It has been a time of harvesting again here. The weather has improved slightly allowing me to cut and bring in various herbs for drying, aided and abetted by Lucy and Isabella of course. Some of the bunches I cut earlier have dried and are now crumbled into jars ready for use in either the kitchen during the months when the plants outside will have lost much of their flavour or to fill some of the sachets in the sewing room. The shelves are once more filling with jars of oregano, marjoram, lemon balm and mints of all kinds.
Mr Davey and I also pruned the lemon which grows all year under our bedroom window. It sits there quite happily in rain and sun and snow - when we get it - the waxy flowers perfuming our dreams and the leaves flavouring any Thai dishes we may conjour up. This year we decided to dry the prunings to have a handy supply for wet days when even the thought of the brief journey through the front door to gather fresh leaves seems too arduous. I may also include some in my Christmas spice mixes to fill the decorative things I am working on for the business.
Dave has also brought in beautiful garlands of hops to drape over the bookcase and kitchen mantlepiece. These will be thrown into the beers he makes which are just delicious - no shop mixes here, all real malt and magical combinations of different varieties of hops, etc to make the beers and ales and my personal favourite of a Guiness-like bitter....lovely!
I am very behind on writing up my 'What we are doing' part of my website. In fact, I am more than a little behind in all things work generally due to holidays and family things. Christmas ideas are part-worked requiring little to bring them together while ideas on notepads litter my worktable just begging me to take them further. Later today I will be writing up the September page on the site and it will include a recipe for sloe gin especially for Diana, my lovely fellow Cornish blogger (maker of gorgeous photographs and beautiful things of all kinds). I realise that for most parts of the country sloes are not ready just yet but we have to pick early in Cornwall. There will also be a bit on gathering herbs and what I do with leftover branches such as these though as I said, that will be later today. Do pop over for a look.
That's me for now on a day where there is only little Isabella to chase after as Lucy and Daddy have gone back to school; strange that the house still seems just as noisy!
Pipany x
Such industry! I always intend to dry some herbs and always forget. And how lovely to have a Mr Davey to make beer for you. The Guinness-like bitter sounds divine.
ReplyDeleteHi there it has never occurred to me to try and dry the leaves of our lemon plant. We have a single, almost fully grown fruit which is clinging onto the plant by the skin of its teeth despite the foul weather. Will have to give it a go.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful harvesting, Pipany!
ReplyDeleteYour plans for the bounty also soon wonderful. As does the reference to a kitchen mantelpiece. We don't many of those around these parts!
xo
Lovely to think of all those wonderful smelling herbs and hops. The industry!........
ReplyDeleteHi Pipany, bet your house smells wonderful with all those herbs drying, and lemon leaves. Look forward to the sloe gin recipe...I feel like you're doing it just for me, thanks so much! Sunshine and heavy showers my way today. And not enough of the sunshine bit!! Diana xx
ReplyDeleteI have not dried my herbs before, as I have frozen them instead. I am definitely going to have a go though this year. I have put some in oils. How great making your beer from your own hops...brilliant. We have a go at wine making.
ReplyDeleteCarolx
Your home must smell delightful.
ReplyDeleteIt must be so satisfying to create and then complete.
ReplyDeleteWish I had hours to browse your blog, will have to visit in bits.