Sourdough each week

 Each week or every six to nine days I bake two or three loaves of bread. One for now the rest for the freezer to be brought out later in the week.  The routine is well established now and fits in nicely with a day at home.  Each part of the process only takes a few minutes and very often the loaves are baked either before or after our evening meal, which on that day also uses the oven.

Although I have baked plenty of bread using 'naked' baskets, I now find that using the cloth liners that came with the small baskets, and a piece of drapey muslin for the longer basket works really well.  The baskets are allowed to stand draped with another large tea towel, so that the loaves underneath develop a skin.  This then remains intact when turned out, ready to have the slashes which allows the confined dough to expand in the oven, as they hit the heat but have the steam from the roasting dish below keep the outskin moist and flexible for a few minutes.

Very often recipes are adjusted using a blend of different flours, in these for instance I exchanged strong wholemeal flour for wholemeal spelt and a couple of handfuls of mixed seeds which I had soaked for a few hours.  Last week a couple of friends came over, and I decided to make a 'posh tea', starting off with sandwiches made from sourdough baked in standard loaf tins. Alison was so surprised by sourdough with mild flavour and softness of the crust and crumb and declared that they were the best she had tasted.  She had only had sourdough bread with hard crusts and big holes before. I explained that yes that I made that type to start with, but we prefer our bread softer, with more flavour from the special wheats, and with other ingredients too such as milk and eggs, and also make 'sweet sourdoughs' too.  It was goat's cheese and smoked salmon and a variety including cucumber and cheese, and softe cheese, and thinly sliced tomato all with fresh chives from the garden, and garnished with pea shoots from my pots.

My tin of choice for this are Silverwood tins and now know the weight of dough needed to get the rise above the rim which is to my liking. For Soudough the rounded corners work better for me compared to my tins with square sharp corners, but I keep those for cake or yeasted loaves.

Other loaves of course are baked, non sourdough, and often buns. I love the rhythm of the hand needing and the wonderful aromas of the dough and baking.

In a Vase on Monday

This week's small posy is made up of a few flowers from the garden. The Daffodils are Narcissus Rip Van Winkle and the cream and pink foliage is a snippet off the  Sorbaria sorbifolia 'Sem'

The Green edged yellow is from a shrub which I took as cuttings from a plant I admired growing alongside a local footpath, a sort of Euonymus.

The Blue Grape Hyacinth started off as a few bulbs, no more than half a dozen which came up when I cleared some old shrubs from the curb side of the blank wall, so in effect I don't usually see them.  Over three years they have extended to quite a wide area.  With their straggly green growth they are not quite the sort of thing I would normally give garden room to, and intended digging them up.  I thought I would leave them to flower as they do look quite pretty when in bloom.

As my eyes were being affected by the Grape Hyacinth as I was arranging them, I realised that I had to find a good home for the little arrangement immediately, so I stepped out of my front door to find my neighbour and hand them to her.  I'm now joining the small gang of IAVOMers over at Cathy's for this weekly get together. Cathy has chosen to make a splash of a post with her yellows and blues.

Six on Saturday - 25 March 2023

How time flies: this is the last Six on Saturday for March 2023.  There will be plenty of gardening pleasures to be seen on Jim's post and on other gardeners musings, and as usual I am joining in with his anchoring post.

This week we have had so much rain, we have no hard surfaces except for the drive, so hopefully the soil will have absorbed it all, to benefit plants later in the season. The water butt is completely full too.

1. Last week I was asked about Primula Wanda White.(more details if you click on this highlighted link), at present the strongest and best primula in the garden. I first got it in March '21 from Graham at Tadham Alpines.  It has yielded many divisions to share around already, and with flowers from mid December it gets well into its stride in January easily a full month or two before the deep cerise Wanda.  The rosette of leaves lasts all year and sheds some its older leaves but keeps a tight rosette when it comes into flower.

Flowers this week on divisions of P Wanda White taken early last year

Divisions taken November '22

2. This week I picked the first of the pea shoots sown just about a month ago, and they are tender and delicious and give a fresh pea taste to garnishes and salads.

