Jam Today.

It has been dry all day with a warm wind blowing and I was so tempted to work outside but there was jam to be made. I cooked up 4 kilos of jam which should last quite a while. Some friends came round just as I had started so I turned down the heat and kept on stirring while we had coffee and caught up with family news as we don't see them that often. Peter had gone off gig rowing so he missed the visit.
As I had so much blackcurrant puree I thought I would see what else I could come up with. Yesterday I added lots to a basic cake recipe and made the very purple looking cake. I thought it was lovely but Peter didn't like it. Today I put blackcurrant puree in half of some cake mixture and kept the other half vanilla. Then I made cup cakes with both flavours of the mixture. (There was another batch in the oven.) I can freeze these for when we have visitors. I thought a cream cheese frosting with a drizzle of blackcurrant jam might go nicely on them. (Guess who watches Cupcake Wars?)
Yesterday evening we were sat watching Strictly Come Dancing on TV, (we turn into dance experts each year and really enjoy all aspects of the programme apart from the voting), when one of the 'filler' scenes took place on a city farm in London. Imagine our surprise to recognise Stepping Stones Farm, or as it is known now Stepney Farm. We were involved with the running of the farm, nearly 30 years ago, when it had been open for only a year. I served on the committee for several years and was even chairperson for one year.

Photo from Google images.

I used to teach half of each day and spent a lot of my free time beyond those gates, helping to develop the farm, organise events and generally helping our 2 paid members of staff. It was there that I learnt to milk goats and to shear a sheep with hand clippers.

Also from Google images.

We did a lot of work with local youngsters including from the Traveller community. I ran a pony club where the kids cleaned all the tack, groomed the ponies and finally took it in turns to have a lesson on our 3 ponies in this field which was one big field in those days. We also had a number of big open areas to ride on next to us. These were bomb sites from the war. The farm had ponies, goats, calves, sheep, chickens, ducks and rabbits and there were allotments for local people to grow veg.

Each year we would organise a horse show which was attended by youngsters from 2 other nearby city farms, The Mudchute and Spitalsfields Farm. That's me judging in the middle. The black horse on the end is my horse Meg whom I had bought from Lee Valley stables, now upgraded to Olympic standard for 2012, where I used to go for lessons.

There were also a surprising number of horses and ponies being kept privately in Stepney and I exercised and looked after some of those. This is Cream Boy, a section C Welsh cob stallion who was a driving rather than a riding horse and could be 'fun' to ride in traffic. I looked after him for a number of years and I was still riding him when I was pregnant with Vytas, much to my mother's horror.
I may have been living in the East End but I have always been a country girl at heart and as well as the farm and horses I was involved with the Cable Street Community Gardens and the East End Wildlife Group and got to see a lot of the wilder parts of this very urban area. I expect now that it has all been developed and there are no more wild places besides the canals or on the abandoned railway lines.

Lunch At The Station Inn.

We've had rain interspersed with torrential rain all day long. That scuppered our plans to go for a nice long walk before lunch but did not stop us going to The Station Inn at Blackmoor Gate for a carvery lunch. We all enjoyed our large portions of tender roast beef , (Peter, Romas & Vicky had roast pork as well) with fresh vegetables, Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes. Afterwards Romas and Vicky played pool and then Peter played against Vicky.
Even though we had travelled further north the wind turbines were clearly visible on the sky line (click on the picture for a better view). The youngsters keep telling me they are saving our future but I can't help bemoaning the fact that they intrude on so much of the once totally rural views of this part of Devon.
Back home I have continued tidying in the sitting room as well as painting some walls in the hall and baking a batch of apricot flapjacks. Romas, who can eat for England is wondering about supper but the rest of us will be happy with a cup of tea and a flapjack.

Lovely Summer Weather.

