I ended the previous post saying I was off to pick the strawberries. Here they are with the biggest and smallest ones on top. For just a few plants they are rewarding me well.
We had a tiny fall of rain overnight which is just what I hoped( more would have been good but )
as I wanted to do other things today ( other than orchard work that is ).I was up early and had a large quiche for later in the day made before breakfast. Straight after breakfast I completed stage one of Christmas cake making. I got ready a double mixture ( because of my tin size ) and it's now cooling before adding the rest of the ingredients, then slow cooking. Over the years I have used many different recipes but the one ( quite simple - with home grown freshly squeezed orange juice in it )I like best now, I have made for the last few years and it is liked even by folk who say they don't like fruit cake. By making the double mixture I am able to fill my big tin and then put what is left into either a loaf tin or muffin pans for giving or pre Christmas cutting. ( if anyone wants the recipe I could write it out here for you ).
as I wanted to do other things today ( other than orchard work that is ).I was up early and had a large quiche for later in the day made before breakfast. Straight after breakfast I completed stage one of Christmas cake making. I got ready a double mixture ( because of my tin size ) and it's now cooling before adding the rest of the ingredients, then slow cooking. Over the years I have used many different recipes but the one ( quite simple - with home grown freshly squeezed orange juice in it )I like best now, I have made for the last few years and it is liked even by folk who say they don't like fruit cake. By making the double mixture I am able to fill my big tin and then put what is left into either a loaf tin or muffin pans for giving or pre Christmas cutting. ( if anyone wants the recipe I could write it out here for you ).
The other photo I had forgotten to show was of the goodies I purchased at Calico Christmas.( a lovely calendar; a Children's book I knew about - made from a quilt and tells the German folk tale; a couple of fat quarters and a wee bundle of matching squares of butterfly fabrics and contrasts put out by "Me and MY Sister." ( future project - hey it has pink in it - little girlie colours)
I haven't taken the little Kiwifruit photos yet but thought you might like to see Feijoa flowers. I don't think they are grown in many other countries but any Kiwis or those who have visited here might know and like them. ( you either love or hate them) YUM! (it always surprises me how alike Feijoa and Pohutukawa flowers and leaves are....could they possibly be distantly related ? )
Tonight is the AGM of my P and Q Group, so it's going to be a busy day.
Seems like everyone in blogland is busy making fruitcake! My mother used to make them in November. Very heavy and rich. She'd wrap it up in liquor soaked cloth and let it age keep in the [frigid zone!] front sitting room. I didn't like it much, although fruitcake afficionados loved hers! But I never refused a slice as I LOVED the blanket of marzipan she wrapped around it, and the hard icing that she made to look like snow! She always put a little miniature cottage and a few little trees on top--I really loved how it looked.....
ReplyDeleteI make a much lighter fruitcake when it's closer to Christmas.
Beautiful picture of these yummy strawberries!
ReplyDeleteGetting ready for Christmas, already? I should start thinking of it too...
Feijo and Pohutokawa are indeed related. Scientific: Metrosideros excelsa both are of the myrtle family. The website said the Pohutokawa sometimes grows so close to the sea that oysters can be found growing on them! My favorite NZ tree.
ReplyDeleteOh we had a whole hedge of Feijoas, & there were the long variety, & the round ones. We loved them! Though, by the end of summer we were sick of them. No large freezers back in our day! We had them sliced with a little sugar or stewed with icecream or a sponge topping, a hot dessert. I never see them in the shops over here, so they must be hard to grow- or not profitable.
ReplyDeleteYou made me feel homesick!
your strawberries make my mouth water!
What is Feijoa?
ReplyDeleteLove your beautiful berry pictures! I have never made fruitcake, just enjoyed it...Yum!
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