2. Last Sunday I was at the Rare Plant sale at the Bishop's Palace.  Partly I was going to hand over a couple of plants to a friend who was also going, and then also to see what 'trends' I could observe.  So many stalls had Corydalis 'Beth Evans' and Primula 'Wanda', I rather like having plants what are not so widely grown, so maybe I ought to have a look for some different things.  I had taken the little plastic bowl from the posing shelf to the HPS meeting last Saturday and it got awarded 1st.  

In the Millefleur bed I have large clumps now, and one or two needed to be 'reduced or removed' this week, so much easier to find when they are in the green, and when digging them up, was surprised by how deep the bulbs had buried themselves. I divided the clumps of large bulbs in the green and positioned in groups of three elsewhere in the garden, and with all the rain that has followed, three days later they look as if they have always been there.

3. I  could not resist a few new plants, small beauties mainly to add to my Millefleur border: a lovely small Viola odorata 'Kim', which has already been divided in two and planted in different parts of the garden to check where it likes it best. 

Also had a sixth sense that the finely divided leaves on a plant tucked in on the floor was something I had been looking for and on asking the name heard that was Pimpinella major 'Rosea', I had only seen it once before when we visited Wyncliffe Gardens last summer.  It proved to be the same plant and not bad considering I had not its name on me.

4. Another one to add to the Millefleur border was Primula Strong Beer which was still tighly in bud, but it looked strong with good tight leaves as if it had been grown outside and not molly cuddled in a glass house. What names people come up with, but she is in good company as Primula. Port  and P. Lemon and Old Port are not far away! 

5. Scilla bifolia which I think will need a shady place, is really small and for now I've potted it into a terracotta pot and it is on my shelf at a far handier height to admire it.  

6.Another alpine which unsurprisingly (since it is from South America) I first saw in a friend's trough, Hilary has led many tours to South America: Nothoscordom sellowianum or Ipheion sellowianum. I shall continue to grow that in a pan and bring it in during the winter as the online care notes do mention like it does not like winter wet.  I even thought it was getting too wet, so have given it some shelter too for now. It is also nice to have it at a height that is handy for catching its sweet smell. I can confirm it has the sweetest of scents not at all oniony like the other Ipheions.

I am helping out all day at Yeo Valley for the HPS today and will be shattered when I return, maybe I will have just a few additional beauties, as I mentioned what I was looking for to Pottertons and they will be at Yeo Valley again.

In a Vase on Monday - Follow the thread

After a few busy weeks, I return to posting about my little vase of flowers and foliage from the garden.  Linking in with Cathy's post, for which she has rightly given a Gold Star, I think this week 'teacher's comment on my post may be: 'Writing  too much?'.  For this week's vase I have chosen for blooms a few stems of Corydalis solida subsp. solida 'Beth Evans'.

The foliage is Pittosporum Tom Thumb and Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Garnettii' with some silver leaved cyclamen hederifolium.

On Saturday morning I cycled off to the Rare Plants Fair at Wells Bishops Palace, with just the intention of looking around and seeing what was on trend as it were.  Sadly I succumbed and did bring back a few plants to add to my Mille Fleurs effect Conservatory border, and another one which I may write about for my Six on Saturday. I had been working towards that effect without coming up with the 'Mille Fleurs Border' name which came to me this sprang after seeing  the wonderful Fifteenth Century tapestry at Montacute House and having read  the following week about James Hitchmough's   spring carpet of flowers, in the march edition of Gardens Illustrated. I have gone head long enthusiastically, appreciating the effect of spring plants knitting together in a colourful carpet around the plants which will later emerg or do their thing later in the year.

