Utterly Orange I Won The Bean Bag Chair and Cheese of the Month

 

Zucchini Chutney and Zucchini, Apple and Ginger Jam AKA Marrow

Zucchini and Apple Chutney

4 lbs zucchini, peeled and chopped into small pieces
2 lbs cooking apples peeled and chopped
3 onions finely chopped
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon chopped chilies ( I used fresh hot red peppers that I had, plus more to ones personal taste)
1 tablespoon chopped ginger root
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon allspice, bruised ( I used powder)
1 1/2 quarts vinegar

Place zucchini in a bowl, sprinkling salt as you layer it.  Leave for 24 hours, drain and wash well
Put zucchini in a saucepan along with the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer until chutney thickens.
Spoon in into jars, seal, and store for at least 4 weeks before opening.

Marrow and Ginger Jam

3 lbs sugar
3 lbs marrow
1 lb cooking apples
2 oz root ginger
juice of 2 lemons keep pips tie in muslin bag (or 4 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice)

Peel the marrow, discard the seeds and cut into cubes
Peel and core the apples and cut the flesh into cubes
Place in a pan and steam until tender and then mash
Add the lemon juice
Bruise the ginger, wrap in a piece of muslin and place in the pan
add the sugar, simmer and stir until dissolved
Bring to boil and boil for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally as the pulp thickens and setting point is reached
Put into hot sterilized jars, immediately cover
Makes about 4 lbs

• I used the bottled lemon juice that worked well would have used lemons if they had of been handy
• Peeled and chopped the ginger and just added in with the fruit.  Next time I would use more ginger as I like it and I like tiny pieces in my jam
• I mashed it with a potato masher but not completely, I like a few bits in my jam.
• Boiled for an extra 10 minutes as the marrow has a lot of water and it seemed to need it
• Set beautifully
• A great Jam

The above photo is the Marrow/Zucchini, Apple and Ginger Jam, just could not get my camera to focus on this correctly for some reason.

I always wash my jars then put them in the oven at 250 F for ten minutes to sterilize.

Take them out hot and fill.  After filling them I pour over hot melted wax and this makes a nice seal for any jams or chutneys, then just cover with the matching lids.

Christy

Delicious Scones Bran and Chocolate Chip

2 Cups all purpose flour ( I used 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of bran cereal)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled (I always use what ever I have)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teasponn vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips ( I used regular size)
1 egg white mixed with 1/2 teaspoon water for glaze (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 F Butter a 9 inch diamter circle in the center of a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture.  With a pastry blender or two knives used scissors fashion, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  In a small bowl, stir together the eggs, orange juice, vanilla and orange peel.  Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine.  the dough will be sticky.  with lightly floured hands, knead in the chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed.

With lightly floured hands, pat the dough into an 8 inch diamter circle in the center of the prepared baking sheet.  If desired, brush the egg mixture over the top and sides of the dough.  With a serrated knife, cut into 8 wedges.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester or tooghpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean.  Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes.  With a spatula, transfer the scones to the wire rack to cool.  Recut into wedges, if necessary.  Serve warm, or cool completely and store in an airtight container.  These scones freeze well.
Makes 8 scones.

Weekend Dreaming

My weekend was busy, shared with friends and productive.

Saturday morning service, then home for one of my tomato sandwiches, still enjoying those until the season ends.  Out again to the Library where they were having a presentation on Raised Vegetable Gardening.  It was given by a Montgomery County Master Gardener and I gleaned some points of interest.

I have long had in mind to make raised beds, for my vegetable growing and this seemed as good a time as any as the vegetable garden is coming to and end, and I can now make the containers.  I'm going to go the simple route, breeze blocks, I think two high and maybe put a dowels down to hold them.  In all those holes they have I may plant Marigolds, she mentioned one especially nice blooming one Neema-Gone, pests don't like it either.  So I am all excited to get going on this.  Husband is meant to be out buying the blocks today while I'm at work.

Nema Gone
Nema-Gone is proven in trials to be effective in killing nematodes in the soil, and it's beautiful and fast-growing too. A ¼ oz. packet (2,000 seeds) sows up to 500 square feet.


She mentioned a couple of tomatoes that she likes, Black Russian and Amana Orange.  I already plant a Black Krim.

