Unintelligent Design

Today's the day that Dora Saunders, my mum's mother, would have turned 100.

The family's scattered across the country today, but we're all raising a glass of something suitable in her memory (whisky, in my case).

Well, I'm not bad at growing pumpkin. And I'm certainly quite good at eating it. Possibly need a bit more practice cooking it, though...

Yesterday's project was pumpkin and chorizo soup. Home grown pumpkin, garlic, sage and chilli, plus homemade chicken stock (...which also included some veg & herbs from the garden).

The only things straight out of a shop were the onion and the chorizo. Quite happy about that bit.

A little less happy with the end result, which was perhaps a bit thin and lacked a certain oomph. Not sure if the stock needed to be reduced or the pumpkin simply wasn't sufficiently flavourful.

I suspect the latter - more chicken (or more chilli and garlic, for that matter) might just have overwhelmed it.

So, time to do something else with the other half of the pumpkin. Something that may bring the flavour out a little more... I think it may need to be roasted (or pan cooked) and served up with some sausages... :)

...and then, of course, I've got a whole heap of pumpkin seeds to use. A bit of salt, a splash of water and a few minutes under the grill. Nom. :-)

My attitude to the garden is, generally, a fairly simple one: I want to fill it with things I can eat. And then I want to eat them.

Fond as I am of gardening, I don't actually have the motivation to stick with it unless I get some treats out of it. So fruit, veg and herbs are generally the focus of it all.

...and sooner or later, that was going to mean more trees, wasn't it? This may sound a little odd to anyone who's had to help me destroy the existing trees in the garden but, basically, they were the wrong trees and in the wrong places. The new ones will be dfferent.

More specifically, the new ones wll produce edible stuff.

I've already got a 'Vranja' quince tree which should - hopefully - start fruiting next year. The latest additions are:

• Damson - 'Farleigh'
• Apple - Peasgood's Nonsuch
• Apple - Blenheim Orange
• Apple - Orleans Reinette

...the problem with apples being that the variety I really wanted (the Nonsuch) isn't self-fertile, so multiple trees were required. Still, I've got space for them (they're all on semi-dwarfing rootstock) and they should give me a decent variety of fruit.

The choice of varieties is very much Nigel Slater's fault - 'Tender' recommends Peasgood's Nonsuch as the best apple for a great tasting cooked slush and Blenheim Orange is his preference for apple tarts (and anything else where the cooked apple needs to hold its shape). To complete the set, Orleans Reinette is meant to be a rather tasty/fragrant eating apple.

I see apple crumble in my future. :-)

As for the damson... well, frankly, if I want to eat damsons without raiding Borough Market or somewhere similar, I'm gong to have to grow my own (much like the quinces). And I quite like the idea of eating damsons now and then.

For anyone who's strugglng to picture these in my garden - apple trees down the left side, by the fence, opposite the lawn (close to the house, before the raised beds start hogging all the space). That puts them to the exposed side of the garden, but they'll just have to cope. The damson's going on the right, close to the house, sheltered from the north wind.

Of course, this does mean that it'll be a few years before I get fruit. And that if I sell up and move out before then, it's all wasted effort. But that's the nature of the thing, isn't it? If that does happen, I just hope whoever moves in appreciates them!

For some odd reason, I always wanted to grow marrows in the garden, not just courgettes. I'd never really planned beyond the 'growing them' stage, mind you.

Last year I got one marrow. Just one. This year I got four (so far - might get one more before frost kills the plants...).

...which leads on to the question of "what do you do with a marrow?". More than one cook book suggests that the answer is basically "shrug, walk away and cook something else" - as if marrows are a lost cause...

This hasn't helped me to find interesting ways to use them. However, Sarah Raven and Nigel Slater are both, thankfully, made of sterner stuff. :)

Mr Slater's 'Tender" has a recipe for baked marrow with spicy minced pork. Lots of mint, dill and lime. Plus a fair bit of chilli (with the pan-fried mince). It's good. It has a certain kick to it. Definitely autumn food.

Last night's attempt was a little different, though - chicken stock, marrow and coconut milk (plus ginger, basil, mint and onion) as the basis for a soothing, gently warming soup. And half a marrow fed four - including seconds - which is never a bad thing...

Next, I think, it's time to try Nigel Slater's veggie stuffed marrow recipe. Let's see how this one goes... :)

I have had better weeks. I've certainly had weeks with more sleep, fewer last minute disasters at work and less creaking from various joints. I've also failed to actually cook anything aside from sausages. 

That's not so good. I suspect I'm going to have to make up for it by preparing something dreadfully healthy. Cabbage soup seems like a decent option. Possibly with added chorizo (thank you, Nigel Slater...) just so that it's not, y'know, too healthy...

Finished watching season #1 of Leverage last night. Definitely hooked now.

With a couple of exceptions, it's a season that steadily improves as it goes. Or, at least, most of my favourites are in the last batch of episodes - The Juror #6 Job, The Bank Shot Job, The Twelve Step Job...

...and The First David Job. Which has to be my favourite of the whole bunch. Right from the first scene, it's clear that this one's not going quite to plan. And that it's personal.

The season finale ('The Second David Job') is a great, classic con - and equally personal. But it's not as dark... and the last third(?) of 'The First David Job' is absolutely great stuff...

(I've deliberately avoided major spoilers in the post, but comments may get some...)

Just spoke to the owners of the cat we found on Saturday. At least they know what happened now.

Definitely looking forward to it now. Today's soundtrack is mostly Memmaker. :)

("Band interests: Make music to make money to make more music to make more money to make robots that dominate the world." Sounds fair to me...)

Sunday's roast ended up as Tuesday's roast. That wasn't really supposed to happen.

On the plus side, I think that's probably the best thing I've cooked in a while. Forerib of beef, roast potatoes, chard, leeks and carrots. Would have benefited from proper gravy, but other than that...

Today is also yet another day when the dishwasher proves its worth. :)