tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189911622012-02-02T17:28:41.263ZRural living and self-sufficient-ish from a modest garden plot in the heart of KentBrownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.comBlogger6341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-40201276112842385092012-02-02T10:27:00.000Z2012-02-02T10:27:18.879Z

So what has happened to my gorgeous beer? Since my last post, I had a further read before seeking advice on jimsbeerkit from some of the many seasoned craft brewers that hang out there, you can read the thread here. my initial thoughts were that it has become acetified but it's harder to be certain without the necessary experience, this is where having a local brew club can come in handy;

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-12432293302506418912012-01-24T15:38:00.001Z2012-01-24T15:38:39.449Z

I have just done another SG reading of my latest beer this morning, the gravity has dropped again from 1009/10 to 1008, the yeast head has subsided to a thin covering now but I still can't bottle until I know it has finished. Trouble is, I drank the run-off of beer just now (I no longer return it to the fermenter to reduce the risk of infection) and it's started to taste off! I am hoping (really

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-51317608141714089262012-01-20T12:35:00.000Z2012-01-20T12:35:31.678Z

White Loaf Baked on Wednesday Another gratuitous picture of a loaf of bread and why not? It's come out pretty damn good. Just before putting it in the oven I slashed the top and it sort of deflated like a balloon! nevertheless it still had a good overall rise. I shall keep working at my craft (and eating the results...) I ended up spending the day baking and cooking, making this then a batch

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-50752238420096392162012-01-16T09:36:00.001Z2012-01-16T09:39:34.751Z

The TT Landlord beer is fermenting well, measured on Sunday morning and the SG has dropped to 1016 , just another 6 points to go to hit the target of 1010. The yeast is still chomping it's way through the sugars, evident by the 2" yeast cake on top. Whatever else I'm doing right or wrong, I seem to have pleased the yeast, it must be loving the new bodywarmer jacket that's keeping it all cosy and

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-81827142106189907012012-01-13T16:06:00.001Z2012-01-16T09:41:29.841Z

I shouldn't complain, it actually feels like winter today and I guess we need it to kill off all the bugs that will otherwise survive and eat everything this coming year. Consulting my journal/ planner (my, that sounds organised) actually worked as normally I forget to look until it's too late then miss all those little jobs that really need doing now, hence today I pruned our blackcurrant bushes

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-83820289719252630942012-01-12T16:19:00.000Z2012-01-12T16:19:50.982Z

Note the lovely dead knot which I think adds to it's charm  Here's my latest little project that I've just finished, a little job really by all accounts. The oak used is a piece left over from when I made the kitchen table, it's incredibly hard to work, almost impossible to plane using a hand plane luckily I have an electric. Ripping off a section using my circular saw involves flipping the

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-60982103935502202162012-01-10T18:19:00.001Z2012-01-10T18:19:58.443Z

Wholemeal seeded loaves fresh out of the oven A couple of tasty looking loaves if ever I saw one, can't wait to get my teeth into it. Learning a bit more about baking bread since receiving my new book on bread in the River Cottage Series, one I would heartily recommend. The great thing about it apart from the recipes is it really explains in detail each stage of the process; what to do and why

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-51785870876033278962012-01-10T10:00:00.001Z2012-01-10T10:00:32.224Z

Clear Wort At The End Of The Boil  Someone is drinking all this beer I'm making.... Anyway, after much procrastinating I got brew done on Monday. I spent an hour fiddling around designing a recipe for an IPA style beer, contemplated another recipe on the JimsBeerKit Forum for 'Styrian Stunner' before deciding on another brew of my favourite 'Timothy Taylor Landlord'. Brewing the same recipe

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-41929397681955417882012-01-07T17:59:00.000Z2012-01-07T17:59:26.171Z

OK well maybe not quite 'brew on' but I have made a yeast starter bottle today which will hopefully mean a brew early next week. I still haven't decided what I will brew yet...

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-23590495788479784222012-01-03T16:26:00.000Z2012-01-03T16:26:40.554Z

It may be cold and miserable outside to which our hens will testify, every now and then I catch a glimpse of them as they skulk around the coop for most of the day, but it sure is a good reason to enjoy plenty of hot warming food. This is definitely my year for making loads of soup and I can't get enough of it, It seems as long as you get a good base for it you can't go far wrong. We try and use

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-72731059016634708812012-01-01T09:20:00.000Z2012-01-01T09:20:22.006Z

Well perhaps the girls are reading my blog (I knew they were upto something) as they layed an egg yesterday! Yes an egg can you believe it? The rat trap caught a huge grey rat the night it was set, the smell of Mclellan's Seriously Strong Cheddar probably drew them from a quarter mile away; I had to move away quickly less I fall for my own trap it was that good.  

