Halloween

Posted by Rosie

For several years now we have had friends over for a spooky Halloween supper, decorating the house, dressing up and eating horrible food. This year was no exception with the only difference being we had a HelpX volunteer arrive this evening, just as our friends turned up in their costumes. He must think we are completely mad.


So 2 Witches, a devil, a vampire, a mummy, a skeleton, a ghost, a monster and our HelpXer sat down to the following Menu:

Swamp Soup (pea soup with croutons and lardons) and homemade bread rolls

Witch's Special - Spinach and Pumpkin filo parcels, purple potatoes and "bloody" ratatouille

Blood Jelly and Chocolate Brains - Raspberry jelly with fruit and sweets added and Krispie cakes with added marshmallows and dried fruits.

Our friends also bought some extra puddings - Toad shaped Krispie cakes and Snake biscuits.

And to drink - Blood of course - better known as cranberry juice and lemonade!

Autumn Colour

Posted by Rosie

Cosmos in front newly dug soil (although the frost has turned these all black now); the brassica patch - hopefully enough greens to see us through the Winter; the last of the Autumn raspberries; a wonderfully colourful mushroom.

Another 52 in 2010 update

Posted by Rosie

With the boys already drawing up their Christmas list (words will be said to he who suggested this idea!) it dawned on me that 2010 is galloping fast towards 2011 and I must get on and cook some more new things if I have any chance of achieving my 52 new recipes in 2010. Today, with the boys and Simon on their way to England for a few days I have taken advantage of the peace and quiet and been searching for a few ideas. Keep watching the 50 in 2010 sidebar to see if I manage to actually cook any of them.

My last update got me to 27 - here goes with 28 to 37:

28. Apricot and Apple Tart - this was an adaptation of a recipe a friend made when staying in the gite - apricot compote and sliced apples in a puff pastry case.
29. Glamorgan Sausages - cheesy veggie sausages which, unlike other similar ones I have tried did NOT fall apart - and tasted very good too.
30. Sloe Gin - it's currently sitting on the side needing a few more weeks before it is ready to be tasted. It's a lovely colour.
31. Courgette Bahjis - cooked as a means of working my way through my courgette mountain - the trouble is I have no idea where I got the recipe from.
32. Marrow and Apricot Jam - more ways of dealing with the courgettes that became marrows - easy to make and as good on toast as on sponge puddings.
33. Fudge - a while ago I treated myself to a sugar thermometer and finally got round to using it for sweet making. It was a pity the recipe didn't mention how long it would take to reach the desired temperature (I was very nearly late collecting the boys) but I will forgive it this small omission as the resulting fudge was just like the proper fudge I had when I was a child - sweet, slightly crumbly and exceedingly more-ish.
34. Plum and Oatmeal Cake - made from the plums a friend gave me. Very tasty but nowhere near as big as the picture made it look!
35. Pear and Mascapone Tart - I got this one from a French cookery magazine I have taken to buying - good food and the chance to improve my French at the same time!
36. Vanilla Essence - Like the Sloe Gin, this one needs to mature for a while longer yet and at the moment it still smells a bit more of vodka than vanilla. Smells good though.
37. Bortsch - I came home from the Boy's School Autumn market with a bag of beetroot and whilst I have pickled some I decided soup was needed to warm through yesterday's chill. The colour alone would warm most people (especially as I used red cabbage and purple potatoes) and it must have been OK as my friend and Simon both had seconds. Real peasant food that does just what you want it to - taste good and warm you up.

So - quick calculation. I reckon there are 69 days left in 2010 and I have 15 recipes still to do. About 3 recipes a fortnight should just about do it then.

(If you want any of the recipes let me know and I'll do my best to find them for you)

Fuel Shortages

Posted by Rosie

France is currently suffering a spate of increasingly frequent and far-reaching strikes due to the Government's proposal to increase the retirement age from 60 to 62 and the age when anyone can claim their full state pension to 67. The boys' teachers have been on strike several times but up until recently that has been the only effect from the strikes that we have felt. However, that has all changed over the last few days as striking workers have blockaded fuel refineries thus restricting the delivery of diesel and petrol to the pumps. Panic buying has meant 50% more fuel has been sold over the last few days than normal and by the weekend supplies were rapidly dwindling.

