An unplanned day in the kitchen
It is still such a pleasant surprise to me to wake up to grey cloudy skies and a real rainy day. In the first four years we were here we did not have one rainy day. The thing is though that I don't factor rainy days into my thinking anymore. The idea of putting off things to do on a rainy day had become obsolete. So today I had planned to spend the afternoon in the garden, after I finished off some work. As I had a big day at work yesterday and was away from dawn to dark there would be many things that needed picking, pruning, weeding or otherwise attending to. However it is cool and very damp so a gardening day is not to be although I will need to venture out and pick the tomatoes and Zucchinis as they are in full swing and really need to be picked every day.
Last year my neighbour brought over a magnificent tomato that one of his mates had grown. It was huge and delicious. I saved the seeds and grew some. It has grown true to type and is producing amazing tomatoes.
I think it may be a brandywine although it could be an Ox heart, but it is a bit too pale. In anycase one of these wighted over half a kilo and they are averaging about 300grams. Not the prettiest tomatoes you have ever seen but beautifully dense with not many seeds. They are great to eat. I hope to get enough to make some Passata and preserved tomatoes but at the moment we seem to be eating them all. Peter is taking them for lunch and I am just throwing fresh tomatoes into everything that would normally used canned ones. I thought I had planted too many but think I could have used another couple of vines for preserving.
On my unplanned kitchen day i need to think of something to do with all these passionfruit.
On Monday i scooped out the flesh of about fifty and froze the pulp. I have done this a few times and really there is no point putting too much in the freezer as we will continue to have fresh things. I've made some passionfruit curd and as it is not exactly health food I don't want to have too much of that in the house. So I am not sure what I am going to do with all of these...maybe passionfruit jam? This bowl full was just what was on the ground on Monday so I guess there will be just as many out there again. I am eating them as fast as I can as well.
I think I will go outside and pick the rest of the plums as well as today is a perfect day for jam making. Every other day I have made summer jams has been so hot. This will be the last of the stone fruit for this year. I am happy to move on and pleased to say that the Fruit fly controls have worked and we lost minimal fruit to the pests.
I will need to make another loaf of bread today. It is great making sourdough more often as the starter stays really fresh and active. Just need to get it out of the fridge, discard a bit, about a third and then add a cup of water and a cup of flour. This should be ready to make into bread tonight. I will then let it rise overnight and bake in time for fresh bread at lunchtime tomorrow.
Last year my neighbour brought over a magnificent tomato that one of his mates had grown. It was huge and delicious. I saved the seeds and grew some. It has grown true to type and is producing amazing tomatoes.
I think it may be a brandywine although it could be an Ox heart, but it is a bit too pale. In anycase one of these wighted over half a kilo and they are averaging about 300grams. Not the prettiest tomatoes you have ever seen but beautifully dense with not many seeds. They are great to eat. I hope to get enough to make some Passata and preserved tomatoes but at the moment we seem to be eating them all. Peter is taking them for lunch and I am just throwing fresh tomatoes into everything that would normally used canned ones. I thought I had planted too many but think I could have used another couple of vines for preserving.
On my unplanned kitchen day i need to think of something to do with all these passionfruit.
On Monday i scooped out the flesh of about fifty and froze the pulp. I have done this a few times and really there is no point putting too much in the freezer as we will continue to have fresh things. I've made some passionfruit curd and as it is not exactly health food I don't want to have too much of that in the house. So I am not sure what I am going to do with all of these...maybe passionfruit jam? This bowl full was just what was on the ground on Monday so I guess there will be just as many out there again. I am eating them as fast as I can as well.I think I will go outside and pick the rest of the plums as well as today is a perfect day for jam making. Every other day I have made summer jams has been so hot. This will be the last of the stone fruit for this year. I am happy to move on and pleased to say that the Fruit fly controls have worked and we lost minimal fruit to the pests.
I will need to make another loaf of bread today. It is great making sourdough more often as the starter stays really fresh and active. Just need to get it out of the fridge, discard a bit, about a third and then add a cup of water and a cup of flour. This should be ready to make into bread tonight. I will then let it rise overnight and bake in time for fresh bread at lunchtime tomorrow.
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