Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud!

I know I haven't posted for a time, but I have been quite busy (ish) in one form or another.  Since my hand is now back in use, I have been trying to get a few of the jobs done that needed to be done. Plus, although I had given the dogs some good long walks and done some exercises to keep fit whilst the hand was incarcerated  I had lost work fitness, so I have been out for cycle rides.  This has definitely helped in getting me fitter and I've explored quite a lot of the area - taking those lanes I wouldn't normally use.  I must admit if you like off road cycling it's a great area for tracks.

Actually there is an ulterior motive for getting fit and that is skiing - I'm taking the boys again in a couple of weeks time.  Also, whilst my hand was in the cast I took to following a Davina McCall fitness DVD, or as Rosie called it, 'A Sweaty Session with Davina'! And no I was not wearing a leotard and pink fluffy legging as one friend suggested - it was just a rumour!

Stuck!

So what's all this to do with mud?  Well apart from having a great time cycling along muddy tracks getting the bike and myself covered in mud, everything else I've been doing seems to end up with me being covered with mud and it ain't as fun when working in it.

I helped out some people with some fencing and all went quite well.  I had driven around their fields with no problems.  Then in the last hour the heavens opened and that was that - Stuck! Why always at home time? And the people I was helping had gone out to get more materials and were going on else where.  After searching around I found some metal ramps in the stables. Four of these did the trick - once I had dragged them one at a time 100 metres to the field, then rolled on to the first set.  Drove along those onto the next set, got out of the car , moved the 1st set along, got back into the car and moved up on to this set before getting out, pulling the ramps out and dragging them in front, before getting back in the car and moving forward again (I'm sure you get the picture) and so on and so forth, for 100 metres - the ramps getting progressively heavier with MUD and it would have been helpful if the ramps had been anywhere near the same size.  I had to go ll the way back to the stables in this fashion and by the end of it I was covered in MUD and soaking wet. Fortunately I had a set of dry clothes. And as always the people turned up just as I got on solid ground and said I could have used the tractor to pull myself out - yes but the keys to the tractor and the car parked in front of it were in your locked house - aaaargh.

Mud , Mud and More Mud

And I've been in more mud for the last couple of weeks - well three days of the week.  With friends, Ian and Marie, we have managed to get ourselves a good supply of future firewood, very cheaply.  The only drawback is we have to cut the trees down, then chop them to length and split the lengths up for logs and get them home.

So day one is a cold, frosty day - with solid ground - perfect.  Since then it has rained and with the rain comes MUD.  So a hard enough task of getting firewood has now become an exhausting trudge wading in MUD and of course the more we walk through it the boggier it gets.  Some very weary bodies are going home at the end of the day.  Tools and clothes are covered in MUD. But at least I haven't got the 4x4 stuck in the field, yet!


I don't think I've ever felled trees in so much mud and water , plus I never had a bonfire in the middle of a pond before.  But looking on the bright side - we are getting a good supply of firewood and it's getting me fitter, although it doesn't feel like it at times. And there are more, rather large, trees still to come down.  Perhaps next winter when this firewood is keeping us warm I'll look back at these muddy moments with nostalgia. Or perhaps not!

Bye Bye Buffy Boys

Posted by Rosie

I've had on my list for a while, one of those jobs that I really do not like doing but has to be done if we are to eat our own home-reared roast chicken for dinner. Today was the day I finally could not put it off any longer and I slaughtered our 6 remaining cockerels - 3 white meat birds and 3 Buff Orpingtons. 

Adult Buff Orpingtons

Last summer I had a broody hen who had accidentally let her eggs go cold and not wanting to lose her broodiness I bought 4 day old chicks from the market and popped them under her to rear ... which she did very well. Sadly one later died but the others flourished and all turned out to be cockerels. The Buffies were raised by the same broody hen earlier in the year and from 9 fertile eggs I put under her, she hatched 6; three boys and three girls. (The eggs incidentally were "bought" in exchange for a joint of pork - we do like a bit of bartering here when-ever possible).  That was Easter and we have watched as over the months they have grown from adorably cute chicks to large and very handsome birds. 