The abundance of spring plants at the Rare Plants Fair on Sunday was a delight to see and in particular so many stalls had 'Beth Evans' and a few had other corydalis too. I can confirm that Beth Evans is definitely on trend this season as far as nurseries are concerned. I wasn't sure whether I felt pleased or not.  I had tended to my Beth Evans since I first got my one pot in 2018 into giving me several lovely clumps in that border and had enjoyed it relative rarity.  I had even taken the small bowl from the posing shelf to the HPS meeting where it won first prize in the planted up bulbs/corms category.  This was just a last minute decision and had not been planted up with that in mind.

I love knitting, and threads of all sorts, not just enjoying reading about tapestries, carpets and textiles generally,  even as much as following the thread or being interested in how one thing leads to another in the subjects which interest me.  

The book from our WI book group in March which was discussed over a delicious lunch hosted by our member Maggie, was Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah.  I had to gallop through this book as I had left only a small window for reading.

I usually like to take my reading a little slower, and had it not been for the book club I would probably have ditched it around page 150 as for me I felt nothing was happening.  I had read the Nightingale in June last year, which I greatly enjoyed, but was finding this book disappointing. I persevered...and getting up very early on the day of our lunch ie around five am, completed the book with tears streaming down my face!  Today before deciding whether to post about this book, I thought I would look up a recipe for the little Pierogi which were made by Anya, and came across an excellent article on Macmillan's site, and will read this thoroughly and then reread the book.

Six on Saturday

It certainly feels like spring this week, with three different butterflies seen in the garden.  We've been able to have coffee in the garden, and the dawn chorus is waking me up.  Up in time to complete by SOS.  Jim of course is the first to post as he is our leader and anchorman, I and several others are joining him to show six things or so from our garden.

1.This   Primula my special one because I discovered it in a hedge, and it has been going strong in all my different gardens for over forty years. I had been wondering what it was since it did not look like a pink primrose. Thanks to answers to my queries on facebook, I have found out that t is likely to be a Primula juliae cross in a similar vein to Primula 'Wanda' and 'Wanda White', which I also have in the garden.

2. Sadly many of the daffs I planted in the green bought as growing plants  last year have failed to come up.  Something must have got to them.  One of the few Narcissus cyclamineus which was in a pot survived, and is now flowering in the garden.

and Narcissus 'Rip Van Winkle''s stems are finding the blooms too heavy and are bowing down except that I found a stick to prop them up. Not much else on the Narcissus front in the garden at present.

Narcissus 'Rip Van Winkle'

3. Persicaria Red Dragon is shooting up now and looking fine against the stone wall, and close to the dwarf forsythia a pleasing combination. 

Persicaria Red Dragon

In June 2023 I read an article written by Asa Gregers-Warg, head gardener at Beth Chatto's with the most apt description of Persicaria microcephala 'Red Dragon':

'A superb foliage plant with sumptuous lance-shaped, deep-burgandy leaves, adorned with a silvery, chevron marking in early summer.  The intensity of the foliage colour changes as the season progresses, with the leaves taking on green tones as they mature.  Unlike most other Persicarias, it is clump forming, with an upright, gently arching habit.'

I find that I can cut it back once or twice a year when the vibrant new foliage emerges once more, and keeps the plant just the right proportion for my garden.

4.  Other plants are showing promise, I wonder how long it will be before these Pulsatilla start to open? This one is on the corner where I can look easily into its blooms.  The other three are in the gravel garden and not quite this advanced.  Since all of them were acquired either last year or the year I am waiting eagerly to see how their form and colour sit within the small areas they are in.

Pulsatilla vulgaris

5. The best clump of white flowered Pulmonaria 'Sissinghurst White' is a bee magnet.

Bird Bath with Pulmonaria 'Sissinghurst White' at its foot

6.  Last year I salvaged the very top of the Fatsia Japonica 'Spider's Web'as I was chucking a very sad looking plant, not knowing whether it would grown new roots if planted as a cutting.  I kept a good eye on it.  During the year it had put on some good roots and I've just repotted it as it is making such good growth.  For the moment I am keeping it as a house plant after seeing some green Fatsias used that way in a local restaurant.  I had been considering a leafy house plant, and for this year at least, that is what it will be grown as.

