family were coming for our pre-Christmas celebration and gifts needed to be wrapped. I was looking forward to giving my daughter and daughter-in-law the cat cushions I knitted weeks ago. I didn’t put photos on until now because family read my blog and I wanted them to be a surprise. I’m pleased to say they were very happy to have them.

Cuddly and cute and easy to knit. The pattern was in Landscape magazine, a useful source for craft ideas. I customised them with a few touches of my own.

I always do plenty of mince pies and little sponge cakes for Christmas. The cakes are so simple. Throw all the ingredients in a bowl, beat and bake. A bit of glace icing on top with some edible silver balls gives them a festive look. Not sophisticated, a la Nigella, but tasty and always enjoyed. You will find my recipe in a previous post with the title, “Cakes and Cashews”.

I promised a recipe this week for my walnut roulade with coffee cream, so here it is. You will need a swiss roll tin, greaseproof paper and an electric hand mixer.

Walnut and Coffee Roulade

2 large Eggs
65g Caster Sugar
50g Walnuts plus a few for decoration
50g Plain Flour
300ml Whipping Cream
1-2 tablespoons Icing Sugar
Coffee

Grease the tin very lightly and fit a piece of greaseproof paper inside and up the sides. The grease will enable it to cling to the tin. No need to grease the upper surface of the paper but put the shiny surface uppermost.

Grind or finely chop the walnuts.
Heat the oven to 200C/180C Fan Oven.
Put eggs, sugar and walnuts in a bowl and beat for about 5 minutes until the volume has increased substantially. ( Until a trail is visible in the mixture.)
Sift the flour in, a little at a time, and gently fold in with a metal spoon until incorporated. Don't beat at this stage. The idea is to retain as much air as possible.
Gently spread in the lined tin and bake for about 8 minutes.
While it bakes place another strip of greaseproof paper on the work surface and sprinkle with caster sugar.
Remove the baked cake from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Tip the cake onto the sugared paper and gently peel off the baking paper.
Using the paper against the cake roll up from the narrow end with the paper inside and leave to go cold.
Meanwhile make a small amount of very strong coffee and leave to cool. Sieve it finely if using ground coffee.
When the cake and coffee are completely cold whip the cream with the icing sugar. Be careful not to overbeat and curdle it. Just nice soft peaks.
Gently stir about a tablespoon of the coffee into the cream.
Carefully unroll the cake. Don't worry too much if it splits. You can cover it with cream.
Spread about a third onto the cake and roll up again. Leave it on the paper and spread the remaining cream on the outside of the cake.
Decorate the top with walnut halves.
To freeze it for another day:
Slide a baking tray under the paper and place it, with the cake on top, in the freezer to open-freeze it. When it's frozen, wrap and store.
To thaw: Remove the wrapping first and place on a plate. Allow to thaw in the fridge, never at room temperature.

If you’re a whiz with an icing kit you could make it look really posh. I’m not too good at that so I just rough it up with a fork. Easy and quick. There’s enough to do at Christmas.

Not long now but I confess I celebrate a bit throughout December. What I call “cook’s privilege”. A warm mince pie and a small glass of sherry are little treats on these winter days and get me in the mood.

I hope your own preparations are going to plan and giving you pleasure. Wishing all my readers a very Happy Christmas and a healthy, wonderful year ahead.

Haven’t been able to do much outside. It’s been so wet. Dreary old perennials need trimming back to remove their soaking leaves. This is when the evergreens in the garden really earn their keep. No matter what the weather they always look beautiful. I’m especially fond of euonymous. We have the green and white and green and gold and a bright low-growing one called “Blondie”.

I discovered a hellebore which must have sprung up from a seed blown across the garden. It’s growing by the leafbin. I might leave it there although it’s not in a decorative area. Seems a pity to disturb it. The cream hellebore which always puts on a good show has lovely fat buds now. These are the oriental hellebores not the bright white “Christmas Rose” types. They produce some beautifully different flowers in shades of pink or cream with lovely markings on their petals.

A tiny solitary rose has appeared. So fragile and pretty yet opening it’s lovely little face to the light despite the awful weather. A few primulas are trying their best to shine out among the soggy leaves and damp borders.

While I was in the garden I noticed a frog with an injured leg sitting forlornly on the paving. It had a gash which was possibly caused by a cat. The neighbourhood cats find our garden fascinating and are always exploring around the pond. When I gently picked it up it hardly moved so I thought it might be better in the water. I placed it by the edge and after a few seconds it leapt in. I hope it heals and finds a safe spot to hibernate.