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-76936529183223767932011-12-30T12:46:00.000Z2011-12-30T12:46:39.390Z

The egg hiatus continues with the hens not wanting to lay so much as one between the five of them, despite shoveling food by the scoopful into their feeder. If this was not enough the local rat population have zeroed in on the chicken feeder as I discovered this morning on my routine check of food and water for the girls. The rubber strip attached to the front lip of the box had been ripped off

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-18454576750889340522011-12-24T09:55:00.000Z2011-12-24T09:55:40.124Z

It may be Christmas but my mind is never far from 'the next brew'. I still haven't quite decided on what style of beer to brew yet but it is likely to be either a 'Timothy Taylor Landlord' clone or I'm thinking at having a crack at designing an English IPA recipe. The former is just a great beer and very drinkable whilst the latter would be a nice addition to my line up of bottled beers; that

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-26838981523752460162011-12-22T16:16:00.002Z2011-12-22T17:01:45.425Z

Agh this ugly subject again, The Womens Institute this time 'think' it is a good idea that all cyclists should be made to wear a cycle helmet. They have got it spectacularly wrong despite being well meaning, without looking into the facts. There is so much to say on the subject but I will try and be brief: on the face of it, a helmet would surely be the answer to saving lives, logic dictates

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-88735705738979109932011-12-22T13:34:00.000Z2011-12-22T13:34:20.048Z

This must be our first year where we haven't added any new hens to our flock and we are paying the price. We have five hens, four of which have been going through a moult over the last two months whilst the remaining one, Emily born 2008, just keeps herself busy keeping the other girls inline. The consequence of all this is we have barely had a trickle of eggs to keep us, so few in fact that we

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-9741969884171389942011-12-21T17:58:00.002Z2011-12-21T18:00:18.046Z

Nothing for months, then without warning here I am again. Truth be told after six months without blogging I'm finding I miss wittering away to myself, family, friends and anyone else who chances by; if you enjoy reading something on here whether it gives you the inspiration to go out and do x yourself, some useful bit of information or you get a laugh then it will be worth while. Today I've been

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-48138042111662834612011-06-07T22:45:00.000+01:002011-06-07T22:45:47.374+01:00

Wellllllll what's been happening, The broody is now off the nest after 25 days. I took the decision that they were not going to hatch and got her out of the nest, checking the eggs we had no development inside that I could see which makes me think either she false started them or the shenanigans in the coop with other eggs being added meant they were not being kept warm properly. Emily is

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-52717265094295219302011-05-30T09:14:00.000+01:002011-05-30T09:14:39.751+01:00

Bottled the latest beer on Thursday, a Broadside clone. I used yeast re-claimed from my own beer bottle and cultured up. It went all the way down to an SG of 1006 although it took its time getting there as I left it for just over 2 weeks in the end, still it worked and without any drama, initial tastings are very promising but now I will have to be patient. At least for a week...

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-539511727994593522011-05-30T08:53:00.000+01:002011-05-30T08:53:40.558+01:00

Well our broody hen Emily is still sitting tight but its gone past hatch day now, we should have had some hatch Saturday / Sunday, we will give her a few more days and see, no point in rushing her.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-76812194921997893552011-05-19T19:19:00.000+01:002011-05-19T19:19:25.879+01:00

It was interesting talking to friends at the weekend, whilst admiring their rather fantastic vegetable patch which I won't dwell on, as we discussed following on one crop of early peas / mangetout with a later sowing of dwarf french beans. I knew I had done it last year but trying to remember when and how exactly was all a bit fuzzy, this is where keeping a journal comes in handy and I'm glad I

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-47067942156573504512011-05-18T18:39:00.001+01:002011-05-18T18:42:05.247+01:00

Third time lucky huh? Beetroot seedlings have been nibbled to death again. This time I've used fleece on the ground so fingers crossed, again.... It's not all bad, the peas and mangetout are looking better but I still daren't remove the fleece till they get a bit higher, the over wintered onions are fattening nicely in fact, we'll be eating them soon. Then there are the strawberries, some are

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-28804863313994487532011-05-11T18:24:00.000+01:002011-05-11T18:24:05.848+01:00

The Black Sheep Ale clone was bottled yesterday, initial tastings are very promising, looking forward to a proper taste after a week or so; I'm sure Mr Rusty will help out :-) At the same time I bottled the quince wine made at the end of last year, it had been racked and stabilised in January (I think), it's got a haze unfortunately though it doesn't detract from the flavour - somewhat tart!

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-63169503563596950912011-05-08T19:00:00.000+01:002011-05-08T19:00:14.055+01:00

Well that was different, out cycling Saturday and a farmer asked me to help him, he'd just bought a new Ram and it had managed to get itself beached with all four legs down a cattle grid! Heavy old boy as between us lifting him up was a bit of a struggle. Had to keep hold of his huge horns so he didn't run off into the road. Oh and then we are walking to the pub, hear a load of buzzing, look up

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-79467270696567111932011-05-06T17:15:00.000+01:002011-05-06T17:15:35.800+01:00

First the bad news, I have had to dispatch one of our girls today. For the last week we have been trying to nurse her back to health, trying all sorts of foods soft, mushy, favourites (like corn) all to no avail; she has all of sudden lost a lot of weight becoming emaciated over a week or so. My best guess is an impacted gizzard though I cannot be sure as it's so hard to correctly diagnose. She's

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-62230422399473676762011-04-26T09:13:00.002+01:002011-04-26T09:15:53.943+01:00

unperturbed by the beer disaster of late, yesterday I decided to get started on the next brew. This time the plan is to make a 'Harveys Sussex Best' using the live yeast from the last remaining bottles of last years brew, which avid readers will remember, was a special Sussex strain. Reading what I can it seems that many brewers do a single step in growing up a yeast culture; Graham Wheelers'

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-61068308373005666972011-04-26T09:00:00.000+01:002011-04-26T09:00:25.619+01:00

Weather has been great for the last week, so warm in fact that I got up and started digging over the bed for the spuds at 8 am! Away with ya! No it is true, before the heat of the day set in. Makes it sound like we live some where hot like Spain lol.  I reckon I am about 2 weeks later planting than last year so my first earlies are going to be more like 'having a lie in' or 'brunch' earlies...