Large to look at maybe, but when-ever I have caught them for a weight check their size has been revealed as mostly feathers and not a huge amount of potential roast dinner underneath. Here in Calvados, despite what I wrote yesterday about Spring being in the air, we are in fact still in the middle of Winter with plenty of time for some spells of hard weather when birds use all their food to stay warm and rarely put on too much weight. Even now, with the milder weather we've been having, none of the 6 birds was putting on much weight yet they have still been eating comparatively large amounts of grain. I carried out in my head a cost benefit analysis based on these factors and decided they would be better off in the freezer, what-ever size they killed out at.

As yet I have not weighted them but I can say, just by looking that the Buffies, that they were not big boys. I also found that they had a lot of fat in their body cavities so they were converting grain to fat rather than what we wanted, namely meat for that roast dinner. Despite being almost half the age of the Buffies, the white birds are definitely bigger and much less fatty.

I suppose ultimately, the final test will be in that roast dinner and what the Buffies taste like. Will the meat be much better tasting than the bred-for-meat white birds for sale at every market throughout France? The Buffies are certainly handsome boys but for us as a smallholder they will have to taste MASSIVELY better than the white chickens for us to consider rearing them again for meat.

In the meantime we are not without Buffies and we do have the 3 girls. They may not lay as many eggs as the bred-to-lay-egg girls I get from the market but I can forgive them this as they are such beautiful birds to look at. They may all feathers and few eggs but I reckon we can manage to hang on to these three beauties just for beauties sake, don't you?

Spring is in the Air?

Posted by Rosie

Despite only being January 23rd there is a definite air of Spring about things here in Calvados. Out walking with the dogs today I saw a lot of plants gearing up for Spring. There were the first of the wild garlic leaves peeping through, although maybe not enough as yet for my wild garlic and leek risotto, as well as bluebell and early purple orchid  leaves and lots on impossible to identify seedlings.  A couple of weeks ago I counted 13 different flowers in bloom. Some of these were hangers on from last year but more and more, like the primroses (and even a solitary cowslip) and beacons of Spring 2012. And it's not just the ground plants; on the trees there are buds-a-plenty swelling and I saw both elder and hawthorn sporting new leaves this afternoon.

It's not just me and the plants who are feeling a bit Springlike, the birds are too. There were 2 male chaffinches have a right shindig in the hedge today vying no doubt for the attention of the local females. I couldn't see any around but I'm sure there was at least one nearby, taking notes on the performance of each male. Our chickens have been happily laying all winter and the ducks came back into lay recently. One Muscovy, Hilda, even decided to go broody. That would mean mid February ducklings. Sorry Hilda but that is just too early so I removed the eggs and after a day of extreme huffiness she became "unbroody". However, I was talking to my neighbour today and she announced that one of her Muscovies hatched out 10 ducklings today. Ducklings? In January? Remind me again what the date is? Oh and Simon has just added that he saw tadpoles on Friday. TADPOLES??!!

Other than a short cold snap last week it has been a very mild Winter here in Calvados, following on the back of a very warm and dry Autumn. Admittedly the last few weeks have been very wet and at times extremely windy but all in all 2011/12 has been the winter that so far hasn't really happened. When I was a child, Dad was however always the first to remind anyone who felt vaguely springlike in January the that harsh winter of either '47 or '63 (I can never remember which one) didn't start until mid February. Will that be the case with this winter? My neighbour with the ducklings who has lived in Lénault for many years told me that 2 cold winters in a row like the last 2 winters is unusual and she reckons this winter will continue pretty much as it is now, with maybe a couple of short cold spells before Spring proper arrives.

Only time will tell if she is right. Only time will tell if the ducklings, tadpoles, spring plants and chaffinches are right or completely mad getting things going so early in the year. Me? I don't know but I did start a few seeds off today (Summer Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Lettuce and Summer Cabbage) because I am of the opinion that if you sow and the weather is kind you get the joys of an early harvest but if you don't sow it doesn't matter what the weather is, your vegetables won't be any earlier.

Piglets Feb 2011

Finally, and with nothing to do with Spring in January here is a picture of some of our piglets from last year. This is specially for Chez-Hippo who I "met" on Twitter last night and who has a bit of a soft spot for pigs.  

"Oink, Oink!!"