When it was sunny for a brief spell I enjoyed the reflections in the pond of clouds and the silhouettes of the bamboo leaves. Lovely.

Soon the snowdrops will be pushing up. I noticed they were just beginning to peep through the soil. Meanwhile I have to look for loveliness wherever I can.

There’s plenty to do indoors while the rain lashes the windows. I thought up a new recipe for a walnut roulade with coffee cream filling. Delicious and easy to make. I will include the recipe soon because it’s a good one for a New Year meal.

With all this pre-Christmas preparation we need good nourishment and simple meals to keep us going. One of my favourites is my easy-peasy fish cake. Just boil some potatoes, drain well and mash them. Drain a can of salmon, sardines or mackerel and mash it into the potatoes. If you have a little cream, soured cream or creme fraiche add a spoonful but it’s not essential. Heat a little oil in the frying pan and flatten the mash in the pan. Brown all over, turning now and then to reach all the surface. Serve with vegetables and your favourite sauce or chutney. If you have a steamer you can cook frozen peas over the top of the boiling potatoes to save time and fuel. A very satisfying meal if you like fish and potatoes.

If you prefer, this can be done with lentils instead of fish but you will need to cook the lentils first. Simmer in just enough water to cover, plus about a centimetre above them. They should be mushy and broken down after cooking. Takes about 15 minutes. Tip these into the mashed potato and follow the same instructions as above to brown the mash. Surprisingly savoury and very good with a delicious chutney.

Perhaps this is a good moment to mention the benefits of a cast-iron frying pan. They are genuinely non-stick once they’re “seasoned”. This just means they’ve been used a few times and a little oil is absorbed which gives a smooth surface. Brilliant for omelettes, sizzling croutons or fried tomatoes. The heat is distributed well and with a little care they last forever. They just need to be dried thoroughly after washing to prevent rusting. I’ve used one for almost 50 years.

I much prefer one to those coated with teflon. I never found them to be effective and it eventually must be eaten as it wears off with use. Not a good idea. Very tiny traces of iron on the other hand are quite good for you.

The tree is up and decorated, the cards are ready for posting and gifts now need to be wrapped. I dug out my box of ribbons and the tiny felt Christmas stockings I made two years ago for little gifts at the table.

Our tree is decorated with memories. Things I made with the children when they were tots and baubles I bought over 50 years ago. This is in our garden room where as a family we gather to open gifts. Most nights though we’re in the living room by the fire so I put another little tree in there. I place cones which we have collected, from previous homes and days out, at the base. Such a pleasure to see when it’s lit. Nothing says Christmas quite like a decorated tree.

I like to make a few personal hand crafted presents each year if I can. I bought some guitar shaped coffee spoons but they weren’t in a gift box. I thought a felt pouch might be good but then I thought they’d look a bit more “rock and roll” in a denim one. Luckily we had an old pair of jeans with a buttoned pocket so I cut it out very carefully and I’ll pop the spoons inside and wrap them. I hope it will hit the spot.

I think with a hanging loop attached a pocket like this would be good for hanging keys. It would be easy to find them and keep them out of sight.

I hope you’re feeling Christmassy and creative and keeping on top of everything. It can be a difficult time but it’s usually worth the effort and helps to speed the early part of the Winter along. With you again next week. Bye for now.

We’ve had snow, stormy winds and lashing rain in the last week or so. The garden has taken a battering yet still manages to surprise and often please me. I’m not a fan of snow but it does look magical as it falls silently over everything it touches.

It only lasted a day for us and snow is never as damaging as hard frost. The plants revived.

The birds took advantage of some late windfall apples beneath the trees.

It’s lovely to think we’re helping them to withstand the cold. We feed them regularly with sunflower seeds and peanuts so the garden is always full of activity. Beautiful Nuthatches visit the pear tree outside the window, enjoying a bit of upside down eating. A Jay has been visiting too, daring to come close to the house for the free feast.

Feathers are a regular feature around the garden. Such a pleasure to have the opportunity to see their beauty up close.

At this time of year I need to use my imagination to find points of interest and loveliness in a dreary garden but as I walk around they’re never difficult to find. Textures, berries, raindrops.

It’s a good thing that the demands of gardening are few at this time of year because Christmas is a busy time. I’ve just started writing our Christmas cards and will be wrapping gifts soon.

I have to be ready a week early because we have a family get together on the preceding Saturday. (Fingers crossed it will happen this year.) Because we have meat for this family meal, a few years ago I decided to do a vegetarian alternative for the two of us on Christmas day. This is my festive flan. It became a firm favourite and I enjoy making it on Christmas morning. It’s really delicious with seasonal ingredients and tastes fabulous with my homemade cranberry sauce and roast potatoes.