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-31765657960158650252011-04-22T17:59:00.000+01:002011-04-22T17:59:21.124+01:00

Say good bye to 40 pints of beer, yes my latest brew, the Black Sheep Ale, has turned to vinegar, acetified to hell. Again had problems with the Yorkshire yeast going the full distance and it stopped at about 1022 after 2 weeks. Tried adding a new batch of the same yeast and rousing and a week later it's ruined :-( Hey ho, tipped it on one of the garden borders and now it smells like a brewery

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-84271485233468561912011-04-20T18:17:00.000+01:002011-04-20T18:17:19.775+01:00

That really is the last of the leeks, Frankie has just made a leek, carrot and potato pie, which incidentally tastes great. Today we have splashed out on some decorative plants, a beautiful looking tree, a Prunus Nigera or something which has stunning deep red coppery leaves all year and an old english rose which can be used as a climber or a bush. Planting the tree took some digging to make a

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-19685071824421096492011-04-16T10:20:00.001+01:002011-04-16T10:21:45.195+01:00

It's been so hectic, no really it has, doing some work and getting over my virus only to hurt my back but not enough to stop me doing things. The old car failed it's MOT so I've donned my overalls, dragged my tools outside, rolled around on the floor under the car cursing for a bit, staring hard at the offending anti-roll bar bushes until I sensed some weakening on their part then quickly

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-16444216151272035272011-04-08T14:08:00.000+01:002011-04-08T14:08:20.056+01:00

It's been a whole week without an entry, well I have been shuffling around suffering with a virus of some sort that has left me feeling somewhat flat. Enough winging, I have however planted up all the onion sets, filling the bed in it's entirety which does leave me with a few trays of onions I am raising from seed, didn't work that out very well did I :-) The last of the carrots have been lifted,

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-10003779919988301512011-04-01T21:10:00.000+01:002011-04-01T21:10:31.500+01:00

A successful brew day with everything going smoothly as well. The sun even came out and since I had the brewing wrapped up I went and dug over the root bed for this year. I had intended to just rake it over but the soil is still quite heavy and a year of consolidation meant it had packed down quite firmly. Still another week to settle out and all will be good. Finished the day with an hour in the

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-50353304223988254002011-03-31T19:54:00.000+01:002011-03-31T19:54:46.371+01:00

After the longest fermentation ever, for me at any rate, the beer was bottled today. The final gravity was 1012 which is absolutely fine and I can breath a sigh of relief knowing my beer stocks are replenished. Horah I hear you say perhaps he'll stop going on about it now. Well as a length of old rope once said, I'm afraid not, tomorrow's brew day! Ah the love it, the sweet malty goodness that

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-56527483192245399362011-03-31T19:44:00.000+01:002011-03-31T19:44:26.188+01:00

Planted plenty of tender crop seedlings in the greenhouse this afternoon, all the usual suspects: butternut squash, courgette, cucumber, tomato and chilli plus some basil and coriander for good measure. I forget and rediscover anew each year, the joy of standing in a warm greenhouse potting up these tiny seeds, one of the many pleasures of gardening.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-78034095301301205092011-03-30T12:21:00.000+01:002011-03-30T12:21:30.555+01:00

Shameless picture of some of this years leeks from the garden.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-75370108855342571512011-03-30T12:16:00.000+01:002011-03-30T12:16:19.895+01:00

The are few things finer than pie. In my opinion. My good lady made this fantastic pie at the weekend - fresh shoulder of beef slowly roasted with my porter ale and veg. then lovingly wrapped in a cheese shortcrust pastry, a work of gastronomic art.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-9868722469479324602011-03-28T09:23:00.000+01:002011-03-28T09:23:34.576+01:00

We have a lovely little patch of lettuces growing in the greenhouse, should start to eat the thinnings in the next week or two, that will be our first crop of the year; cheese doorstop sandwich with crunchy lettuces! I've prepared the onion bed ready for planting up but want the ground to consolidate somewhat before I get the sets in, the situation is compounded by the rather bulky manure I have

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-58146640628462036122011-03-28T09:18:00.000+01:002011-03-28T09:18:59.021+01:00

Great news with the beer, tested the gravity on Saturday and it has dropped to 1012, only 2 points above the target SG so looks like it's going to be fine. Had a taste of the beer from the hydrometer (couldn't risk an infection tipping it back)  and it was lovely and definitely different to that without the Yorkshire yeast. I shall look forward to a proper test once it's bottled and conditioned.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-87159245529737609372011-03-23T17:54:00.000Z2011-03-23T17:54:00.332Z

