The
long awaited chickens have at last come to roost in our ramshackle
hen house – seven ladies and a gentleman of the Italian variety
(they are simple referred to as 'Italiener' - an old land race bred
for both eggs and meat [being rather larger than average]). They
should begin laying in the early part of autumn and are almost ready
to be released into the orchard, now into their third day of
confinement.
There
they will meet the sheep, moved once again with as much hassle and
frustration as before! Yet they are so contented amongst the fruit
trees and tall grasses that it was certainly worth the afternoon of
chasing them along the stream, twice across to the neighbours and
finally through the narrow gate into the orchard. The most prized
trees are protected with wire fencing staked around each trunk.
Whilst
the girls gather elderberries, I tackle the mound of tomatoes. This
week's mission is Letscho – in its simplest form, a tomato sauce
with peppers and onions, very popular in this part of the world. It
is often associated with Hungary, yet each country has its own take
on it. The variations tend to be with regard to seasonal
availability. So this batch takes in our glut of Galician peppers.
A
very popular dish in Galicia is fried, whole peppers, but not just
any old peppers. These are small, green and deceptively mild. The
catch is that every now and then you will come across a spicy one,
and then it is really spicy! So your plate arrives in front of you
and you are none the wiser until you taste!
We
took some seeds with us last year, propagated them in our town flat
and planted them out into the poly tunnel. Now we are inundated with
them! I sat for an hour or so, de-seeding and chopping them for the
Letscho, before I realised that my fingers were slowly burning. Using
gloves at this point was pointless and it became clear that the
majority of this next generation are really hot!! The burning
continued for two days, almost unbearable the first evening, as if
fire was burning inside my fingers, emanating outwards and
sensitising my skin to the slightest contact.
This
last fortnight has seen a massive growth and ripening of everything
we have planted, as well as the gifts already present on the land.
The apples are almost ready, raspberries are at their prime, rosehips
are getting close and in the tunnel, tomatoes continue to fill our
basket every couple of days, along with courgettes, a few okra and
beautifully radiant aubergine.
French
beans - lightly fried in a lidded pan with butter and garlic -
accompany almost every meal. Most of the rest are blanched for
freezing. One batch sits in a large, ceramic crock covered by a salt
brine. They are slowly fermenting with the help of a dash of whey and
will be preserved in this way (stored in a cool place) for many
months ahead. This process of lacto-fermentation is something we are
keen to explore further with a wide range of our produce once our
kitchen and processing space are finally finished.
The
yard and the tool shed are now being prepared for a fresh crew of
willing helpers arriving today. A new fireplace is laid to complete
the oval landscaping surrounding the walnut tree – a space for
growing kitchen herbs and enough room around the fire to accommodate
sociable numbers. The tool shed is slowly being cleared of its' only
half interesting junk, no longer waiting for the previous owner to
finally take his things. After so many semi-lazy sunny days that drew
us to the nearby lakes after a morning's work, the stronger breezes
of pending autumn are now visiting more often and we are finding a
new source of strength to dent the long list of things to do for the
winter.
Weekly column 'A Taste of Earth' published @ www.porkandgin.com
Weekly column 'A Taste of Earth' published @ www.porkandgin.com
