Living a contented creative life.

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.

Planted Lilies this weekend. I wasn’t impressed with the bulbs. I hope they grow. A variety called “Brasilia”, very pretty with delicate colours, favourites of mine. I grew them a few years ago, as you can see from my photo, but they died out. Trying again.

Meanwhile the garden has its blazing Autumn shades and other very subtle ones. The acers are magnificent right now but losing their leaves rapidly so I have to make the most of the show. The largest one is so lovely.

Many leaves around the garden are still changing colour. Lovely combinations of golds, oranges and greens.

When all the flowers have gone I look for other fascinating features. Interesting stones, the rough bark of a tree, feathers lost in a flurry of wings.

Although the weather has been mild, cold weather foods are gaining in their appeal. Something satisfying is needed on a dark night when the curtains are drawn early and lamps are lit. Parsnips are in season and I wanted to try something a bit different to make the most of their taste and creamy texture. I came up with this easy flan.

Parsnip Flan

2 medium Parsnips
1 Onion
50g Cashew Nuts
1 Vegetable Stock Cube
Creme Fraiche or Soured Cream
 
Prepare, slice and cook the parsnips in a little water for about 7 minutes. Allow to cool.

You will need pastry for a dish about 22.5cm (8-9")
Make this in the food processor using 
1 cup Plain Flour
1 third cup Sunflower Oil
1 quarter cup cold water.
Put them in the processor and whiz until a lump forms.
Switch off and remove. Squeeze a little if necessary to combine.
Grease the flan dish and press the pastry into it, covering evenly and up the sides. Place in the fridge while you make the filling.
Mash the parsnips well.
Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan oven.
Cook the sliced onion gently in a little oil.
Add half a cup of water and crumble in the stock cube. Stir to dissolve.
Add mashed parsnips, nuts and 2 good tablespoons of creme fraiche. Stir well to combine.
Fill the pastry case with the parsnip and nut mixture.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Serve with carrots, green beans and chutney. Very nice cold too if any is left over.

Time to be thinking ahead for Christmas. For my puddings recipe see my post with the title “Puddings and Poppies”. These are individual puds which can be frozen or kept just until Christmas. They don’t need hours and hours of steaming. I find they keep perfectly in the freezer for a year so I don’t need to make them every Christmas. Depends, of course, how many you’re serving. Easy and delicious.

This time last year I was knitting Christmas crackers from a pattern in Landscape magazine.

I thought it would save all that paper and plastic which can’t be recycled and it gave me an interesting pastime on winter nights. With the addition of a few felt holly leaves and berries they looked Christmassy. I popped little gifts inside them and a rhyme about each of the family.

Lots to do before Christmas but I can’t think of anything nicer and then I can relax when the time comes. I hope you’re enjoying your own festive tricks and treats. With you again next week.

This week it’s time to reflect. To think of those who gave their lives so we could enjoy ours. The scarlet field poppy is such a potent symbol. It brings our thoughts into sharp focus and reminds us how fortunate we are.

I have always been thankful for what I’ve got but it’s no bad thing to remind ourselves now and then of what we value and what really matters.

It brings me back to my philosophy of life that the little things matter. Obviously, first and foremost we need love, shelter and food but leading on from that we can make our lives more meaningful by creating a wholesome environment.

Small home comforts, the pleasure of good food, being creative and to some extent, self-reliant. All these contribute to a life of contentment.

These are reasons why I find something to mention here each week. My garden, cooking, crafting, painting and writing poetry keep me sane in a mad world.

It can be a melancholy time of year and the garden is looking sad and faded. But before long the bulbs will be pushing their shoots through the earth and the great renewal begins again. Then the garden will be a riot of colour once more. Meanwhile I keep my eye on the berries, birds and squirrels, watch the drifting clouds and enjoy the trees in their naked splendour.

Even when the flowers have faded there is always something to see if you wander around.

Looking ahead, I’ve planted garlic, spring cabbages, kale, purple sprouting broccoli and cauliflowers. I sowed broad beans the other day and the leeks and parsnips are now ready to enjoy. We’ve had a few tiny mange-tout and tasty carrots. Too late now to sow anything else. The days are short and light levels reduced.

I like the light at this time of year though and the way it brightens a room and yet throws shadows.

Time now for Christmas planning, shopping and creating. Not too early to be busy with Christmas jobs. I’ts a good idea to make some things now to freeze so we don’t become frenzied and frazzled when the time comes.