Well it seems I was wrong about the SG (specific gravity) reading mentioned in my last post - as I have the hydrometer floating in the beer so I can get readings quickly, I failed to notice some of the floating trub sticking to the glass and I suspect weighing it down, oops. Anyway, it does seem to be fermenting and after cleaning the hydrometer I am getting a reading of 1016 so I figure I will

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-39959951970493783982011-03-20T12:45:00.000Z2011-03-20T12:45:13.674Z

Just when you think you have this brewing lark cracked, something happens isn't that always the way? I set up for bottling on Friday, ten days from start of ferment always does the job, so I sterilise everything, the full 40 odd bottles, barrels, equipment the lot. I start the run off and take a routine SG reading as I like to know what it ended up at and it's not fermented out properly!  I'm

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-50951894775159504322011-03-16T16:39:00.000Z2011-03-16T16:39:22.590Z

Just finished doing some video clips of all grain brewing to help newcomers to the black art, these are accessible from the page link at the top of the page or on the useful articles link (eyes right) Hopefully someone will find it useful, I enjoyed putting the video's together at any rate.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-2709444135317955312011-03-16T16:37:00.000Z2011-03-16T16:37:25.854Z

Yes four pots of tomatoes planted today, yippee! Just wanted to get some mini red tomatoes and yellow pear ones off as a couple are going in the greenhouse, hopefully, fingers crossed, they will ripen that bit earlier so we can start eating decent tomatoes again. So just another sixteen weeks then...... Hah! we will be eating, nay FEASTING, on mixed lettuce leaves and radish in the next few weeks

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-63606331657616364032011-03-13T18:25:00.000Z2011-03-13T18:25:24.113Z

We watched 'River Cottage Everyday' last night, at least I think that is what it was called. The theme was making veg the star of the meal so I was interested to see just what he cooked up and there was some pretty nice sounding meals there to try. Roasting them seems a great way to get great intense flavours, something we often do like mixed roast roots which have been tossed in olive oil,

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-71378914246369997242011-03-09T07:51:00.000Z2011-03-09T07:51:33.826Z

Whilst having breakfast yesterday morning I was caught off guard by Frankie, suggesting that I brew my beer that day instead of Today, if that makes sense! The reason, get this, is so we can go cycling on Wednesday, cycling! Just between us I think she is a little apprehensive about doing the 50km (baby) audax on this coming Sunday, I still can't believe she agreed to do it, not because she

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-64847124722613141382011-03-07T19:48:00.000Z2011-03-07T19:48:18.325Z

Saturday was brew day, though unfortunately not for me this time round. I had offered to help a friend, codename M, in his endeavours to make a Timothy Taylor Landlord clone like the one I have done a few times before. It's a good six or seven hours to do and it all went to plan, well, almost. Brewing, or craft brewing to be more accurate, loosely involves; mashing the grains, rinsing the sugars

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-10227207755103709482011-03-03T19:59:00.000Z2011-03-03T19:59:49.698Z

The new carbon brushes for the washing machine motor came today, I fitted them, and it only worked! After ten minutes of moon walking round the kitchen in celebration I figured enough was enough and Frankie wasn't going to be any more impressed than when I first told her. Oh well, I braved the greenhouse today, damn it's still feels like winter despite being the beginning of spring. A few onion

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-36208738153256685592011-03-01T12:00:00.000Z2011-03-01T12:00:12.463Z

It's so tempting when shopping to keep picking things up instead of using what you have,  the last few shops we have been more strict and to that end, drew up a list of meal possibilities using what we have. This week we used the last of our garlic up from storage so we are left with: Leeks Parsnips Carrots Swede Turnip Kale Then frozen from last year we have lot's of: Mange tout Dwarf french

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-44373250648620386512011-03-01T11:49:00.000Z2011-03-01T11:49:03.871Z

Having repaired the leak in the washing machine only a few weeks ago, today it has decided that the drum will no longer turn, ie it would fill up only. The belt was still on and in tact so I quickly dismantled the back and removed the motor so I could readily get to the carbon brush assemblies. I thought it a bit strange that, as I un-bolted one side the brush just shot out, you could see it

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-13095709985510196752011-02-24T16:53:00.000Z2011-02-24T16:53:33.751Z

Thankfully my new chainsaw arrived this afternoon, just in time to enable us to go and collect the last of the logs. Turned out to be another whole car load in the end which will go some way to next years log supply. The chainsaw itself arrived checked and pre-run, it was only a matter of familiarising myself with the controls, checking the assembly and chain tension before giving a spin. It

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-29907008649835858042011-02-23T20:20:00.000Z2011-02-23T20:20:03.402Z

 Picked, fermented, racked and finally bottled, last years Elderflower wine is finished finally. It's finished crystal clear and I have to say, tastes pretty good. It's fairly sweet by my standards, but I actually think it suits the flavour. The Quince wine made at the latter end of last year has just been racked off the yeast sediment but unfortunately has a pectin haze though this won't affect