By chance, Simon had filled the car early last week but the ranger was the complete opposite, empty with only enough to get us to a petrol station, not home again if the pumps were dry. When I went to collect the boys off the rugby bus on Saturday, I put a jerry can in the boot. I visited 2 petrol stations in Condé; one had no diesel anyway and the other was not allowing jerry cans to be filled. However, a local village pump wasn't dry and yesterday Simon filled up with 20€ worth. To be honest normally we wouldn't have bothered but Simon is planning a trip to the UK with the boys over half term and I didn't want to be left here with no fuel.

Now we are on fuel rationing. Today I combined essential animal food shopping (and I got double my normal amount) with food shopping, a delivery to a friend and helping said friend slaughter and pluck some poultry. I had been walking the boys back from the bus stop in the evening but that plan has been scuppered by the fact the bus now has no fuel and I'll have to drive them to school. It's 12km there and back, twice a day which is just possible for them on foot/bike but the time it would take would not be feasible for either them or me. School is essential until such time as the car levels get very low but we are cancelling non-essential journeys and driving as economically as possible when we do have to go out.

It's at times like these you take on-board just how much you are reliant on the car when living in a rural location. We have no local bus service and the nearest small shop closed 2 years ago. There is a bread van twice a week (for as long as he has fuel) but otherwise most services are a car-drive away. Ironically, just over a week ago, we saw a gentleman in a horse-drawn cart and commented how great that would be. I am sure the fuel situation will resolve itself before we have to work out how to hitch a pony to a cart but it does make you stop and think about how much things have changed in the 100 or so years that the motorcar has been a part of our lives. Now we expect to be able to hop in the car and drive where-ever we want for what-ever reason. Car driving is seen as a right not a privilege and it will take more than a fuel strike to change both that mentality and the necessary infrastructure to make it feasible to use the car considerably less .

Frost

Posted by Rosie

Frost this morning although not as hard as had been predicted earlier in the weather forecast. No ice on the water buckets just yet.

Cold enough however, for me to put on 2 pairs of socks (if only that if I wear just one pair of socks in my wellies, said socks slide off and I am left with none).
Cold enough that I'm glad I moved the pumpkins from the picnic table where they were drying into the shed.
Cold enough that I had to scrape the car windows (time to think about clearing out the barn so I can get the car in there)
Cold enough to have just eaten a bowl of steaming porridge.

To be honest though, I don't need frost as an excuse for porridge. It is one of my favourite breakfasts and I have even been known to eat it in the middle of summer. I like mine with a spoonful of golden syrup, Simon prefers dark brown sugar. How do you eat yours?

Rainbow dinner

Posted by Rosie

So what colour was your meal tonight?

We had a rainbow dinner with red (ish) bacon bits, orange carrots and pumpkin, green cabbage and purple potatoes. Yes - purple potatoes which, unlike some purple veg such as beans, do not lose all their colour when cooked, but instead turn a rather fetching violet colour.

Not only was it colourful but it was all our own.

Permission to feel pleased with ourselves :-)

Bakery Re-built and Oops!

Posted by Simon

I have recommenced working on the old bakery, having decided that major renovation works are now required. So having taken the unsafe sections of wall down I have also taken the roof off.

I had planned to replace it and was taking it down in a systematic orderly fashion but decided that it was too dangerous to get to the last bit by ladder. Therefore the digger was used to help and I'm glad I did as the whole lot came down in one of those OOPS! moments. I was hoping to keep the centre beam in place but that came down as well. I suppose a 3cm thick rotting 'lintel' across the little opening wasn't offering the best of support then! It was no surprise really considering the selection of nails, screws, wire and baler twine holding it all together. Added to this the pieces of old, mainly rotting, wood supporting it all.

Now it's a case of rebuilding and I have started on one of the walls today plus I've made a temporary roof for the freezers which we are having to leave in place. The forecast is not too good but at least this job is moving in the right direction.