Amana Orange
This huge orange heirloom tomato takes its name from Iowa's Amana Colonies, one of America's longest-lived communal societies, where it has been a long-time favorite. With a mild, sweet, tropical flavor, this beefsteak variety's fruits are light orange and fluted, growing up to 1-2 lb. on indeterminate vines.

Black Krim
This medium-sized, very dark maroon beefsteak, with wonderfully rich flavor, originated in Crimea, a peninsula in the Black Sea with perfect "tomato summers". Extremely tasty.

Black Russian


Afterwards, my friend Janice joined me for the presentation, she said "I don't feel like going home how about a coffee?" So we settled for Starbucks and a Chai Latte, which goes down well in the late afternoon with a little cooler weather, we managed to get two leather armchairs in the corner, a plus as the place was quite full.  We chatted, girl talk and talked about her travels, she has just come back from South Africa, can't wait to see her photos, then I said how about we pop over to Joanne Fabrics and take a look.

I found an adorable teapot pin cushion on clearance, so that was my little acquisition.

Sunday I phoned my friend J. in the UK, in less than two weeks she will be over for a visit with another friend named J.  My childhood friend Graham calls them "The Pair of Jean's" I think that's a rather fun name for their visit.  So Jean I've been thinking about what to do. Amish Country, New York City, The Shore, as Jean said it's all new to her.

All my flowers will not be babied along to their visit, they are just fading out quickly and the yard and garden is beginning to need that Autumn clean up, which we started on at the front on Sunday afternoon, but when you start you never realize how much there is to do.  We accomplished a lot though, and went in tired but satisfied.

We had some NZ lamb chops for dinner, on sale for a ridiculously lower price than USA lamb, shipped from the other side of the world.  Maybe you should buy local, although I don't think we get get local lamb right around here, but one has to also shop one's purse.  All this shipping of things from one side of the globe to the other seems to not be environmentally friendly and something just not right about it. But did I say I very much enjoyed them, we all did.

Since the evenings are cooler now it seemed the right time to bring out my half started knitted scarf.  I thought I had more scarfs in the bag that I had made from the fishnet yarn, then I remembered that I had given several away.  So finished one off all lovely shades of deep brown, aubergine and red, sounds funny but it isn't and I have a friend who wears exactly those colours in Autumn, so I think she will like it.

I have both crocheted and knitted these scarfs.  Crochet goes more quickly and there isn't a too discernible difference, it's probably a matter of preference.  At the moment I'm working on a knitted one in pinks, maroon and greys.

They have more wonderful yarns out this year to make these scarfs, such luscious colours and all types of thickness.

Ann Hunt Designs, this is a Logo I came up with.  It comes of being in the print business one's mind is always thinking of logos and designs, at least I do.  Any thoughts?

Plus Ann Hunt Designs or Creations or Atelier could cover what ever I want to showcase.  Dream on, me with little time.

Every day I pass by this old Pennsylvania Barn for Rent.  The outside has lots of character, stone and weatherboard.  I always dream that it would make a wonderful crafting space to give lessons and gather together.  Off course this is all a dream, as I have never seen inside and I'm sure it is huge and probably has a very nice rental tag to go with it.

Watched the New Inspector Foyle who is about to join MI5 or maybe not.

Well now I must go home and summon up the energy to lug around breeze blocks.  I have just one corner bed in my mind.

Christy

P.S.  One raised vegetable garden made, four more to go.

Palm Beach, Miami and Little Havana

The first photo is Palm Beach and all the rest are Miami.

We got up very early on Sunday morning to get a good start on the day.  We wanted to spend the day in Miami and knew we had a long drive from Jonathan Dickinson State Park.  The boy wanted to stop off in Palm Springs, but it was far too early on a Sunday morning for anything to be going on; which was rather disappointing, especially for the Boy.  The shops were closed it was dead.

We did get to see the beach and the air conditioned beach Life Guard huts, only in Palm Beach, on all other beaches the Life Guards swelter with everyone else.  This is just about the only photo I took all day as it was very intense driving, super wide highways.

We made it down to Miami going to a new artsy type area, with just a few ritzy stores, that had just moved there, lower real estate prices, but up and coming, just a block or so away was a be very careful area.  We didn't stay long here, Sunday again and not much going on.  So made it down to the Latino area of downtown Miami.  Where we eventually found a parking space, and found a nice restaurant for brunch which we splurged on.  But we still knew we had not found Little Havana.  With more looking in the guide book we eventually made our way there.