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-65661071683661997822011-02-23T20:14:00.000Z2011-02-23T20:14:03.787Z

Brew day moves ever closer, especially now I have got the yeast culture going. Pictured is the original vial or agar slant with a Yorkshire yeast strain and next to it the starter culture made up with 300ml water and 4 tbsp malt extract boiled for ten minutes then cooled to 22C. I will allow this to ferment out completely before 'growing it up' in 2.5 ltrs of wort saved from a brew last year.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-714371473753891862011-02-21T16:27:00.000Z2011-02-21T16:27:39.131Z

Today I shall mostly be making ... bread rolls Couldn't resist it, all this soup we are having it's just crying out for a nice crusty roll.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-72769821261271319222011-02-20T15:46:00.000Z2011-02-20T15:46:29.039Z

How is this for a soup, the Missus boiled up a gammon joint this week, thrifty as ever she tasted the boiled water when it was finished. A bit on the salty side but nonetheless a tasty broth so she used this as a stock in a vegetable soup comprising kale, turnip, leek, onion and carrots, oh and a sprinkle of lentils so ok maybe not completely free but thrifty for sure! We just finished the last

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-83435672621950586302011-02-19T19:20:00.000Z2011-02-19T19:20:50.332Z

With the expiration of my old electric chainsaw came the dilemma with what to replace it with. This time round I was sure on getting a petrol one, the amount of times I had wished it so in the past made this a no brainer. The real problem I found was choosing a suitable model, do I go for a cheap budget model, a mid-range or a premium brand? I think it is important before choosing to factor in

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-15979077763441313422011-02-18T19:35:00.000Z2011-02-18T19:35:18.931Z

We returned home today to find a load of grey feathers on the garden, the hens were scratching around showing some interest, I thought nothing of it but Frankie was a bit concerned it might have been one of the girls. A quick head count and she said two were missing. Various expletives issued forth, I knew foxes are around but none had yet come to the garden in the day. Frankie started looking

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-77120552653578290202011-02-18T19:25:00.000Z2011-02-18T19:25:59.933Z

We were lucky enough to find someone who had a couple of trees cut down and was giving away the logs, unluckily for us, our electric chainsaw of some 4 years decided to fail spectacularly after only cutting half of them into pieces small enough to lift! This was confirmed on returning home and dismantling, finding some of the internal components smashed to pieces. Time for a new one then, this

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-24003773905567384792011-02-17T15:25:00.000Z2011-02-17T15:25:50.283Z

Couldn't resist it, Wilco's had 500gm bags of onion sets for not much over a pound so I grabbed a bag of Sturon, or was it Stuttgarter I cannot remember now... well they can grow alongside my ones from seeds in a head to head to see which grows the best. Also stopped by the local nursery last weekend and picked up my seed potatoes from there. Priced very reasonably at £1.32 kg that's better than

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-2939015073106031442011-02-17T15:18:00.000Z2011-02-17T15:18:35.593Z

Yesterday saw the arrival of my grain order, totaling nearly thirty kilos in weight, I bet the delivery guy nearly had a hernia picking it up, I know I did. To keep it fresh over the coming months, I split the 25 kg sack into 1 kg bags and put them back into the sack. I did wonder just where the hell I would put it all then in a moment of brilliance I thought about our solid plastic holiday

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-28781876044273638592011-02-15T21:37:00.000Z2011-02-15T21:37:23.933Z

Finished building my Cajon drum today, putting the snare inside and the front panel on. I have posted an article here on how to make one for anyone else interested in how I did it too.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-68903394289365400332011-02-15T09:52:00.000Z2011-02-15T09:52:02.322Z

Not likely to win in photo prizes but thought I would post them anyway. Using only a camera phone focused through my binoculars, not an easy task in itself I was to discover, I managed to grab these shots from within the house this morning. He's a regular visitor to the garden these days, generally having a good dig around in the front lawn for worms or bugs before moving on.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-14021860537053089252011-02-12T08:14:00.000Z2011-02-12T08:14:57.379Z

If you have been following the news here you cannot help but of heard about the current administrations plans to sell off large swathes of our forests to the highest bidder. We have signed a petition here to call on the Government to cancel it's plans I hope some people reading this will do too.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-37795718820201069072011-02-11T12:43:00.000Z2011-02-11T12:43:18.959Z

After many hours of deliberation, perusing recipes in my 'Graham Wheeler Brew Your Own British Ale' book, studying my copy of 'John Palmer How To Brew' and searching the Jimsbeerkit forums, I've finally come up with a list of craft brews to start the year off. Looking back at last year I did 6 brews: Jennings Cocker Hoop, Harveys Best, Timothy Taylor Landlord (twice), Beluncle Mild and Black Pig

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-89932079691104467992011-02-11T11:33:00.001Z2011-02-11T11:37:33.158Z

To coin a well known phrase 'can you guess what it is yet', followed by strange panting noises 'oo hah hah hah, oo hah hah hah' Perhaps a rather large bird box for an owl? It's 300mm wide, 500mm tall, give up? Well it's a Cajon drum. It's a box with no back and hole in it I hear you shout, well true enough but it's not quite finished yet. The hole is a bass port on the back, there is a front