Butter Man

Posted by Tom

Yesterday I went to the Mediateque (library) with my school to make butter. It was part of La Semaine du Gout, a week all about food. 3 men showed us how to make butter and we got to taste it as well as some cheese. It tasted lovely. We came home with a goody bag containing ......

• 2 pats of butter
• 1 pack of cheese
• A butter cookery book
• A butter curling knife
  
• A butter knife
• A book about diary products.

Do you like the funny green hat I had to wear?

Get One Get Two Free

Posted by Simon

A few years ago whilst out walking our old dog, Lady, her collar got broken. We had been to a couple of shops but could not get the right size and then we went to a garden centre that sold pet accessories and as we were walking in Rosie made one of those never forgotten comments - "if they have one we'll get two" - and you think I would have learnt by that. But oh no I haven't and this evening was no exception as the photo below shows.


We promised the boys that we would get another kitten after the demise of Smoky and they did ask for another grey one, although I was not so keen. Therefore Rosie and I have been looking around and after a couple of false leads I saw, on a French website, a male grey kitten available. I was a little taken-a-back as the picture looked just like Smoky. And this grey kitten had a sister who we said we were not interested in.

This evening we went to the owners house and saw the kittens. In fact we actually went yesterday evening but couldn't find the house - which was down a hidden track about 500 metres from the road. A minor fact that was missed from the directions. Anyway we found this absolutely amazing house - really beautiful place - and a lovely family with kittens to go.

"Are you taking the one or the two?", "Just the one, thanks" I reply. "Umm" says Rosie. I should have known that 'Umm'. I should have recognised the warning signs. But did I heck!

Anyway I went to get the cat basket and the male kitten was put in and then somehow, quietly and, in my opinion, sneakily, a second kitten was placed in the basket. I only turned my back for a second and there it was.

"Oh, I see we are having them both". "Well he'll be lonely without his sister and there are two boys and two kittens", was the response, "and we do have loads of mice around". I just knew I was on for a loser so went with the flow.

As I had thought the male kitten looked so much like Smoky I initially suggested the name 'Snap'. But this didn't feel quite right and we racked our brains for ideas and we were also trying to keep to a French tradition - this is that animals are named with the letter 'F' this year (G next, etc, etc.).

So welcome to La Causserie to Foggy (the moggy) and Fumée - both whom seem to be settling in well. Let's hope they'll be earning their living soon.

Red Squirrels and Black Bees

Posted by Rosie

Autumn is the perfect time to see Red Squirrels. Eight out if 10 times that you drive down what we call our wooded lane at this time of year, I reckon you will see at least one of these gorgeous little creatures, feverishly dashing about in their quest to collect nuts to see them through the winter. Their colour varies considerably and although called red, many of the ones we see are almost black.


Black is the colour of another, apparently quite rare insect, that seems to be flourishing here - the European Black Bee or Violet Carpenter Bee (Xylocapa violacea). All through the summer they have been buzzing around the herb garden particularly favouring the Clary Sage. Simon snapped these pictures when we were out enjoying the sunshine a few days ago. It is a large species of bee which makes it's nest in dead wood but it is not aggressive and rarely stings.

Pumpkins

Posted by Rosie

Warm, dry weather is forecast for the next few days, the perfect time to harvest the pumpkins. I must admit I was very unsure how the harvest would be; a cold dry spring meant they were slow to germinate and what followed was a hot dry summer - not altogether conducive for a water hungry plant that needs a long growing season. However they had been planted on the most humus rich part of the veg patch and they were the one plant outside of the polytunnel that regularly got watered through the dry period. Would this have been enough?










Apparently so :-)

Luckily we are very fond of pumpkin in this household - the small ones baked in the microwave make a perfect lunch and the bigger ones get turned into any number of sweet and savoury dishes plus (now I have found the recipe) pumpkin curd. They keep well in a frost free location, without having to be frozen or otherwise processed and they look lovely. I'll be interested to see what the long green ones are like as they are a new variety this year. They are, not unsurprisingly called Nice Long. My only worry is that the details say they should turn a red colour when mature where-as mine are still green which may cause a problem storing them if they are not fully mature. Time will tell.

Pumpkin pie anyone?