Family Friendly Holidays in Normandy

Posted by Rosie

With 2 boys of our own we always appreciated finding a holiday cottage that made life for us frazzled parents just that little bit easier. With that in mind, when we set up Eco-Gites of Lénault we took this on board and tried to plan for families in the way others had done for us when Tom and Ben were much smaller.

So, what makes ours such a family-friendly holiday cottage? Let's start inside. We try and provide all those things that make holidays with toddlers so much easier but would mean you'd need a trailer AND roof box if you wanted to bring them all yourself. In the gite you will find:- a travel cot, high chair, booster seat, changing mat, potty, toilet trainer seat, stair gates, fire-guard, waterproof mattress covers, children's crockery and cutlery, a night light and on request a bottle steriliser and stick blender. There is also the large selection of children's toys, games, puzzles and books (plus a good number for the adults too).

TV - many of our visiting families have said how they have loved not having the TV and the accompanying nagging to watch the box when the weather outside is glorious. However, youngsters, and possibly even more so adults, do sometimes need to flop and for that reason we offer the TV as an optional extra. You can even request it part way through he week if needs be. And free of charge for all guests is unlimited Internet access. Just don't tell the kids of you won't want them to know ;-)

Play area and Boules Pitch

Moving outside our situation is ideal - the front drive is 300m long and even then the roads are incredibly quiet around here making family walks a pleasure. There are also miles of local footpaths that start right at our back gate. We even have a spare toddler buggy if you thought your little one didn't need it but they think otherwise once here! The gite has it's own patio garden with large shady parasol and garden furniture but the real treat is just a few metres away, the play area. In case you are NOT thinking about booking you may not want your children to read the next bit. Our play area comprises a large hard-surfaced play/boules pitch (boules supplied) and a grassy play area where you'll find the double play towers, covered sand-pit, swings (including a baby swing), rope-ladders, slide, mini climbing wall and connecting bridge. If there is one wail we hear from children staying with us, it's "Do we HAVE to go out, we're having such FUN here!" But I haven't finished - there's the covered barn in case you need shade or shelter, table football, bikes and other outdoor toys and the large netted trampoline (although you do sometimes have to ask the cats to get off before you can go on!). 

Baa

Situated on a smallholding, guests can get the chance to live like a farmer without once having to muck out the pigs! Everyone can collect the eggs, feed the chickens and stroke a lamb. Time it right and you'll get to see newborn piglets or just hatched chicks! Our dogs never tire of having a stick thrown for them and at least one of the cats was put on this earth simply to have his tummy tickled.

Once you've chilled all day and the children have worn themselves out in the play area, why not give yourself a night or two off from cooking. We can supply a simple cooked supper, salad and pudding brought to your door ready to serve up and eat. Or if you prefer, why not try our BBQ pack where you can pick and chose exactly how many sausages etc you want and what ready-made salads you'd like, finishing the whole thing off with a pudding or cake. And for a bit of luxury - well you are on holiday - why not order our luxury afternoon tea. Click on the link for more details. 

No-one expects the worse, but sometimes things do go wrong on holiday and you suddenly find yourself in a foreign country with a crisis on your hands. Living next door we are there to help in what-ever way we can. My French is just about good enough to help you through most hiccups you might encounter and there's no problem if you want us to make a restaurant reservation for you or ring the garage.

I think with all this to offer it is not inaccurate for us to say that we really do offer Family Friendly Holidays that don't cost the Earth. For further details including how to book please visit our website http://www.eco-gites.eu/

The rest of the 52 in 2011

Posted by Rosie

OK, technically the rest of the 47 in 2011.

26. Moroccan Shoulder of Lamb - a shoulder of lamb smeared with Moroccan spices and lots of garlic then slow roasted. Delicious.

27. Moroccan Stuffed Courgettes - left-over lamb from the roast with added Moroccan spiced rice and stuffed into round and long courgettes. Even a confirmed courgette hater said this wasn't all that bad!

28. Hummous - easy to make and cheaper than buying it, especially as it seems hard to track down here in France. (Now if only I could also make Cottage Cheese)

29. Courgette and Lemon Drizzle Cake - having made a wonderful chocolate courgette cake I decided I must be able to make something similar on the lemon front and so my courgette and lemon drizzle cake was born. Using yellow courgettes left no obvious sign of the addition of these often reviled vegetables and many an unsuspecting courgette hater munched their way happily through a slice or two.