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-22128774022544234302011-02-08T16:53:00.000Z2011-02-08T16:53:24.261Z

Oh the sun the sun, how good it feels to have you shine on me! It was all I needed to get me up to the plot. It was hard to keep working though, I found myself stopping and basking in it's rays periodically, well hell why not. First job was to remove the tattered remains of the enviro-fleece that once surrounded the carrot bed, unfortunately it lasted only two seasons and now it's in the bin.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-40498855937910872362011-02-05T18:20:00.000Z2011-02-05T18:20:39.350Z

Two tonnes of manure, there or there about, spent the morning shoveling it off the back of a truck and spreading around the garden! As a bonus, there was a top layer of dry hay that I threw into the hens run, oh they love it.  The girls have had the run of the entire garden all winter but given the hay to scratch around in, they spent most of the day in the run having a good rake around. When

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-73781965943952758292011-02-01T10:06:00.000Z2011-02-01T10:06:40.259Z

Finally got around to trying a Kashmiri Turnips curry recipe from one of Anjum Anands' Books and I have to say, it was very tasty and went well with the other mixed vegetable and dahl curry and chappati's. They are in fact used in curries in India (the North I think she said) the Country is so vast with so many different styles it's a curry lovers dream for sure. I even made myself a cup of

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-54984722562442835952011-01-29T15:08:00.001Z2011-01-29T15:19:52.225Z

Well that was a long time since my last post! But hey it's winter and I sort of go into hibernation. It's the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend and so this is a perfect opportunity for me to do two things at once, hard for us guys I know. So far the star of the day is a Green Woodpecker who I tend to see quite often, digging away in the front lawn or sometimes on a telegraph pole outside.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-12791519040926417322010-11-03T07:58:00.001Z2010-11-03T07:59:42.014Z

A spell of mild weather was all that was needed to tempt me outside to carry out a bit more work in the plot. Despite this years crop of garlic being almost totally borked ( see this post ), there were three or four bulbs that had split correctly for twenty or so cloves to be planted, unlike the usual sixty odd I plant!  These were planted next to the over  wintering onion sets, which incidently,

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-28107215919229193892010-10-30T10:23:00.001+01:002011-02-11T12:43:46.663Z

I've been really impressed with the mild I brewed recently using my own recipe, a good full bodied flavour, not too roasted, just a nice mix of roast and chocolate flavours. Suitably encouraged by this I decided to make my next brew, a Porter style again using my own recipe. For this I have used four different grains; pale, crystal, chocolate and amber, the latter one I have never used before but

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-52089632082192343802010-10-22T12:43:00.001+01:002010-10-22T12:46:41.272+01:00

I made rhubarb wine for the first time this year and I have to say I am impressed with the results. Both rhubarb and parsnip wines are widely regarded as fine country wines but I also heard that the former could be a bit lacking in flavour. Not so in my opinion, I made two gallons which you see here, and the flavour is pretty damn good, to me a bit like a dry italian wine like Soave, I also

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-62185488643539932932010-10-14T09:36:00.000+01:002010-10-14T09:36:22.622+01:00

The plot is looking a bit tidier now I've had a chance to do a bit. The tomato plants finally got blight around the end of September which seems later than usual, we have certainly had a good harvest from them, the last few pounds have been halved and tray frozen which will be used instead of tinned tomatoes in recipes. The remaining plants have now been lifted and go out to be recycled so as not

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-58966630690824266792010-09-21T19:31:00.000+01:002011-02-11T12:44:45.978Z

Yesterday was ten days in the fermenter for the latest brew, a mild of my own recipe. I decided in the end to call it 'bolt hole mild', it weighs in around the 4.3% mark, so packs quite a punch. Now I shouldn't praise my own beer but wow, it's damn fine, smooth like a mild, rich creamy, smooth, bursting with flavour of berries and chocolate and then a nice little hoppy fairwell :-) I had half a

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-49384551038500311252010-09-21T10:58:00.000+01:002010-09-21T10:58:26.635+01:00

Growing in our own front lawn, shaggy inkcaps! Made a nice lunch fried in butter then melted cheese on top.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-55089347703180237882010-09-21T10:27:00.001+01:002010-09-21T10:28:39.584+01:00

Yep, my very own. Well almost, I've cooked a few now and come up with this interpretation that I think works well. The combination of Toor dahl and chana dahl gives a nice nutty flavour to it but you can use any combination you like as long as they are split lentils not whole as these tend to need soaking overnight. It freezes well so I tend to make large batches and get it out as required,

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-82849679893822034542010-09-21T10:11:00.000+01:002010-09-21T10:11:00.469+01:00

Well, lifted those main crop spuds a couple of days ago, only half a bed full this year. A couple of duff ones too that produced no spuds but the others produced really well with some nice big fat tubers. The watering / manure / mulching all helped I think. This years also are almost free of slug attack which is a first, not sure why either, same variety, Desiree, a bonus anyway.  Overall

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-54634419493128286962010-09-15T10:15:00.000+01:002010-09-15T10:15:12.954+01:00