It's been a typical summer's day, grey with rain at times and the very occasional burst of sunshine. Vytas and Sally left at lunchtime to drive back up to Nottingham and Leicester leaving the rest of us to slop around the place. I did some sorting out in the sitting room as everything will have to be moved when the plastering starts. That's something I'm looking forward to and not looking forward to at the same time.
I did also get outside and do some cutting back of more alchemilla and general weeding. The honeysuckle has come into flower and every now and then I would get a blast of its sweet scent. The buddlia was full of honey bees. I have to be careful of the bees as I have become mildly allergic to their stings, as I had to keep telling the medical staff at the hospital when they were cross checking my medical history. I have got my next appointment at the hospital but it is not until Sept 12th.

One of the benefits of having Vicky and Romas stay is that they are keen and versatile cooks so will be able to work their way through the food currently filling our freezer. Our local Co-Op does such amazing bargains (70% off) that our freezer is always full of cut price food. Romas tells me that their local Sainsburys reduces food first by percentages, then to set amounts- £1, 50p, 15p and finally just before closing time to 1p! Great for those living on a limited income. Tonight we are having prawns and vegetables cooked in a green Thai sauce with noodles.

Brotherly Harmony.

Romas and Vicky arrived in the early hours of the morning. Romas' band had been playing a gig at a festival which was why they couldn't start their journey earlier in the day. It has been good to have all 3 of the boys at home today. And of course Vicky and Sally are here too. One of the nice things about the boys growing up is that they bring their girlfriends to this once male dominated household. I like to see the family growing and I enjoy the girls' company. In the morning Vytas and Romas indulged in a little brotherly rivalry/ exercises out in the garden.

Linas offered to make lunch as he was keen to show off his sushi making skills and had brought all the necessary ingredients and equipment with him. As I sat at my PC it was lovely to hear Romas and Linas working together in the kitchen and they produced a tasty lunch for us all.

As well as the traditional sushi they came up with a few variants including bacon? sushi. Finally all my attempts to make the boys self sufficient in the kitchen seem to be bearing fruit.

Sally and Vytas.

After lunch Peter took Linas back into town to catch the train back to Plymouth and the rest of the youngsters went for a walk around Bull Point and Rockham Bay. I was a little upset by their (Vytas') refusal of my request to accompany them on the basis that I don't walk fast enough for the boys. Vytas and Romas do tend to run and race each other at every opportunity and even the fittest members of the family have trouble keeping up with them. I think the girls must have told him off for his behaviour because he brought me home some fudge as an apology.

Romas and Vicky attempting to reenact the Titanic scene.

We've just had a pleasant supper, the youngsters are washing up and everyone is about to watch a film. I shall listen to the film and do jigsaws on the PC at the same time.

Autumn ?

It has been quite autumnal today with strong winds blowing and sudden rain showers. Going out for a walk we needed fleeces as well as jackets. Today's walk was very different as we were high up on the moors over the iron rich red sandstone cliffs near Heddon's Mouth (Lorna Doone country). We are always drawn to Morte Point and have forgotten how wild and beautiful it is up on the moors. We plan to make a few more trips in that direction this summer as not only are there free car parks but there are fewer tourists. Our walk was on Trentishoe Down (hills are frequently known as 'downs' ) which we can see from the top of our drive. We didn't walk down to Heddon's Mouth and Hunters' Inn as we planned to have lunch at the Station Inn at Blackmoor Gate.
Typical moorland scenery with the heather just starting to come into flower.

Looking back along the path the sky was blue but overhead grey clouds loomed.

Peter had taken the precaution of booking ahead so that we would have a table by the window as he knows if I can't be outside I at least, like to be able to see out. The Station Inn is well known for its Sunday carvery and today it lived up to its reputation. We were lucky to get the last (enormous) portions of beef otherwise it would have probably been the roast pork. They are known for their pork from their own Gloucester Old Spot pigs which can be seen outside. I let Peter have my Yorkshire pudding and then you help yourself to the vegetables - boiled & roast potatoes, carrots, cabbage and broccoli. I had no room for a dessert even without any breakfast and we don't need supper either. The beef was so tender you could 'cut' it with your fork and we thoroughly enjoyed it. At just under £9 each it was the same price as the roast dinner we had at Mortehoe and much, much better.