30. Pear and Dandelion Syrup Sponge - another made-up recipe when I found a rather ancient half eaten jar of dandelion jam at the back of the food cupboard.

31. Chinese Style Roast Duck - from Morocco with the lamb to China with the duck but it's another of those recipes I can't find again.

32. Sweetcorn Fritters - we saw these on a celebrity chef programme where they were eaten on Brighton beach. We were a bit less adventurous with our venue but they still tasted as good cooked in the kitchen.

33. Oeuf Cocotte with Pumpkin - successfully cooked from a recipe card I picked up in a French supermarket. Cream, pumpkin and egg. Wonderful and rich so despite it's small size it was very filling. 

34. Savoury Pumpkin Pie - pumpkin, cream cheese, eggs, breadcrumbs and lardons under a few layers of filo pastry. Another made-up recipe success.

35. Pumpkin and Lardon Risotto - I'm guessing this was about the time my humongous pumpkin harvest was wheelbarrowed back to the house!

36. Crabapple and Rosehip Jelly - after struggling to find enough rosehips to make sufficient bottles of rosehip syrup to see off my Winter colds I noticed a promising looking hedgerow on the way back from Vassy. An hour and many scratches later I had enough rosehips to combine with the first crab-apple harvest from our new tree to make this delicate jelly.

37. Apple Amber - from this great basic cookbook - apple and egg yolks under a meringue base.

38. Duck Liver and Leek Soup - I would never have thought about putting duck liver in  a soup, or any liver for that matter, but I can assure you, it works!

39. Nasturtium "Capers" - a substitute for capers made from nasturtium seed pods. Still not tried them yet to comment though.

40. Ants Climbing Trees (Chinese Pork Mince) - mince cooked with Chinese type spices. Not bad but a bit salty and possibly needed a couple of veg side dishes.

41. Moroccan Lamb and Lentils - noooooo, not again. I know this was good and it wasn't that long ago that I cooked it and I know I even got lentil-disliking Ben to eat it but that's all I can remember about it.

42. Mini Christmas Puddings - OK, so a bit of a cheat recipe if the truth be said but the end of the year was looming ever closer and I needed to boost recipe numbers. Plus I did have to try and work out how long tiny puds would have to cook for without spoiling and adapt the recipe a bit as I had ingredients missing. Would I be let off adding these if I also said I served them as part of our Christmas Café Gourmand and topped them with Cointreau (as opposed to brandy) butter ... which went down very well with all concerned and will be made every Christmas now until that mega bottle of Cointreau is finished!

43. Mini Filo Mincemeat Tarts - also part of our Christmas Café Gourmand and made with the rather odd product that the French sell in lieu of filo pastry.

44. Filo Chestnut and Bacon Tarts - made from more of the odd pastry and left-over Christmas day chestnut stuffing. They were rather good if I say so myself!

45. Cassis (unfinished) - I started this back in the summer when the blackcurrant harvest was at it's peak. Now all I need to do is search through my bookmarks to find what I am supposed to do in order to finish it. If Simon gets me a white wine kit next time he's over in the UK we could have the closest thing to our own home-made Kir.

46. Gooseberry Wine (unfinished) - this is my first foray into the making of fruit wine but I've a horrible feeling I've messed it up as the airlock somehow got knocked off for an unknown length of time. I will investigate soon and report back.

47. Lamb and Pumpkin Curry - still working through that humongous pumpkin harvest and this was a scrummy combination.

 

So - 47 new kitchen delights, most successful and more than a few made more that once. Do let me know if you would like any of the recipes and I'll do my best to track them down for you. In the meantime if anyone has any excellent ideas of what to do with pumpkins please also let me know. I've still got more that a wheelbarrow full to get through. The pigs however, will get what we don't eat so no doubt they would prefer you not to let me have your recipes!!

52 in 2011

Posted by Rosie

Well I almost managed to make 52 new edible things in 2011 ( I say edible things rather than meals or dishes as I do notice rather a lot of drinks on the list!). So, what did I manage? 


