Summer's Bounty

I do love June. Not just because my garden becomes a riot of colour, with peonies bursting into lush blossom, poppies dancing around in frilly skirts and the catmint swaying in the breeze, but because it's soft fruit season.

I don't know about anyone else, but I think it's sad that gooseberries are still seen as such unfashionable fruit; our local fruit farm in the village had many punnets sitting on the shelves (leaping around in lumpy fields is still a little beyond me yet) and they were perfect for jam, as they were wonderfully firm. Out came the maslin pan, the sugar supply in the village shop plummeted and finally, my jam jar collection was broken out. I love gooseberry jam, as it's sweet enough, but has that lovely bite that gives it real depth. The fruit held together well, which gave a lovely consistence when spread on toast.

I decided not to bother with strawberry jam this year - it's not something I like to eat often and I have a bit of a 'mental block' after my last attempt, which ended up as strawberry concrete! Apricots, however, always work a treat and this year was no exception. I tried a different recipe for my apricot jam, from a very pompous little book my son had given me last year for my birthday "The Right Way To Make Jam" by Cyril Grange. Now, Cyril may have irked me with the title, but the recipes from this little book have delighted and surprised me; the apricot jam came out better than I have ever managed, and I pride myself on how well I can make it. Sigh, now I had two varieties to spread on my morning toast and this does not bode well for my waist measurement! So, with temptation in the fridge, I got a call from a friend asking if I'd make her a pot of lemon curd - I had sent her one before and it seems she had enjoyed it enough to ask for seconds.

I haven't made lemon curd for ages, as standing at the cooker for twenty minutes was more than I could manage for a long time. Now that I have my one bionic hip, things have improved greatly, and though the other one has deteriorated badly, it seems that I can stand and put all my weight through the new hip for as long at it takes to make curd, yippee! So, there I was getting pinker in the cheeks on a hot day, stirring for England and the result is now potted and in the fridge. Our local shopkeeper said he'd be happy to stock my lemon curd in the village shop, so I sent a pot for him and his wife to try and they like it too, so I shall have to think about whether it's viable to make it on a small scale for curd connoisseurs in Shepton! I shall be posting a pot to my friend tomorrow, so that I can make sure it goes by 'next day delivery', especially in this hot weather.

I haven't managed to get any good black currants this year, though I'd dearly love to, as black currant jam is so lush and lights up the darker days of winter. Let's not forget the coming raspberry season - raspberries are just so gorgeous, though making jam is a challenge, as Kim will quite happily sit and devour pounds of them at a time, so I shall have to wait until he's not around before attempting jam.

That's what I love about June - there's a wonderful outlet for creativity in the kitchen, even though I'm so stacked up with work that I've spent the greater part of my weekend slogging over a deployment and muttering darkly under my breath - oh well, I'd be moaning if I didn't have the work, so I suppose I shouldn't grumble! It's good that I'm so busy now too, as I'm on the list for the other hip to be replaced, and it can't come soon enough. Another operation will mean a time when I'm not up to much work-wise, so the more I can do now, the better.

Right, I'm off to make a large mug of tea and pore over my Women's Institute Book Of Preserves that Kim gave me yesterday as an early birthday present - it's gorgeous, well laid out and there are so many recipes I want to try that I could spend a week in the kitchen and still not have done half of them - but I shall start with Chilli-Lilli, a much more colourful version of piccalilli that looks just divine - more later on how I fare.

Couscous and Kindness

Another sunny day and warm pavements, with a light breeze today - I could get used to this!

Today I was naughty and bunked off work to have lunch out with a friend (I'll catch up tonight). We wandered into Ilminster and she took me to a delightful vegetarian cafe; I had never even noticed it before, but it hasn't even got a sign outside, so it's easy to pass by. It's apparently open four days a week, and what a treat.

It was in a hamstone building and the thickness of the walls meant that after a slog up the steep hill (steep hills are hard with walking sticks I've discovered) it was nice and cool. I had Moroccan mezze and it was delightful; the Victorian lemonade a perfect accompaniment. After lunch I grabbed some cake so that we could have tea and cake when I dropped her back at her house, but sadly my hip (the stupid one that hasn't been fixed yet) flared up, so I quit and went home while I could still get in and out of the car.

Before I left, my friend J presented me with a loaf she had baked for me - it was such a thoughtful thing to do and it smelled divine. My car was a bubble of fresh bread smell all the way home and it took my mind of the aches, thinking about how to have it for tea. J and her husband had been to a flour mill and liked the flour so much they had taken sacks of it home with them. That reminded me that I have run out of flour - must head off to the shop and get some for when this loaf tuns out.

I had meant to meet J's new cat, who adopted them by moving into the garage at the beginning of winter and gradually integrating herself into the family - she will have to wait until another time, and it means I still have that pleasure to look forward to. While we were talking J mentioned that she had met a lady who makes her own elderflower cordial and that she wanted to have a go at it. It's been something I have wanted to do for a while, but a lack of mobility has rather scuppered any attempts to get near the flowers when I've spotted any. After our trip out, I'm now armed with citric acid, I have sugar, lemons in the fridge and all I need are the blooms - I may venture out tomorrow, when I hopefully won't feel so sore. That's another thing to look forward to!