So the cider making day began well. Robert and Rob chopped apples for hours, the scratter worked a treat for Nat, and the press performed well as always. Robert's cat Rosie was not at all keen on the noise and commotion and sat at a distance on her seat on the ride-on mower. However, by … Continue reading Cider Making Day Gone Awry

It's juicing and cider making day here tomorrow, and just about everything is good to go. The apples we picked on Tuesday are standing at the ready, as is the old press, a gift from a friend, and a 'scratter' made this week by son-in-law Nat. Of course everyone who comes along to watch or … Continue reading There’s Cider to be Made

Apple Pie anyone? It was an idyllic morning for picking this bountiful crop of beauties with our friend Rob at Bushy Park. These Granny Smiths will be perfect for all sorts of desserts and preserves. Very soon we will have a big cider-making day here, with friends and family coming along to help, another fantastic … Continue reading And then there were Apples!

Great to spend time with family today. Granddaughter Freya loves muffins, so we took her some dairy-free banana and blueberry variety for her morning tea. Another batch, also cooked in the wood-fired Hester - this time toffee quince with blueberry, for family coming to visit later in the day. Two more of the families came … Continue reading Family Dinner in May

Just the usual here today really - a bit of cooking, a bit of outside work. There's the Ajvar ingredients to have their skins blackened, meatball mixture that needs cooking, and mushrooms to braise, not to mention the finishing off of the hot buttered quinces. Robert is never happier than when he's digging, so he … Continue reading Just Another Day on the Farm

I had some requests for the recipe for the microwave blueberry cheesecake granddaughter Charly and I made a few days ago. Here it is. We broke a few rules for the sake of its being made in less time - a notable one being that we only chilled the crumb crust for a few minutes … Continue reading Microwave Baked Blueberry Cheesecake

With a bit of a nip in the air, wood-fired Hester is hard at work, in fact there is a queue for her services. New carpet is at last being laid in the cooking school (after recent flooding), and so soon the school will be in full swing again. Scones for the carpet layers first … Continue reading The saga of the quinces continues

Reflecting the autumn leaves' colour of the tree behind them, here are quince jellies from three different batches. The furthest left was made from quinces more than three weeks from the tree. Pectin levels drop once they are picked, so the mixture needed boiling a little longer to setting point, deepening the colour. The second … Continue reading Shades of Autumn captured in Jelly

Pretty and pink in the morning sun here at Molesworth. This is the quince honey I made yesterday. It may well be a new addiction. I love the texture, more robust than jelly and lighter than quince jam. It has set enough to dollop onto a scone or toast. It could even be used instead … Continue reading Quince Honey

What do you do when you can't cut it in the kitchen? Roast it in Hester. I was given a magnificent, huge gourd by our friend in Bushy Park. I tried valiantly to cut it into chunks today but it was no use.  You can see the knife mark where I tried. I found a … Continue reading The Battle of the Gourd