We have two eating apple trees. The one near the back fence has seen a lot of ‘insect action’ on the fruit so I’ve concentrated more on picking the apples near the barbecue. That tree is pretty much stripped now and I’ve not particularly bothered with the windfalls as we now have plenty of fruit for our first batch of cider. Just need to get yesterday’s harvest boxed up today.
A day of autumnal feasting in prospect. Roast pork with all the trimmings. Apple and blackberry crumble with custard. I do need a top up trip to Waitrose. Butter, custard and onions. Not necessarily in that order. Might also buy some stock.
We haven’t had a roast for months but now is the time. Fluffy roast potatoes, crisp crackling, sage and onion stuffing, apple gravy. Bit of English mustard on the side. It ain’t rocket science. Just the basics done well.
I used to always add a slug of sherry into gravy but not done that in a while. One slug for the gravy and two for me. Not today. Driving Joe to the stayshun later. Also I want to stay awake into the evening. Whilst a boozy Sunday lunch is one of life’s joys you do have to write off the rest of the day.
But first, breakfast.
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It is still nice enough to sit out on the deck, albeit in a dressing gown. Cup of tea at my side. Magpie croaking noisily behind me. An unattractive croak has the magpie. Nasty bullies. We saw one attacking a blackbird on our lawn last year.
The leaves are very much back. Dead crinkled shadows of their former productive glory. We will need to decide when is the best time to shift em. More will come anyway.
The Sunday service was all about harvest. I switched off the wireless because as you may know I am very fussy about the Sunday service and this one didn’t cut it. However it did remind me that this is an important time of year for us all regardless of whether you treat it as a religious affair or not. Nature’s annual cycle continues to turn.
Seasonally, I threw a couple of slices of apple into the pan with the bacon. We learned of sliced apple as an ingredient of a cooked breakfast years ago when staying at Winteringham Fields. Figured it was about time we revisited the practice. We should also revisit the restaurant (with rooms) but it is best done with friends and last time I asked we couldn’t get anyone else to come along.
My flower meadow continues to produce. The packet said to expect blooms until the end of October and it is living up to the promise. Should be even better next year. I’m sat looking at it now. Ordinarily in years gone by I’d be flicking through the Sunday paper. Nowadays it is all done online. I am doing so on my laptop. The problem is there is not a single story that has tempted me to click and I scrolled all the way down to the bottom. I despair.
The greenhouse to my right is still producing tomatoes and the odd cuke. It’s next function is to store the apples for a month or so. I do need to move the boxes in there. Currently they are using up space in the utility room which pleaseth not THG.
I am pleased to announce that philosopherontap is now up to date. The site has 2,462 published posts of which 2,215 are mine. The rest are guest posts. Miscellaneous bits of poetry n stuff. Nowadays it uses the simple, standard wordpress template but in the past I’ve had lots of graphics in there. I may yet return to that format, at least with a featured image, but it will need to wait. I have other priorities. I started it in August 2008. Gosh.
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Much of the sunday dinner (lunch, depending on where you come from) is prepped. Now waiting in for someone to come and pick up the camping kitchen sold on FB Marketplace for a tenner before I can nip to Waitrose. Need ohohions, butter and something else. It’s written down but can’t remember what it is immediately. This is why we write things down. Custard, that was it 🙂Need to decide between Ambrosia and Waitrose’s posh stuff. Both have their plusses. Both need serving cold whatever happens.
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Forgot to mention yesterday that during our visit to St Denys’ church I noted the hymn numbers off the board: 105, 572, 626 and 104 in thats order. No idea whether they were left over from the previous weekend or put up in advance for today’s gig. Whatever the answer, and I’ve not looked up the specific hymns themselves, it is an important omission that I am happy to have now corrected.
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Pork Roasting guide
c gas 7 for 30 mins or until the skin has crisped up, then reduce heat to 160. c gas 3 and roast for a further 35 minutes per KG and adding on 15 minutes at the end of the cooking time, always allow to rest for 25-30 mins before carving.
So for a 1.27kg joint it is 30 mins at gas mark 7 followed by an hour at gas mark 3 then a 25 mins rest.
So for a 2pm dinner stick it in the oven at noon.
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Bought 3 onions, custard and butter (president salted) at Waitrose as previously mentioned. Had to be rescanned! The guy only scanned the custard. Fortunately it was only a small shop 🙂
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Just go with truth and beauty and forget the rest – Bill Evans (according to Tony Bennet)