Cranberry sauce is a must-have for us. If you’ve only tasted bought cranberry sauce you really should try this. It’s so much fruitier and has a wonderful texture. Not just good with turkey. It’s delicious with my festive flan, a veggie alternative after our meaty weekend with the family before Christmas. It freezes perfectly so I make plenty and stash it away in handy-sized containers. Simple to make and delicious. No need to add lemons, oranges or port but some people like to do this.

Here’s how I make it:

Fresh or frozen Cranberries
Sugar
If using fresh cranberries, wash and remove any mushy ones. They should be hard and firm. Frozen ones can be just tipped in the pan.
Add just enough water to cover the fruit. Bring to boil then turn heat down and simmer until the fruit has softened. Fresh cranberries will pop.
When the fruit has softened add sugar and stir. The amount will depend on your taste but will need a lot as cranberries are very sour. 
When the sugar has dissolved simmer until a glossy thick consistency is produced.
Allow to cool completely then freeze in suitable containers.
Once thawed it doesn't need refrigeration because the sugar preserves it. 

I have some more Christmas recipes to share. For pecan pie see my blog post titled “Christmas Thoughts”. It freezes perfectly.

And for my Christmas cake recipe see my post called “Mellow Autumn”. I make mine mid-November and feed it a couple of times with cream sherry. By Christmas it’s moist, rich and delicious with seasonal, spicy, citrusy aromas.

Finally, here’s a little painting of a remembrance poppy I did a couple of years ago.

Bye for now. I hope your Christmas plans are underway and giving you a lot of pleasure. With you again next week.

It seems like Summer has officially ended now that the runner beans are over. The plants have been removed, chopped up and added to the compost bin. I kept some mature pods and allowed them to dry before saving the seeds for next year.

The Brussells sprout plants are forming little buds. I hope they’ll be just big enough for Christmas dinner. They’ve had a mulch and some seaweed feed to encourage them.

Gardening is such a satisfying way to spend time and energy. Some people go to the gym but that only produces sweat and toned muscles. With gardening you have added value. It’s an ideal way to exercise many different muscles, while it produces delicious, nutritious food and beautiful flowers. You’re out in the fresh air, with birdsong and the sun on your back. The delightful song of a blackbird can gladden your heart, a robin may hop around your feet as you work, the heady scents of flowers will fill the air. If you grow vegetables and fruit you have the added bonus of fresh, tasty food with all the good health to go with it. All these things restore a tired mind and give a feeling of wellbeing and self-reliance. I think there is nothing to compare with it for mindfulness and good health.

I couldn’t live without a garden. Even in Winter there are things to see and do. Just to be able to walk about in it fills me with joy. Although it’s faded and bedraggled at this time of year, there are gems here and there. Here are a few glimpses of the garden right now.

Ours is often an untidy garden. Partly because there is too much to keep on top of but also because we like a natural look and a welcome to wildlife. Scattered leaves, grassy patches and velvet mosses have their own beauty. I like plants to splay and bend with the wind. Nature arranges them perfectly without too much interference from us. Bumble bees, mice, hedgehogs and frogs thrive in this kind of environment and so do we.

It’s been wet and windy for a couple of days so I’ve been indoors except for bringing vegetables in. So I’ve been doing some crochet. The rain was pattering on the pane, the old clock was ticking gently and my hook was flashing along. Contentment!

I made two colourful blankets last year from a large bag of yarn in mixed colours. I made the second one a bit small because I thought I might run out of yarn. But in the end I did have some half balls left and it has bothered me that the second blanket is on the small side. So I got out my hook and I’m adding a striped border to expand it.

I find it very difficult to follow a complicated pattern so I often make up my own. Mostly works for me. Making it up as I work I can crochet or knit a simple style of jacket with dropped sleeves because the shaping is much easier to do. This one I crocheted from the same bag of yarn. I certainly had my money’s worth when I bought that bag.

I can follow some knitting patterns but I have to really concentrate. It doesn’t come naturally to me. I often prefer to muddle along in my own way. Sometimes that’s a better way of doing things. Innovation and imagination come into play. I did manage to knit the autumn leaves and acorns though, shown in the photo above, from patterns in a favourite book. I got there in the end and put them together in a circle to make a wreath.

Christmas is not far off and I’m thinking about my baking. I shall be making the family’s favourite pecan pie and freezing it in the next week or so.

Almost time to make the Christmas cake too. I usually do that in the middle of November. Plus, loads of mince pies, which we enjoy throughout December. I have plenty of home-made mincemeat. I shall add an extra dash of brandy when I use it.

Meantime, I shall carry on with my crochet and make “to do” lists. I’m sure you will have plenty of your own. With you again next week. Bye for now.