Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness?

[Bloden]

What! Homemade soup is the bestest! Well, mine is. 😉

I know! It makes no sense not to like it. My mum’s parsnip soup is deee-licious. I just hate a meal that’s over in 2 mouthfuls. 🙂

 

[eggyg]

Damson jam is absolutely wonderful though!

Can you not just halve them and skim the stones off as the fruit softens away? (high risk and there were always some left in, but I think that was what my Mum’s Mum used to do with the jam from their enormous damson tree)

Maybe if I was a patient person like your grandmother obviously was! 😉

 

[Ivostas66]

Sloe Gin is wonderful! I gather it helps to allow the first frost to hit the sloes (old wive’s tail??).

My parents gave me some bullace last year (a wild plum even smaller than damsons) and we’ve still got some bullace vodka left - not for long I suspect once the nights start drawing in!

I have made damson and bullace Vodka in the past, both of which are lovely. I'm not a fan of sloe gin as the junipers and sloes end up having a flavour fight in the mouth, whereas with Vodka it's just the pure taste of the Sloe's (Damsons or Bullaces). Went on a tour to the Silent Pool distillery at Christmas, which is only about 15 minutes from our house in the Surrey Hills - the head distiller said he was a purist and felt you shouldn't really put sloes with gin as the two flavours were 'too competitive on the palate'. And in terms of a frost, if you can wait that long then yes it is a good idea - problem is everyone else picking them before a frost. I pop them in a carrier bag in the freezer overnight, which also saves pricking them with a needle as they become a little 'mushy'.

 

[Ivostas66]

Recipe for sloe, bullace or damson vodka if anyone is interested:

2kg of sloes, bullaces or damsons
1kg of sugar
3 bottles of cheap vodka (it really doesn't matter if it is paint stripper-esque as the fruit and sugar provide all the flavour)

Prick the fruit (or freeze it overnight so it goes 'mushy'). Add it to a demijohn or large kilner jars. Add the sugar and finally the vodka. Seal it, leave it at the back of a dark cupboard for 6 months, but give it a shake every couple of weeks. Strain it through several layers of muslin into bottles. Leave it for at least another 6 months and then enjoy.

We opened a bottle we made in 2014 last week when we visited friends, and it was incredible.

 

[stephknits]

Reading this thread before breakfast was a mistake - I'm now starving! I love autumn. I have to confess, am also not a huge fan of soups, largely cos I had a bad car crash at 18 and had to eat through a straw for about 6 weeks. Liquidised Christmas dinner is just not the same.

 

[miguel81]

It is getting noticeably cooler now, which is very nice. Morning walk with my dog is more of a pleasure than a duty. Mid-day walk however means that we still have to stick to the shade. I am going to have some baked salmon tonight, after marinading it in both teriyaki and hoisin sauce with a little bit of brown sugar. Looking forward to it with some mash and carrots cooked in butter and pastis.

 

[Lanny]

I’ve just got my BS stabilised again after testing, experimenting, upping & lowering a bit all of my insulin doses for the annual increase every Autumn: it’s a lot of hopping on toes with a lot of testing, adding corrections & hypo treatments to hand until I get it right; it happens every year! 😱🙄 BUT, it IS slightly easier than the polar opposite of the Spring decrease that also happens every year: except it DIDN’T this year because of CV & Lockdown; fighting hypos while decreasing insulin doses & JB’s are an absolute necessity!😱

I was hoping since my doses didn’t go down this Spring & stayed at last Winter’s doses, I wouldn’t need to increase now BUT, no it still needed to go up: not as much as double like previous years but, still up by about 25%; every year Spring doses are halved & Autumn doses are doubled!🙄

I’ve started slowing cooking stews & casseroles already & it won’t be long before I’ll be making soups: planned on making chicken & veg soup with my asda weekly shop tomorrow; I LOVE soups in the Winter as there’s nothing more comforting than a hot bowl of homemade soup in cold weather!😛

Then, in the run up to Christmas, the festive food that’s only available then at the supermarkets that I love: tesco’s gyozas will be coming out soon & they’re my favourites; it’s mostly the savoury, festive trimmings I love! 😛 I tend not to go for the sweet stuff: that way lies a slippery path; not even on the actual day of Christmas do I ever go for puddings or sweets. Nope, my sweet indulgence day has now been deferred, last 5 years or so since the switchover to insulin, to my Birthday in late November instead: only 1 day; not the prolonged festive season of modern times that runs on for months!🙄😱 That’s the problem with Christmas now: it’s just too long; all that extra prolonged, very early build up to it!

And my favourite part of Winter is the long, dark nights for stargazing: the sky is particularly clear after a snow shower rather like the clearing of the air after heavy rain! Stars appear crisp & sharp with no sparkle; stars glimmer & sparkle when the atmosphere isn’t very clear making looking at the planets & the moon through binoculars & telescopes more difficult as it’s fuzzier! Amateur astronomers have to put up with ebbing & flowing patches of fuzziness as the impurities in the atmosphere move over what they’re looking at!🙄 That was the reason why The Hubble Space Telescope was made: no atmosphere for crisp & clear images!😛😎

Also, there’s the chance of seeing The Northern Lights in the Winter night skies: mainly in the Artic circle but, CAN & have been seen in the UK; especially if the Sun is in an active phase! In active Solar Cycle years I eagerly watch the Winter skies for aurora’s & if it happens; grab a chair to sit on, wrap up warmly & watch the lights show in the sky!😛😎😉

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

It was crazy-hot yesterday. And it looks like today and tomorrow will be equally warm!

 

[miguel81]

The rainy season is due to start here and tomorrow heavy rain is expected. It is ominously dark today though so I must venture out to the bank before it gets too wet.

 

[trophywench]

Mike 100% correct about the sloes and exactly the same applies to damsons, but just earlier because once they've had the frost, their skin splits easily so you can remove the stones. And that's why the old wives tale is 100% correct! Don't wait for the weather though these days there's no need! - gather em and freeze them raw, defrost em a bit and off you go!