I love to bake it with a glass of sherry on hand and listening to The Messiah. I’m not a religious person but religious music is so inspiring, especially Handel on Christmas Day. The atmosphere is wonderful. The smell of good food, booze and the soaring notes of fantastic music fill my kitchen. Then the pleasure is completed by eating something so tasty, wholesome and Christmassy and having it appreciated too. I love Christmas Day.

If you’re vegetarian or, like us, you’d simply like a different meal on any of the festive days you will find the recipe on “Festive Flan and Log Fires”. Just scroll back through my previous posts to find it.

Although we love Christmas pudding we prefer to have something light as a dessert. Usually we have our homegrown strawberries from the freezer. I cook them in sugar syrup and allow them to cool. Then I serve them with greek yoghurt. Simple but delicious and refreshing. All the senses are satisfied without that horrible feeling of being stuffed.

This year though I’ve decided we’re having an all-time favourite. Vanilla ice-cream with toasted pecans and chocolate sauce. If you want a truly sensational taste with little effort try this.

Pecan Nuts
Cocoa Powder
Milk or Oat Milk
Vanilla Ice-cream

Break the nuts into pieces and spread in a baking tin or on a baking tray. Heat the grill. When the grill is very hot place the nuts under it and toast for a few minutes. Keep an eye on them because they quickly burn. You want them well browned though.
Allow to cool.(You can do this a day or two ahead and keep them in a screw top jar or container.)
To make the sauce, put a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder into a jug or mug.
Add a small quantity of milk and stir well until a paste forms.Takes a minute for the powder to start taking up the milk. Add a little more milk a drop at a time and mix well until a thick slightly runny consistency is reached.It will thicken more  when heated.
Place the jug or mug in the microwave oven and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove and stir well.
If you prefer it sweet add a little sugar after removing from the microwave. However, the bitter dark chocolate is especially good with the very sweet vanilla ice-cream.
Place scoops of ice-cream in tall glass dishes and sprinkle the toasted nuts on top and serve with chocolate sauce drizzled over.

I use a good organic cocoa powder for this. Don’t use drinking chocolate powder. The sugar in it might cause the sauce to burn. The chocolate sauce can be served hot or cold but it is more runny and enjoyable if it’s warm. Toast plenty of nuts because they really are “more-ish”.

As my regular readers know, I like to photograph my recipes when possible. They may not look like those in glossy magazines and professional cookbooks. There are reasons for this. My food is exactly how it looks. I have not employed the tricks that professional food photographers use. The photos you see in magazines and books are often undercooked to preserve the shape and colour, coatings are sometimes used to highlight them and special lighting techniques improve the effects. I not only have none of these at my disposal but I really do intend to show people what is reasonably within their capability in a real home kitchen. So I hope you will not find my pictures uninspiring. They are my recipes, cooked in my normal kitchen and I hope you will find you want to make them too.

Some of my ideas, well, most of them really, come to me at night when I can’t sleep. I do have a problem with sleeping but I try to think about the positive side even though it would be nicer to wake up feeling refreshed. Here’s a short poem I wrote about it.

Sleepless Night

Dead of night and nothing stirs but me.
I gently tread the creaking stairs
As from my bed I flee.
My mind is racing, full of thoughts.
Plans are forming in my head,
Ideas, schemes and plots of sorts.
Must write them down while they're fresh,
Must retain this inspiration
While the brain cells mesh.
The silence stimulates my focussed head,
This time is never wasted -
Though I'd rather be in bed!

Shooting on towards Christmas now. The weeks are flying by. Don’t give in to the pressure. Stay calm, enjoy the creative process. With you again next week.

We had the first hard frost last week. The few flowers still clinging on were huddled against the cold but everything looked beautiful with their sparkling edges.

The winter lettuces and salad leaves will be fine in the greenhouse. It’s not heated but offers just enough protection from the biting wind and scorching frost. The sprouts haven’t grown as well as I’d hoped but there may be a few tiny buttons for my festive flan on Christmas day. The frost is supposed to improve the taste and doesn’t harm them. The leeks and parsnips are at their best now and I have some small but tender and tasty celeriacs in the polytunnel.

Meanwhile indoors, time for cosy kitchen jobs. I’ve been making mince pies. Naturally, they have to be “tested”. What could be nicer on a cold day than a freshly-baked mince pie, still warm from the oven? Preferably with a glass of sherry.