It's that time of the year when I know I should be doing things in the garden, I must get myself organised; there's over-wintering spring onions and onions that need planting, I may have to lift my main crop spuds now to make way for them,  I need to think about getting some lettuce going in the greenhouse, maybe some pak choi too, time to look at those careful plans I made earlier in the year.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-13933380059474773542010-09-13T10:04:00.000+01:002010-09-15T10:08:23.942+01:00

We spent almost the entire day on Sunday foraging for mushrooms with friends. We were lucky enough to have a friend along who has spent their entire life identifying and eating wild mushrooms, something quite rare in itself here in Britain. The day started with a find of giant puffballs, and plenty of them to go around our group so anything subsequently would be a bonus. We visited some fairly

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-17952852853915727262010-09-08T18:32:00.001+01:002010-09-08T19:13:20.743+01:00

Ah hah, all those lovely mushrooms growing around my plum tree turn out to be the yellow stainer, agaricus xanthodermus, non-edible causing severe stomache upsets... shame really as there are loads of them. They start discolouring yellow on handling the cap and also when you slice the stem, the base colours bright yellow too. On the upside, we went to the reported location and did find a giant

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-85861693406084300452010-09-07T21:44:00.000+01:002010-09-07T21:44:30.681+01:00

After having a bit of a harvesting session I made a vegetable chilli, it's really easy to make, very tasty and well, is pretty healthy I think so here it goes:  Vegetable Chilli Recipe (6 - 8 portions) You can really mix this up with what you have, I've used fresh where I can but I'll use tins when and wherever. The important things are to get the sauce flavour and intensity right and also the

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-48200295678495760392010-09-07T21:25:00.000+01:002010-09-07T21:25:56.016+01:00

Our walk the other day turned up the above mushroom, a shaggy parasol (though I could be wrong) it can cause gastric upsets in some people and generally shouldn't be eaten. It has an edible look alike called the parasol mushroom that at a glance could be confused. Today I've found a whole load of what might be field mushrooms or variant of, growing around our plum tree (hence probably not a

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-58350877578757352072010-09-02T20:44:00.000+01:002010-09-02T20:44:42.230+01:00

Wild mushrooms are not all we found today, walking by a light airfield we was there just as a gyrocopter took off so I made a short video clip of it, amazing things really.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-53443177204250049582010-09-02T20:28:00.000+01:002010-09-02T20:28:30.694+01:00

Here I am lighting a fire using seed heads and kindling with a flint and steel. It only works!

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-34481565397818618102010-09-02T19:40:00.001+01:002010-09-02T19:43:02.175+01:00

mmmm, not sure what this is yet, don't like the look of it though - cap has cracking marks, white gills, bulbous base looks a bit like a volva to my un-trained eyes... found on a bridleway track amongst grass, no trees nearby. Could it be from the Amanita family?

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-7781340856588945732010-09-01T07:50:00.000+01:002010-09-01T07:50:51.654+01:00

We helped out at a Fete on Monday, pulling pints in the drinks tent, right up my street anyway, the following day we are breaking down the largest marquee and friends of ours are walking the field and find some mushrooms for me. Sure enough they look like field mushrooms, it is then I discover one of the helpers, Paul is into collecting wild mushrooms for his wife. We had  a chat and it came to

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-37820518022893030932010-08-29T19:28:00.001+01:002010-08-30T09:11:10.959+01:00

A call from my neighbour who knows I'm interested in mushrooms uncovered these today, above a fairy ring champignon. common puffball found on grassland, likely correct! Field mushroom (likely again) no other larger ones around to check though

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-83919912020627423782010-08-27T11:50:00.000+01:002010-08-27T11:50:05.138+01:00

Whilst on a walk yesterday we came across another mushroom quite similar to a field mushroom but I think it is not. Getting it home and looking through my books I cannot find what I think is an exact match for it, the scales on the cap and the large floppy ring set it apart from either a field or horse mushroom, the nearest I found had no common name so I'm putting it down as inedible! Plums

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-86080074613363598702010-08-26T11:42:00.000+01:002010-08-26T11:42:58.452+01:00

Hell of a lot of rain yesterday, shame we started painting the outside of the house! We've had to cover part of a wall with plastic sheeting to prevent it getting washed off, the paints still wet now 24 hours later.... Popped into the plot this morning to crop out stuff, look at my cucumber, how good is that? This variety is 'burpless tasty green 2' grown outside up a stout pole. The plants got

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-3004286857853557312010-08-25T20:31:00.005+01:002011-02-11T12:45:35.415Z

As the summer starts to fade us home brewers can once again turn our attentions to brewing, why not brew in summer? Well simply unless you can keep the temperature of the fermenting beer to below about 25c you risk off flavours developing. My next brew is going to be a mild and what's more the recipe is my own formulation too, hopefully it will be nice brew.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-10801662016403686342010-08-22T08:53:00.000+01:002010-08-22T08:53:53.379+01:00

Reading my favourite cycling blog Copenhagenize this morning I came across the following post which relates to an editorial found in the Edmonton Sun a Canadian paper. It appears they are debating making cycle helmets a legal requirement despite the fact that as yet there is no proof they help you in an accident. Some facts stand out and need to be asserted, like the fact that cyclists live on

