Ah at last I have had the nerve to quilt the trees on my new Bernina sewing machine! It was easy when I got going but the stitch regulator is so different from the "foot on the gas" style quilting I have done before. As one moves the fabric the machine automatically stitches at the same length whatever speed one goes. I think it's like switching from a manual Vauxhall Viva to an automatic step-tronic BMW (that's for any men reading).Talking of trees I went on a foray to the much neglected allotment today with my 9 year old boy. We lit a fire. All boys should have compulsary GSCE fire poking homework. Then we picked apples, sprouts, he shelled the beans for next year's seed and finally picked coriander seeds. Off he went, bamboo cane in hand to see what was further afield whilst I dug up Jerusalem artichokes and red cabbage.
Anyway we came back with this lot.We had a crowd for dinner so a shoulder of lamb was coated with the toasted and crushed coriander seeds with cumin (Rachel Allen recipe) and slow roasted for 4 hours and the red cabbage braised with apple, onion, garlic and spice (Delia Smith recipe). The sprouts were lightly steamed and some previously dug spuds mashed.
Madeira cake was drenched in Remy Martin and piled with fruit salad and whipped cream to follow.
The wine was not from the UK but was plentiful (hence I have to keep re-typing pretty well all these words) and my mother- in- law set fire to the table just to keep us on our toes.
I wouldn't touch the sewing machine after all that lot because it would bring a whole new meaning to meander quilting!
Yum! and your trees are loonking good too. what size is your allotment? it sounds very productive - i always assumed they were very small.
ReplyDeleteLove your trees JGYG. Sounds like you had a lovely day with your nine year old, you are right fires are fascinating at that age.
ReplyDeleteYum, I wan't to come to dinner. Your lanb, and fresh garden vegies, and desert, and wine. It all sounds so yummy. Promise I wont set fire to anything.
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Hi there
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment on my Blog. Allotments are bigger than they look when you get digging! Actually I have 1 1/2 plots and that amounts to about 40 feet by 60 feet. You can feed two or three families for a year on that if you have the time. I haven't bought many veg since May and have quite a lot of fruit and veg in the freezer. The last two summers have been wet so that has not helped some crops but on the other hand potatoes, apples, blackberries, currants and beetroot have done exceptionally well. Win some lose some.
I'm glad we went over there yesterday because there is snow today and a gale blowing - it's not so inviting! x
Well done with the new machine. I love our allotment, it's magic,each day we go, something has popped up and it tastes so much better!
ReplyDeleteLunch at you house sounded scrummy, we'll be around as soon as we can get a flight back...
Sounds like a perfect day.
ReplyDeleteA great post! My favourite things trees and food! The food sounds yum - I love recipe books so must go investigate your recipes!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful harvest and feast to follow. You can't go wrong with Rachel Allen and Delia Smith can you? How good to know that at least one 9 year old knows where his food comes from!
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