I admit that I do find it tiring these days so I enlisted help from my husband. I made the pastry and he filled them with my home-made mincemeat while I cut out the tops.

I do have strategies though to simplify the job. I always make my pastry using sunflower oil and mix it in the food processor. It only takes seconds to do and the pastry is light and tasty. When I make mincemeat I make a lot. The brandy in it and sugar preserve it for well over a year and means I save time on alternate years. I have three baking tins so I can put plenty of mince pies into the oven at once, then freeze them to enjoy later over Christmas.

My pastry recipe is one cup of plain flour, one third of a cup of sunflower oil and a quarter cup of cold water. This makes enough for a 22cm ( 8 inch ) flan case. Increase these, keeping to the same proportions, for more pastry. My food processor takes two cups of flour, two third cups of oil and two quarter cups of water at a time. It takes a few seconds to mix until a lump forms. It’s easy to repeat this once the pastry is removed if more is needed.

When I serve them I dust them generously with icing sugar. A sweet little extra hit of pleasure.

Late November so the weather is beginning to bite. Snowing, as I write. We lit the logstove last night because the house felt so cold. We’re trying not to use it too often because the thinking now is that they’re not good for the environment, but we rely solely on electricity so we need a back-up in case there’s a power cut. That was the reason we had it installed years ago but it is a real pleasure on freezing nights. The gentle crackling of the logs and the licking flames give a wonderful feeling of home comfort and security.

Here’s a little tip which I have mentioned before but is worth repeating. If you have a logstove don’t buy cleaning products for the glass door. No need for scrubbing with expensive chemicals. All you need to do is to wet a cloth or kitchen paper, dip it into the wood ash and rub over the inside of the glass door. Rinse with another damp cloth and rub dry to shine. Works like magic. We’ve had ours for 12 years and the glass is crystal clear.

That’s all for this week. Stay warm, happy and healthy. With you again soon with more Christmas ideas.

It was quite a week. I had two beautiful bouquets for my birthday. So welcome with the fading colours of the garden.

A lovely reminder of the show over the last few months and now that the garden is almost asleep a sharp contrast with the softer tones outdoors.

There are a few hardy flowers still clinging on though and some Winter beauties showing promise. The red salvia has flowered for ages and still bravely puts out a few blooms. The erysimum has a scattering of pretty mauve flowers and a bright golden marigold pops up here and there.

New fat buds have appeared on the cream-flowered hellebore and little dainty ones on the clematis cirrhosa. Fungi still pop up overnight and open out their umbrella tops after a day or two. A single tiny rose has half opened its petals to the weak sunlight.

Walking around the garden with my camera in the late afternoon I saw a flock of jackdaws overhead as they raced to their roosting place before the sun set. I just managed a shot of the last few as they disappeared on the horizon.

A tranquil moment after a busy week.

I’ve been filling the freezer with Christmas goodies. The pecan pies are done and so is the cranberry sauce. I’ve baked a chocolate swiss roll with ginger cream and tucked it away. This is a simple but delicious dessert which always looks special. I shall decorate the top when it’s thawed. If you’d like the recipe see my post with the title “Swiss Rolls and Knitted Fruit”.

My lovely daughter, Sam, joined me to make the Christmas cake. A little tradition we started in her teens. She doesn’t eat it but enjoys chopping and grating the sweet treats which go into it and the pleasure of our time together. The kitchen fills with spicy aromas and starts our festive mood.

Wrapped and stashed away now in a tin with a tight lid. Must remember to spoon sherry over the pricked cake in a week or so and again before Christmas. Just enough to flavour and mature it but not to make it soggy. I don’t decorate it anymore. I used to cover it with marzipan then royal icing but my husband hates marzipan and would pick it off. Now I leave it plain and eat my slices with a bit of marzipan on the side. We’re both happy that way.

The house is untidy with Christmas shopping. I need to sort things out, wrap gifts and restore the calm atmosphere. At times like this our homes become a central hub and for a few frenzied weeks it can feel less than relaxing. Good to find shortcuts and know our limits with all this work. Although I do as much as I can to provide special treats I use simple methods and make use of technology wherever possible. Then I have a little time to knit, read or paint to keep me sane.

One of the things I find relaxing is taking photographs, not only of the garden but of cooking, baking or objects around the house. It makes me focus on the beauty of things and why they please me. I only have a basic camera but with a bit of care I try to capture the pleasing features of things around me. Here are a few examples:

Another week over, a new one beginning. I hope your freezer is filling up so that you can relax and enjoy Christmas when it comes. Please feel free to comment. I love to hear from you. Bye for now. With you again next week.