And as requested by Sue:

Pumpkin Curd

1Kg pumpkin (weighed before peeling)
500g sugar
100g butter
2 lemons

1. Cut the pumpkin into small chunks, add to a large pan, just cover with water and simmer for 15-20mins (adding more water if needed to stop it sticking) until tender.

2. Drain, saving the water for soup etc.

3. Liquidise or sieve the pulp.

4. Add the sugar, butter and grated lemon rind plus juice.

5. Stir well to mix, bring to the boil and cook for 5 mins stirring all the time.

6. Cool slightly then pour into sterilised jars. Seal and label.

7. Store in a cool place and in the fridge once opened.

Work, friends, shopping and a ride in a police car!

Posted by Rosie

I got back to France late last night after a hectic and very enjoyable week - I worked for 5 days with a total of about 350 children, I caught up with lots of friends, I shopped and shopped and shopped (thus spending all the money I had earned - :oops:) and I got to ride in a police car WITH the Blues and Twos on!!

I was visiting a friend in London who is a Police Officer and leaving Waterloo Station on our way to the Tate Modern we saw a young man obviously trying to steal the front wheel from a bike. My friend immediately called for the British Transport Police but by the time they came a few minutes later he had disappeared. "Hop in" they said and we shot off round the station seeing if we could spot him. My friend and one officer then went onto the concourse leaving myself and the other officer to screech round the other direction with the lights and sirens blasting out. (We later decided it must have otherwise been a quiet day for them!) Unfortunately, we did not find the young man in question but his description was circulated and at least one bike rider could return that evening to find his bike still had two wheels.

As for me, I was like a kid and enjoyed that part of our day slightly more than much of the weird and wonderful art that is the Tate Modern. To say the boys were gutted when I told them what Mum had been up to was also rather an understatement!

A Good Week But For........

Posted by Simon

Whilst Rosie is in the UK - by the sound of it spending all the money she has earnt (though admittedly it was me that ordered 5 fruit trees for her to buy and not just the one she thought she was getting) - I have been looking after the boys, animals, veg garden, house etc, etc. And in the main it has been going well. The boys have been on time for the school bus - fed and dressed. Picked up on time (just) and all the animals have been fed and watered.

I have even had time to start the list of little jobs that need doing but always get put off. The brakes and gears work on the boys bikes properly now, the water butts are all in place. Logs are getting moved and today, because it was raining so hard, the paperwork backlog got done and filed - I have a desk I can now see - and Rosie has a very full 'in-tray' to sieve through on her return! And I hand washed my wool jumpers which have been in the linen basket for........ well a long time. Rosie refused to do them after she shrunk my favourite one - well okay in was 23 years old but it was just getting that nice snug fitting feeling. The boys have been quite helpful although with the added in-training teenager groan.

I also have the added work load of looking after a friend's dogs, Bobby who has been before, now comes with Lily a 10 week old Golden Retriever. This is the first time I have met her. She is been a bundle of fun, except when stealing the cat's food, and been pretty good for a puppy, now worn out, asleep, in front of the fire. She has fitted in with all the other animals although she did need to learn some Duck Etiquette - i.e not to chase them around. Juggling feeding time with four dogs and the cats has been interesting to say the least. But with help from the boy's I've have got it down to a fine art.

Now the but for..... Unfortunately the grey kitten, Smoky, got run over and killed on Wednesday. As you would think, the chances of that happening here would be virtually zero and even worse it was me driving at the time. I was taking Tom to athletics and Smoky tried to get in the 4x4 as we got in so I put him out. I then reversed out and the next second I looked up and he was on the ground. I rushed over but it was too late and he quickly died in my arms. All I can think off is that he had climbed or was climbing into the engine compartment to come with us and that was that. He had a habit of getting into cars and, in fact, a few days ago when I opened the bonnet to check the oil there he was, so......... Obviously we are upset and it was not the best call I had to make to Rosie. But these things happen. He was a very happy, knowing cat and followed us around everywhere. Lily and he played constantly the couple of days before and at least he had a happy albeit short life. And at least Lily is here keeping as all amused with her antics.

He'll be greatly missed.