I don't feel too comfortable taking pictures with the public in so I snapped off one just to give a feel of the place.

On the way home, driving through the narrow lanes from East Down I had to reverse a long way to allow another car to pass. Nothing unusual in that but when the car went past us it had Lithuanian stickers in the windows. That was unusual.

I'm on schedule with my decorating. Today I painted the areas of the ceiling that had marks on. Mostly water stains though Mr Greenslade, the farmer who lived here before the people we bought the place from, told us that one set of stains were from a failed (or too successful), chemistry experiment carried out by their sons about 40 years ago. The stain cover paint is very thick and had to be applied with a brush because of the textured surface of the ceiling so that job took quite a while to do.

A Tasy Supper.

After Tuesday's food tasting my classroom assistant asked the children if they would like to try lobster as her brother had brought home some lobsters from a fishing trip. The kids were keen and today they all had a small taste which most of them liked. I'm not sure what parents' reactions will be to their children asking them to buy lobster for tea but it tied in well to our topic especially as I am trying to teach them that 'real' local food is a result of the climate and geography of a place. Janet was also kind enough to bring in this whole lobster for me to take home (and gave me instructions on how to dismantle the poor creature). We've just eaten it with boiled potatoes and a little salad dressing and very nice it was too. It seems to be our day for receiving gifts as Peter has brought home a part barrel of beer left over from the Beer Festival as a thank you for helping out behind the bar.

The weather continues to be mostly wet with the occasional sunny spell. There is the possibility of thunderstorms on Friday so we shall be unplugging our phone line in advance to avoid the possibility of damaging the PCs by lightening strike.

Potato Casserole.

The sun came out today, hooray! We had our final performance of the play this morning. It was quite good fun once it all came together but then again there was the stress of making sure that 31 children sat reasonably quietly and didn't chatter or stick their fingers up their noses. Now all the costumes are safely stowed away and we can concentrate on all the things we are making for Christmas. There is just the small matter of the Carol service at the church. Chris and I had been sitting back fairly relaxed about that as the Year 1 children only have to sing along with the carols, ( reception children do a Nativity tableau - very sweet, and the Year 2 children do the readings.) That is until we were asked to take a whole school carol practice tomorrow as everyone else is out or busy. Normally I wouldn't mind but I've got a rotten cold and my singing voice is more of a growl, still we'll give it a go.

As not much else (publishable) has happened today here is the promised recipe for Potato, cheese & cabbage casserole. It's one of those recipes where exact amounts and times don't really matter. So here goes -

Ingredients.
roughly equal amounts of thickly sliced potatoes (skin on or off),
sliced onions,
sliced white cabbage (same size slices as the onions).
And ....
lots of grated cheese (cheddar or Leicester or any hard cheese)
meat - chopped bacon or boiling ring or chorizo or cooked sausages or similar, omit for vegetarian version.
pepper to season
a little oil
Method
heat some oil in the base of a large saucepan or casserole (or slow cooker)
if using bacon, fry in the oil and then remove
put a thick layer of onions in the pan
next a thick layer of cabbage
if using meat sprinkle over the cabbage
season with pepper, we use very little salt in our cooking so we find there is enough salt in the cheese and meat for our taste, others may need extra salt
add several overlapping layers of potato
sprinkle cheese over the potatoes
repeat layers until pan is full , ending with a cheese layer
add water, 1 mug full (250 ml) for a large pan, 1/2 mug for a smaller casserole. The idea is to have at least 1/2 " at the bottom to prevent burning, the vegetables will also produce a lot of their own liquid.
place lid on casserole dish
Cooking
Cook on medium heat until everything is hot then either turn heat right down or place in a not too hot oven (150- 200C ) for several hours until cooked through. Sorry to be so vague but cooking in a rayburn is dependent on the direction of the wind, how much you put in the oven, if you have guests coming or if it's the second Tuesday of the month.
Enjoy!