The English Paysanne

 With what looks like an Indian summer here the peaches have ripened and now in the freezer ready for compotes, crumbles and desserts where a bit of peachiness is needed. As we don't care for them they are a bit marked but still taste good (the ducks, chickens and pigs love them too).The nasturtium seeds I planted have struggled all summer but now have decided to come out in all glory. The veggie patch is beginning to look a bit bare, lots of work is needed next week to tidy it up. Weeds are still growing along with the grass which has been continuously cut. Everywhere is still so green unlike normal years when fields and grass are looking frazzled from the sun and heat.  Runner beans are still growing and the freezers beginning to get full with them. We have four large freezers where trays of blanched beans once frozen are waiting to be placed in a bag. This makes them free flowing and far easier to handle when needed. A thinner, long haired Maste...

I made my first sour dough loaf of bread, although it smelt and tasted really good it was a little on the dense side due to my inability to wait for the sponge dough allotted resting time and not enough time in the day to kneed, kneed and re kneed. The starter is now dormant in the fridge as this week has been too busy to care for it and make more loaves. The last field of hay has been cut and bailed for this year. Remember the vicious broody hen, well she had a chick that hatched which were both about on Thursday but sadly I think she squashed after returning to the clutch of eggs that she had left for the day. She is still sitting on those eggs and pecking when I tried to move her to see if I could find the chick. I will give her next week before getting those thick gloves out to move her ( and the gone off eggs) The piglets will be 8 weeks old next week, time to split them from Sandy who is beginning to be wound up by them especially when they try to steal her ...

Yesterday a friend called round with a jar of sour dough starter and rye flour to feed it that she had started 6 days ago. I have been making bread at La Singlarie for around nine years now ever since the 30 minute round trip to the bakers before lunch started to take up valuable time which I could of been sanding, painting, holding up crucial pieces of timber or passing tools to the proper workman (farmer J) when we were building the gites. On the whole I make a batch of white organic wheat flour loaves to last the week for us and if gite guests want them. The flour comes from an organic farm outside of Albi in the Tarn where it is growen and milled. Brought in sacs of 25kg it lasts well along with a 5 kg sac of wholemeal which I sometimes add to the white or make rotis with or add to Hovis malt flour to make it last a little bit longer (cant buy it here). Sometimes sunflower, pumpkin, poppy and linseed's are added sometimes nuts and even more occasionally brioche ...