1. Green Lentil Soup - delicious and perfect for foul January weather. I think I might make some for lunch today ;-)
2. Cavolo Nero with chilli and garlic - again another warming dish from this kale that I successfully grew for the first time in 2011 
3. Italian Liver - Well I know we liked it but I can't for the life of me remember where the recipe was to be able to make it again!
4. Egg Fried Rice - I always seem to cook too much rice and since the hens have been laying so well all through 2011 this was a recipe bound to happen sooner or later - and it was so much nicer than the take-away ones if I remember correctly.
5. Butter - several failed attempts shaking a jar of cream for hours on end until Simon cracked this one with the food mixer. We need to get back into making butter as it is so satisfying having butter made from the milk of cows that graze on our neighbour's farm. Should I make that a resolution for 2012?
6. Ham and Sweetcorn Croustade - simple and effective comfort food - creamy ham and sweetcorn on a crispy bread and nut base. Yummy.
7. Cheddar Pasta Frittata - an unlikely sounding recipe where potatoes in a Spanish Frittata are replaced with pasta, but it works well (and uses left over pasta and that egg mountain!)
8. Lentil and Bacon Stew - Um - totally cannot remember this one!
9. Smoked Salmon, Spinach, Egg and Creme Fraiche Pancakes - A marriage of flavours made in heaven.
10. Turkieleekie soup - cockaleekie with turkey and just as nice.
11. Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry - a nice mild and creamy korma type curry
12. Beer  - made from the kit I bought Simon for Christmas. There's none left so I assume it was good!
13. Rowan and Redcurrant Jelly - This was actually born out of an accident. I defrosted several bags of redcurrants all together in a bowl and then realised some of them were in fact rowan berries. No matter, the resulting jelly was perfect with lamb and duck.
14. Calvados Turkey -  oh 'eck - another one I can't remember. I blame the Calvados in it!
15. Mint and Apple Jelly  - just in case anyone doesn't like No 13 on the list there's always this one!
16. Wine (from a kit)  - a very nice rosé. I just hope Simon can remember where he got the kit from so he can get a couple more when he is back in the UK again soon.
17. Mushrooms a la Greque  - mushrooms in a tomato/marjoram sauce and served cold. To be honest I think they would be nicer hot.
18. Nettle Beer - Link to earlier post
19. Satay Turkey - Sort of like Satay chicken but with turkey!! Delicious, but there were complaints as apparently I used the last of the peanut butter to make this one.
20. Moussaka - yay, for the first time ever I grew enough aubergines to be able to make this classic lamb dish!
21. Strawberry and Rhubarb Trifle - with an excellent crop of both these fruits this turned out to be a marriage made on heaven, even for me who generally hates trifle. 
22. Turkey with Spicy Onion Sauce - another chicken-in-disguise recipe. 
23. Chocolate Brownies - I really do think this is the best ever brownie recipe (link) and I bake them as one of the cakes in the luxury afternoon teas I offer visitors.
24. Gooseberry Meringue Pie - a variation on the classic lemon meringue pie brought about because I can't grow lemons but I had an excellent crop of gooseberries. 
25. Honey-Roasted Beetroot - a perfect accompaniment for a summer roast - just don't overcook them as I did the first time or they become stick to your teeth chewy!


To be continued ...

Normandy - The Place to Visit in 2012

Posted by Rosie

According to today's Telegraph Travel, the top place for value to visit in Europe in 2012 is our very own Normandy!

Quote:

"Normandy for value
 

In these difficult times, travellers will be looking above all for good value and security. The country that is likely to benefit most – apart from Britain, perhaps – is likely to be France, and nowhere more so than Normandy. You can take the car there on the ferry for £100 return, or less; you can travel via Paris on Eurostar in half a day, and there's greater variety in this wonderful region than in anywhere else I can think of. 

It has some of the best beaches and most beautiful countryside in France. There are sophisticated resorts (Deauville and Trouville) scenic ports (Honfleur and Barfleur) and seaside villages (Etretat and Pourville) and there is the wild and rocky west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula. 

There are world-class art galleries in Rouen and Le Havre, and excellent ones in Dieppe and Honfleur – not to mention Monet's garden and a string of other associations with the Impressionists. There are great medieval churches and cathedrals in Fécamp, Rouen and Mont St Michel. And I haven't even mentioned the Bayeux Tapestry, the cheese, the cider, the Calvados, the golf, the sailing, William the Conqueror, the Normandy landings… 

If you are searching for value and variety in 2012, look no further. 

