Apples and Pears, Musings and Plans

 I am not 100% again although the spirit is willing the body is screaming whoa - too much.  I was up early this morning, felt 100% when I got up as bright as a button.  By 11:00am I had run out of steam was feeling very wobbly and ended up going back to bed where I crashed out for about four hours. Think Duracell Bunny running out of steam that is literally what happens. The rest of today has been spent not doing much as a result.  With my recent episodes I am keen to stop any further ones.

G has been fishing today and came back early as the waters were not fishing particularly well however he has come back with a load of Apples and Pears.  I am not going to say no to any kind of wildings.  Will probably be tomorrow though before I have a proper look at them (will see how I am) and decide what to do with them. So very grateful for these.  Since had a look and have decided to make Pears in syrup and some more Apple sauce.

I have as a result been taking things easy - not doing much today apart from doing a little research on some items which I am hoping will help me plan better for the garden next year. I am still in learning curve mode, but next year I intend to plan a lot better than I did this year.  There are a couple of things I need to make my life a little easier, however I will source those in the New Year or start to source them. 

Gardening and Cooking are technically different subjects and hobbies but both interlink.  I want to be able to grow ingredients that I am going to use - no point in growing ingredients that you are just not going to use.   I also want them to be free or as free as they can be of any nasties and I want them to be tasty.  

One thing that is apparent from this year's growing season is that the compost that I ended up getting was not particularly good and the crops have suffered a bit as a result.  I have a friend who I believe has a supply of horse manure and I think the soil and any future compost needs supplementing with home composted materials to make a better quality soil at the end of the day.  I need to therefore get back to basics on the gardening and then use a mixed combination of the two.  I will not become self sufficient in composting, but I will be able to make a little bit.

My gardening choices for next year are being coloured by the fact that I want to get back to a simpler way of eating, and a lot of this revolves around the choices we make as to what to store in the Pantry by way of ingredients.  One of the problems with preserving of any sort is that the general information surrounding how that preserve was used and what type of recipes etc. it was used in have been lost over many years.  I am specifically referring to the social use where preserving was carried out by the few, and not as it is now. That is a big loss as a lot of us are hesitant about things we have never tried before because we basically do not know how to apply them/use them. Ingredients are pricey and what if we do not like them.  In all honesty there are things that I have not tried yet and I feel the same way however I do see potential.  I take the view that anything that we are not particularly fond of may find its way into stews or soups - especially if a vegetable.  I have a waste not want not philosophy to food and it can always be used up somewhere. 

We are still in the Covid years, although at the beginning of the Pandemic there was a major problem with food systems. There still are, and I am trying to find my own way through this minefield (as so many of us are) and want to be able to have food in the Pantry that can be used in several ways. Certain foods were unavailable such as eggs.  A lot of us bake and being without eggs was and is a bit of a disaster.  However there are ways of still being able to bake without using eggs.  The American Ladies often use Apple puree or indeed Pumpkin puree for use in baking such as Muffins and other cakes. You have the sweet with the Apple and the savoury with the Pumpkin.  I love Pumpkin.  I love it roasted and served with the Sunday dinner, I love it in soup and as a filling in pasta. I also love Pumpkin Pie.  However, I had read of preserving Pumpkin in cubes for use in meals or indeed soups, but why not in the baking and why not the puree to help to adding to your pasta dishes? With the Puree if you make soups using the puree it is in a much readier easier to go format. A lot of people do not like lumps or chunks in their food and prefer smooth soups. I first came across purees on the Le Parfait site, and my initial reaction was baby food however I had not thought about baking.  That is until I saw a few ladies across the board using the pureed apple or Pumpkin in these alternative ways.  The purees produce the same kind of moisture that the eggs do.  The penny then dropped and then it made absolute sense to me and it is up to us to find different uses for said preserves.  

So much so, Pumpkin season will be with us soon, and I am really keen to get both apple puree and Pumpkin puree on the Pantry shelf, but also Carrot puree.  Carrots can be used for both sweet and savoury think Carrot cake and Carrot cake jam and  you can also dehydrate Carrot and you have the basics for cake from the Pantry shelf.  A different format for preserving vegetables which gives you added scope in how you use the ingredients in the first place.  A few years ago I made Carrot jam.  It is very different and I used mine up in trifles.  It seemed to complement the sponge cake very nicely. The same with Courgettes.

Pumpkins we know as the big Orange things that are very popular come Halloween.  I hope that any of you who buy the Pumpkins for decorating use them up by making soups or freezing the Pumpkin in wedges in the freezer.  No need to waste this most versatile of ingredients at all.  Preserve it make something of it, but please no waste.  The Forestry Commission are also saying not to leave Pumpkins out for wildlife as it can make them sick.  Many of them are fighting to survive in any event.  Please read the link here for further details. 

Forestry Commission - Do not Leave Pumpkins

I also understand that generally if you buy Pumpkin puree in a tin (which is a tad pricey) the "Pumpkins" that are generally used are what here in the UK are known as Butternut Squash; I also understand that technically they are a "Pumpkin Squash".  Really at the end of the day, despite splitting hairs, as to what they are called, they are a very useful addition to the Winter Pantry and we should not lose sight of that.  I buy and use these regularly during the Winter months.  I acquired a taste for Pumpkin when I went to Australia to stay with friends.

I am in any event buying in Apples on a regular basis as we use a lot of Apples.  Bramley cooking Apples pulp down beautifully into a beautiful Apple sauce. When you make this at home you can prepare bigger jars, but generally in the supermarkets we are given little jars and charged the absolute earth for. We predominantly use this as an accompaniment to Roast Pork.   We also use Crab Apple jelly which is delightful with Roast Pork. However Apple Sauce is also very useful in pastries (think Apple Turnovers), cakes, as a filling for cakes and sponges, pies, filled pancakes etc. etc. and now in baking such as Muffins and a replacement for eggs in baking.  Time to experiment a bit more, and work out what I want to grow next year based on what I want to put up on the shelves in the Pantry.

Certainly gave me food for thought.

Am off to put my feet up as I am still very much off colour.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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