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-62415515242697196812010-08-21T15:45:00.001+01:002010-08-22T08:57:00.073+01:00

My interest in edible fungi has re-emerged of late, I'm not quite sure what was the catalyst, perhaps seeing my books on the shelf sitting there did it. There are many warnings about eating fungi, and sensibly so, some are very deadly with very little or no chance of surviving, the 'destroying angel' of the Amanita genus being a good example. Still, it is all too easy to just go off the other

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-71346835070953247122010-08-08T10:33:00.000+01:002010-08-08T10:33:49.984+01:00

It's a bit quieter in the mornings since the demise of Charley Le Farleigh, not much but a bit as next doors cockerel is happy to carry on regardless! I was a bit surprised then (though not much) when whilst changing the hens' water bowls this morning I heard the first strained squeeky honking sounds coming from one of the new clan, and they are only about eight weeks old. Turned out to be the

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-42545291407634672132010-08-04T21:25:00.000+01:002010-08-04T21:25:10.919+01:00

I decided to let the hens and cockerel out onto the lawn this evening for a brief peck and a scratch since the garden is recovering a bit, a perfect evening for them, red sunset and a few handfuls of corn. Rounding them up a bit later and getting them into the run I was saddened to see blood on the back of one of the hens. Another I noted had lost all the feathers on the 'saddle' area of the

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-57349112901232968982010-07-24T08:19:00.000+01:002010-07-24T08:19:46.605+01:00

Our poor little gooseberry bush has never done well where it is nonetheless, we harvested what there was and Frankie made it into this fabulous exceedingly deep pie!

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-45699729521515060022010-07-18T14:47:00.002+01:002010-07-18T14:50:51.833+01:00

A rainy day this week was a chance to catch up on a few indoor jobs like bottling and racking wine. Here I've bottled the damson, blackberry and elderberry wines which we'll lay down for at least oh about a week. No seriously more like a year. Checking the rhubarb wine it had finished with an SG reading off the bottom of the scale, somewhere around the .988 mark, therefore I racked this and added

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-79574202753311925342010-07-08T09:51:00.000+01:002010-07-08T09:51:17.783+01:00

I decided it was time to pull the last patch of over-wintered onions yesterday to make way for the dwarf french beans. They could have been left a bit longer to fatten really but they were good enough, more important I felt to get my beans in. I started some beans in modules a couple of weeks ago though over half did not germinate, I still had just about enough to fill this new space with beans.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-79917641786079100152010-07-03T14:55:00.000+01:002010-07-03T14:55:40.039+01:00

Up at 6:30 this morning watering the garden, an hour and half later I'm done. The weather is lovely and if this is the only downside then so be it. Another really tasty lunch of fresh salad followed by scones with strawberries and cream, well it is Wimbledon you know. Start of the Tour De France today too so that's two things on TV worth watching, we'll be cooking up a batch of strawberry jam

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-6635219034373780892010-07-02T11:49:00.000+01:002010-07-02T11:49:43.093+01:00

Frankie's got two double batches of chutney on the go: a rhubarb and date and a rhubarb and ginger (a new one we are trying) this uses up a fair bit of the rhubarb stash and puts some of the newly cropped onions to use too, can't wait to taste them as I don't know how the ginger is going to work in the chutney, it makes a wicked jam so fingers crossed.

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-91451862483047627602010-07-02T11:46:00.000+01:002010-07-02T11:46:36.849+01:00

Frankie cropped out some onions for the chutney making today, a bit of a handful! I'm justly proud of them, the picture below shows one trimmed tipping the scales at just over a pound, not a record but a damn good size....

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-43643478117473245952010-07-02T11:42:00.000+01:002011-02-11T12:45:35.415Z

Moved the Elderflower wine off the bulk this morning, from a bucket to a demijohn (foreground) as you can see we have a few on the go at the moment! The rhubarb wine is clearing really well (right of picture) I'm sure it will be like rocket fuel :-D Also labeled up the latest batch of beer (Timothy Taylor Landlord) and moved it to the garage store, got a nice stash at the moment, around 100

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-5060296174667800772010-06-29T19:10:00.000+01:002010-06-29T19:10:50.679+01:00

Our first ever harvest of peas, picked them this afternoon and retreated to the shade of the patio table and umbrella whilst shelling them. I wanted to get the most flavour out of our first meal so in the end I did: new potatoes, carrots, spring greens, peas, sausage and onion gravy with all the veg. coming from the garden I was justly pleased. I managed to cook the peas just right and the

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991162.post-61035821701476539862010-06-29T14:10:00.000+01:002010-06-29T14:10:02.699+01:00

Is eighteen tomato plants too much? I've got a few more to squeeze in somewhere still. We Brits seem to have a love for them, Frankie is happy as we need loads and loads to make a new stock pile of chutney as we are down to our last half a dozen jars. Lifted all the new potatoes today, they were looking good with no signs of attack, usual modest sized crop but useful nonetheless. Interestingly I

Brownsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13811855120407512962noreply@blogger.com0