Fatsia Japonica 'Spider's Web'

The original plant, in a large pot outdoors,  had gone into severe decline over just a couple of weeks, at about this time last year, and the 'postmortem' revealed that the roots had been almost munched completely by the dastardly little grubs of the Vine Weevil.  

I've depleted my six, but just want to add that the Amelanchiers are about to burst open, which is a good 10 days later than in 2021,  and the Mangetout Peas I sowed only days ago had 100% germination, and are already planted out in the garden. As I planted them the cooing of the wood pigeons reminded to cover them with fleece, to protect them both from the weather and those greedy marauders.

My talk at Henton Gardening Club was well attended and I had some lovely feedback, so I may well be called on to prepare a different  talk for next year.  Thanks to the regular posts each week for  SOS I had lots of photographs and notes to help me write up my talk.  It  may be that other local gardening clubs may ask me to go and present the powerpoint show.  Mr S was surprised I ad-libbed throughout without notes.  I didn't want to present a 'read' talk, but I did annotate each of the slides with the names of the plants which were a great help to me, and also to the audience, as I have since had emails asking me about some of the ones I showed. 

I'm off to HPS Somerset to listen to Helen Picton talking about Asters, and next Saturday I will be at Yeo Valley Plant Sale in that most lovely of gardens and what a setting with the lakes and hills. That will be an all day affair and I am on the gate both morning and afternoon.  Of course I shall arrive early to be able to view and maybe get some little beauties for the garden.

Six on Saturday - Everything on hold as it gets cold again

 What a week weatherwise, quite the coldest March for a number of years.A friend not far away had several inches of snow here it was not settling.  I woke up this morning to Alan Titmarsh saying that my viticella should be cut down to ground level.  I leave it at about 40cm, I shall need to check my pruning techniques.  I'm joining in with he who for today I name Jim the Camelia, and so will a few other gardeners to show six things from their gardens.

1. Chionodoxa Sardensis or Lesser Glory of the Snow is hardly moving.  I planted a few bulbs per pot as soon as the bulbs arrived.  Some of the pots not quite this open went into their positions in the garden.  We had  'lesser snow' this week, with just a little sprinkling.

2. The 'Posing Shelf' on the side of the shed, with its ever changing assortment of pots has a few other beauties in addition to a couple of bonsai sized mini gardens.

3. I've taken to spring flowers in a big way in the Conservatory Border.  The Corydalis Beth Evans, which featured on my very first Six on Saturday in March 2019, is doing particularly well in that border.  Last year when I was putting a new plant in there, I came across some of the corms, and planted those up in a small half pot specifically so that I could look at them closely. It will take another week of warmer weather for them to fully open.  It is go slow for now.

4. Not doing as well as the other crocus as I think they were damaged by either the squirrel of by me when I repotted them. this is a new crocus this season and is a very pretty white crocus with  bluey purple marking on the petals.  I bought Crocus versicolor 'Picturatus' from Pottertons last autumn. I've read that crocus have different names for age stages in their maturation: juvenile, immature, virginal,  generative, and that the case enveloping the flower is called the perianth tube. I think I have a range here.  I'll keep these in a pot and probably amalgamate the two pots for display next year.

Crocus versicolor 'Picturatus'

5.  The pot of strawberries 'Sweetheart' got s[lit and panted, the oyster shells which formed part of 'an art installation' on the square table where being broken up by the frosts and it was time to reuse them to hide the mixed gravel and soil.  I may get a new bag of gravel to refresh that area.  The soil gradient has been flattened and I shall see if the tumble down can be reduced.

6, The Dwarf Mangetout Pea 'Norli' has arrived and has been sown in modules. I have left sufficient for a late sowing in July.  They are on a windowsill in the house, and as soon as there is sign of life, they will go into the conservatory, then out into the garden.  I am already dreaming of picking them!