Getting there: brittany-ferries.co.uk and eurostar.com. "

Do you know what - I think I agree :-)

Skateboarders!

Ben

Tom and Ben had asked for skateboards (amongst other things) for Christmas and we duly obliged. Ben was so excited at getting a skateboard that after discovered he had got one he just stood there and bounced up and down for a few minutes.

Boxing Day morning at some unearthly hour all we could hear echoing through the house was this thump, thump, thump.
 'Ben, what are you doing?  I shout from our bedroom.
 'Well practising turns on my skateboard' came the reply.
 'Ben, it is; a) early in the morning and we were still asleep and b) there are other planets to do these things on!'
 'Sorry' squeaks a little voice.
'Grrrrrrr'

Tom

Therefore on, a damp, cold  and foggy, Tuesday morning Sally and I took the boys to the local park, which also has a skateboard area.  For the next couple of hours they practised away.  They started on the path and then down a very slight slope.  Ben, more so than Tom, thought it would be a case of jump on the board and off I go. He got quite frustrated.  In the meantime Tom worked away at it and was soon getting the basics.

Ben's Derrière

In the skateboard area we found a steeper slope and they were soon zipping down it, falls and all.   Tom had a bit of a crashing fall which put him off for a while - a lovely grazed leg!  Ben then progressed to the ramp and was, by now, getting his balance sorted and starting to turn.  Tom, somewhat nervously, joined him and was just getting his confidence back by the time we had to leave.

Now we are getting nagged constantly for another session skateboarding - hopefully on not such a damp, cold and foggy morning. Oh, and I did have a go and I think the photo speaks for itself, plus the bruised backside.  Also I do not want any more broken bones!

And Me

We May Have Overdosed On...........

Professional Masterchef!

Fish Starter

We decided to go away for Christmas Day - well sort of.  We moved into the gite for the day and had our Christmas lunch in there.  There was a variety of reasons for this. Firstly, our house is in the process of having works done on it and has cables etc. hanging down everywhere.  Secondly we do not have a proper living room, whereas the gite does, and lastly it seemed a good idea and keeps the gite in use.

A Christmas tree and decorations were put up, the fire lit and off we went.  There was a little to-ing and fro-ing with presents, dishes and bottles but overall it was excellent.  I had somehow volunteered to cook the lunch this year (anything to get out of the washing up) and set to.  I must admit I did have help from Rosie and Sally in the cooking of some of the dishes and the preparation of vegetables etc.

Our menu was;

 

Fish Gourmand Starter

Trou Normande (Apple Sorbet with Calvados)

Roast Chicken 

Roast & Fresh Vegetables

Chestnut Stuffing & Bread Sauce

Christmas Gourmand

Christmas Gourmand

I must admit that most of the starter was bought but the desert was mainly home made. All of us find that after a big roast dinner eating Christmas Pudding is too much and I hit on the idea of having some form of Christmas Gourmand.  Café Gourmand is a common desert in restaurants here, and is usually made up of a coffee, crème caramel, a tart and cream.  Our Christmas Gourmand consisted of a small Christmas Pudding and a filo mince tart, a glass of fromage blanc and strawberry sauce, a skewer of fresh fruit (all made by Rosie), a little chocolate and a squirt of crème - with a choice of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. It worked a treat and made a very pleasant end to our meal.

The boys gave me good marks for my presentation but some of the flavours let me down.  On well - better luck next year.  And the slates plates - well we had ours before they appeared on Masterchef.  In fact I was going to use roof slates but we then found them on sell in various shops - it looks like they are a bit in fashion at the moment.

We hope you all had a good Christmas and wish you all the best for 2012.

That's Handy

Yesterday I had my appointment at Caen hospital and, after the usual long wait,  my hand was given the all clear.  I thought I was going to have to be in the cast for at least another two weeks but I was told there was no need. Now it is a case of strengthening up the hand, wrist and little finger again.


And it is much easier to use the keyboard, without the cast hitting the keys and changing everything and finding some interesting short cuts.   So I'll have to find something else to blame the speling misteakes on!!