Witches’ Brew…
In between writing Tobias, I’m in the throes of making chutney from the largesse from our orchard. We’ve already frozen stacks of nectarines and apricots for all things jammy, desserty and cakey. (That word – cakey. Reminds me so much of the late M.m. Bennetts – writer of the most extraordinarily good historical fiction set in the Napoleonic Wars. Cakey was definitely her thing.)
Currently, we’re picking pears, quinces and apples – last week we made pear and quince chutney which is the colour of quince paste – a rich watermelon pink colour.
I forgot to reduce the amount of cayenne and curry powder as we were only cooking 4 lbs of fruit and thus that batch has been dubbed the Brains Blow-out. This week however, we are making simple pear chutney. Not so powerful…
Young Dog, our adolescent Jack Russell, has appointed himself the guardian of the most loaded of the pear trees. He chases the ghastly black bush ravens away as only a JRT can.
All the fruit is peeled and cut – a tedious job, and one has to remind oneself that this chutney eaten with meats and cheeses, is absolutely delish!
We use a fifty year old recipe which is foolproof.
The spices. Waiting…
It simmered for the whole day – ‘Double, double, toil and trouble, Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.’
And filled seven jars for all our trouble.
We have still to pick all the apples and we both have an urge to make apple and rhubarb chutney. Maybe next week…
And there are three young trees of almonds to pick and shell.
Or…
we could leave the almonds for the parrots.
So good to see all the wonders of your cooking and filling those little jars. Love that word cakey, well done.
Hallo there, Jim. I have to be honest and say I didn’t invent the word ‘cakey’. I first heard it from M.m. Bennetts, the writer – a most erudite and witty woman who wrote in a style to die for and who happened to have an utter predilection for cakes of all kinds. She was a good writing friend to many of we independent historical fiction authors, being one of our cadre. She was also a great fan and a friend of the illustrious Dorothy Dunnett. Sadly M.m as we called her, died last year after a courageous battle with cancer. But she will always be remembered for her excellent books, her Renaissance skills (musician, writer and so on), her sharp wit and her beloved ‘cakey’.
Oh my Prue, you have been busy, I had a recipe like that when I put in chilli powder in instead of seasoning, my brother in law loved it !! Its very satisfying when its done and lovely when its ready. The tedious part is the chopping up ! I love listening to the jars popping once its all done and cooling
It’s a bore with all that chopping – but I have a very good hubbie who helps. Bet you do too!
Love the chilli thing – my brother would adore it!