That's  my lot for today, keep warm, plan, read, and enjoy the posts linking in to Jim's over on Garden Ruminations

Slicing Smoked Salmon

 I realise that not everyone has friends who smoke their own Salmon, and to the point smoke salmon and share it with friends.  In a neighbouring village in one of  'the rooms', which makes up a wing of outbuildings to their ancient house, a few times a year, when it is cool enough, smoking begins.  Calls go out to friends in advance of this, and on receipt of the ordered sides of salmon, we all await the call to tell us to collect ours. 

This time I have chosen to slice some thin slices and some thicker sashimi-style slices.  I now freeze portions just right for us for one sitting, as it is easy enough to take several out of the freezer if required.

A large platter get covered with the slices and this how it starts up.  Finally the portions are then covered in film to protect against frost burn, and then go in for a fast freeze. 

After a few hours, I shall box these up in a sealed contained.  The trimmings and the tail piece will be made into smoked salmon terrine later today.  This is the third side of salmon and with the longest blade knife I have the slices are easily cut. 

Sweet Buns for Breakfast

 Has it really been ten years since I last baked Andrew Whitley's fruited buns, which with a cross is his Hot Cross Bun Recipe? Probably not, but I did post about them then.  

It was my own fault, I started these buns far too late yesterday.  It is cold at present and the rise wasn't fast enough.  I know Andrew Whitley advocates slow ferment, but this was very slow!  After starting the recipe with the preferment  at about 3 p.m. by 8 p.m. the first rise was such that no way would I be able to form the buns and get them baked.  At 8 p.m. the dough went for a super slow rise in the fridge!  

The buns didn't get into the oven until after 2 p.m. today, but they look pretty good.  I didn't have any standard strong wholemeal flour, but used spelt instead.  The quick glaze was marmalade let down just slightly with some hot water, something I have successfully used in the past.  

These will be eaten for breakfast, one each, with frozen buns easily removed the night before, and either warmed up or toasted for breakfast.

Six on Saturday - 4 March 2023

We are now into March, time flies, but having turned cooler hopefully this will allow the crocuses to remain in top form longer.  I have just had a thought and would welcome yours: is it that there are fewer bees around so they do not get pollinated, and if they are pollinated the petals go into 'degrade' mode?  Someone out there will already have observed this, studied it, and written up about it.  I might come across an answer or you may like to add to this. In the meantime they are gorgeous and it has got to be the week of the crocus here in the garden.

1. Crocus minimus Spring Beauty, although shown before, is really coming into its prime during moments of sunshine.  Will bees and bumblebees feasting or even dozing.....

2, Here are a couple of several clumps of Crocus tommasianus Barr's Purple, which are more on the mauve side. I think these are ready to be divided before next spring.  They started with about five corms planted 4cm apart five years ago.

3.  Although called Crocus tommasianus Ruby Giant, there are more purple.  Gradually I am extending the clumps across the garden without buying a single further bulb.  They are tough here and take lifting and dividing even at this stage, when it is easy for me to locate potential places, rather than at the time there are dried bulbs, when I cannot remember what is where.

4.  Ruby Giant and the following Crocus Vernus Pickwick started off as just a few bulbs piggy backing in a pot in which a shrub was growing in the pots I brought down with me from a previous garden.

I have a few areas with this one in all from about this number of bulbs growing the first year. These were planted and spaced out last year, and I shall enjoy this group clumping up over the next few years.

5.  The pot in which these bulbs were growing contained a dwarf forsythia, and that is itself flowering this week. Flower timing is just as it was last year. It is now planted up in the garden, and I have another plant about four or five years old taken as a cutting.

6. Who doesn't like a bargain, especially when one was nipping into Morrisons just to get some butter?  A perfect little plant costing less than the butter: Clematis Alpina Blue Dancer. Suitably replanted up a pot size, and labelled, it is staying in safety and will be slowly acclimatised after probably a week or so in the warmth. I've yet to know where it is going in the garden, but then that is the lure of spotting just the right plant, I will cogitate on the right place!

I'm joining in with Jim and several others mentioning six things in the garden.  We get inspired by each other and often tempted to try something new.