This and that

1. Autumn heralds a time for a big swap around of very heavy furniture...
2. Picking boxes of quinces from a friend's huge old tree...
3. Pot roasted those quinces, to be baked into tarts, stirred through porridge and served on the side with cake...
4. Evening campfire dinners with twist stick bread...
5. A VERY rustic but tasty nectarine jam tart...

What's been going on in your world?

Easter adventure

The wind howled, the rain poured and the trees roared all night long.  It was wet and wild and windy and I didn't sleep a wink.  But I still loved every moment of our riverside Easter camping trip.

Despite the less than ideal weather, there was plenty to keep spirits high.  Adventures by the river, fishing, building little boats with bark, chocolate, coffee, campfires and plenty of good things to eat. Like chipolatas, Pigeon Whole bread and Jacinta's baked beans for dinner.

But breakfast was the best.  I think I actually only go camping to eat egg and bacon rolls and drink coffee in the morning around the campfire.

Fingers crossed we can get one more camping trip before it gets too cold.

Hope you had an eggcellent Easter Break too.

The last splash

A friend mentioned a couple of weeks ago, on a particularly hot day, that they'd had one last evening swim. The last swim?  The last splash in the ocean for the season?  Well, I wasn't done. Not yet.

Just like the last cherry or the last peach, the last swim for the season is one to savour. With a little over two weeks left of daylight savings, I had my fingers crossed that there'd be an opportunity for one more swim.

Yesterday afternoon with the weather still warm, we took our chance to pack a hurried picnic, grab the swimmers and head to the beach for that delicious last swim.  

We swam in the salty sea, feasted on apples and cheese, scrambled on the warm rocks and ran along the shore. We soaked up the last of the golden afternoon rays and wished we were camping.  But as the sunlight began to fade, we reluctantly packed the car.

Salty skinned and feeling that wonderful tiredness you get from the sea air, we brushed off our sandy feet headed home.

A little wistful that this time, it may indeed have been the last splash.

The damson mother lode

One look around the kitchen today and you'll see why autumn is my favourite season of all.  Right now the kitchen is filled with baskets of apples from our trees, crab apples from friends, hazelnuts, peaches and best of all damsons.   Damsons, that tiny sour plum, inedible when raw, but when cooked with sugar is my favourite fruit of all.

On the weekend we headed to the midlands for a family day out.  A walk, lunch in the pub and some quality family time was needed.  Although this time of year I don't really notice the scenery as my eyes are peeled on the hedgerows looking for those elusive violet dusty black bonbons.

I couldn't believe my luck when I stumbled on a good 40 metres of wild damsons trees on the roadside groaning with fruit.  I had found the foraging mother lode.  Well equipped with secateurs, baskets and gloves - that are always kept in the car this time of year - the whole family helped me pick around 10 kg under the shadow of a gothic georgian church.

Damsons are quite a chore to prepare, a tiny plum with a pip inside, but it's worth the pain to eat this delicious fruit.  Now we have truckloads of jam, we've eaten plenty of damson fools and there's a few kilos left in the freezer for ice creams, cobblers and damson gin.

Nothing makes me happier than a kitchen full of autumn's bounty.  Except having it all pickled, preserved and packed into jars.  I suppose I better tackle the rest of the fruit.