 

Here I am in a music store in Little Havana.

I wish we would have come here first because I had wanted to get a Cuban Sandwich and this was the place for them.

Here is the famous square where they all play games, mostly Chess.  I had heard of this square before, but imagined it much larger with more trees.

The music was great and I bought a lovely pair of wooden hand made earrings from a street vendor, they were so inexpensive, and later I kicked myself for not getting more things there.  Very dangly and Latino, I love them.

Here we are going over the bay inlet across to South Miami Beach.  By then it was later in the afternoon, Sunday and mobbed, I mean mobbed.  Driving was a nightmare hence all Rob's photos.

If we were to do it again on a Sunday, we should have hit the beaches coming down first thing in the morning, from North to South and then gone into Miami downtown, but it always takes a day to become oriented in a city.  Rob would have liked to have parked and walked the beach and the restaurant area, but there was not a place to park anywhere.  By then I was tired of looking and driving and looking and driving, plus with the bus with no power steering you cannot easily get into a space, it takes a lot of yanking on the steering wheel.

So at this point we decided to call it quits and head on to our next State Park camp site down in the Keys.  John Pennekamp Coral Reef.  We knew that too would be quite a drive.

Christy

Anastasia Beach Inlet In The VW Camper Van #VWVAN

Anastasia State Park is rated high on the Florida State Parks to visit and stay at.  It has a wonderful long beach.  After visiting Flagler College and having another wander around St. Augustine, we decided to just chill out and go back to Anastasia Park where we were staying.

Of course the funny thing is that when you have a camper van everything is with you and nothing gets left at the camp site unless you have a screen tent etc, but we were doing so much travelling that two nights in one place was a luxury.

Here we are having a very late lunch at the inlet in the park.

Taking photos.

Just sitting around and enjoying the scenery and down time.

Everything in the camper matched, including saucepans, bedding and towels, as you can see.

The front passenger seat was great you can swivel it around to where ever you want to face.  Facing the driver's seat was most comfortable, as you can put your feet up.

Later in the early evening we drove over to the beach and took a dip, and just walked some of the beach, it's very long.  This is on the Atlantic Ocean, so morning sunrise, no setting sun, I've already commented on how my very favourite beaches face West.  Just love to see the setting sun over the ocean.

Christy

Drawing To An End, Summer Work Day Lunches by the Creek Bank

Autumn is drawing in with the cool evernings and the leaves are just starting to turn in our area.

This week though we have some days up to 95 F so decided to take advantage of this and try and get in a few last work day lunches by the river bank, before it is too cold.

Things are falling off the trees and plopping loudly in the creek, nuts and all sorts of things, one was so loud I thought somebody was there and had thrown something in, but no just things falling into the creek from the trees.

This is my new lunch bag, well I bought it a little while ago but never took a photo.  I like the style, two open side pockets and an inner large cooler zipped compartment, it works well for me.  Even like the bright pattern, not classical but fun.

Writing in my Persephone Diary and enjoying a few rays of dappled sunlight through the leaves, just laying back and looking up, that so reminds me of childhood days.  A needed respite, happy moments in a busy day.

Christy

Grand Parlor of the Ponce de Leon Hotel, St Augustine

The Hotel's Grand Parlor now the Flagler Room.

Onyx fireplace suround with a Thomas Edison clock one of the first ever to be used in a public building.

These are exquisite, I'm very partial to crystal chandeliers, I have one in my dining room.  These are Tiffany Austrian crystal.

Henry Flagler's wife was much younger than he was so he had her painted in such a way to look older, as you move around the painting she grey's out.  I don't think I would have liked that.

Spent a lovely cool time here.

Christy

Flagler College Inside

Flagler College here which was the Ponce de Leon Hotel here, would be a most asthetically pleasing college to attend.

Below is the Rotunda entrance way, with an 80 foot domed ceiling supported in part by eight ornately carved oak caryatids of robed women copied from the temple of Diana in Greece.

Above is Flagler's private entrance way to the dining room.  As this was a Hotel he could bring his special guests in this way and they sat in a certain area of the dining hall.  Here there are 79 Louis Comfort Tiffany's stained glass windows.

All the chairs are reproductions of the original which are worth quite a bit per chair, even so what a wonderful place to dine in.  There is a slight difference in the carvings, Rob is checking this out.

It may take me to the end of the year just to get through our Florida vacation.

Christy