Quite a few windfall apples, mainly from Annie-Elizabeth but a few Worcester Pearmain as well – I expect that there will be a lot more after tonight’s forecast gale! A quick scrub-up, stewed, and made into a pie (sadly, bought pastry – I can’t make puff!) and a couple of turnovers put in the freezer.
The first home-grown pear of the year, glowing golden in the early-evening sunshine. It’s a Deacon’s pear, an eater rather than a cooker: they only keep for about 48 hours once they’re ripe. So that’s the fruit course at supper time settled, then.
A couple of windfall apples from the Worcester Pearmain, and I picked another couple to go with them The first apples-and-custard of the autumn.
I’ve been subsisting for the past week on train snacks, station sandwiches, whatever-I-can-find on toast, and suchlike, relieved only by one over-processed ready-meal picked up from the hospital Marks & Spencer. I was getting desperate for real food! There’s almost no fresh stuff here (major supermarket delivery booked for tomorrow), but a pack of frozen venison mince, Smash instant mashed spud, with slightly elderly carrots and onions made a passable attempt at shepherd’s pie, and frozen blueberries with frozen pastry made a decent dessert.
I’ll keep the remainder of these to have when I get back from visiting Mum in hospital on Sunday, and cook something sensible tomorrow once ASDA have delivered.
The first home-grown tomato of the year: an unknown orange plum variety (originally from a fruit I was given by the Transition Worcester Community Garden a few years ago and have saved seed year to year). I’ll have it with an ostrich-burger and green salad. The Black Russian tomatoes are very nearly ripe, as well.
I got rather more than a touch of the sun today, wearing a Green rosette and standing outside a polling station in Evesham during the afternoon. It’s a local by-election for Evesham South, and as they’ve always been very helpful to us in Worcester it was good to return the compliment.
It’s left me too exhausted to cook, and anyway it’s still really too warm to want to put the cooker on! So I rang for a pizza … which is getting to be an almost-monthly habit, sadly.
My expected weekend guests, Phoebe and Bard, had to postpone at short notice – but at least one is coming in a fortnight’s time. I’m not one to waste a rather nice organic chicken: it’s the first one I’ve had this year (as a whole chicken is bit much for one person) and it would be an insult to freeze it. So, with a garden herb stuffing, roast potatoes, home-grown runner beans and marrow (ex-courgette), and the inevitable gravy, I had a rather good meal. Now feeling stuffed – and there are baked plums for later (if I feel up to it).
Yum! The season’s first picking of home-grown runner beans, which I’ll have with an omelette and courgettes (home-grown also, sautéed with a touch of garlic).
The first few pods from the “Tom Thumb” peas. Not yet enough for a proper serving: just a taster, but there’s no point leaving them on the plants to get tough!
