Perfect Breakfast

I would say the perfect breakfast is always the one before you and the one you are about to eat...

Some people do not eat breakfast, and very sadly there are probably still people in the world who do not have much for breakfast.

This one during the week, used the last bits from the bottom of the fruit and fiber cereal, the little bits you wonder whether you should feed to the birds.  They were 'improved' with a splash of goats milk, a little sheep's yogurt, some berries from the garden from my Kenilworth Castle miniature strawberries, and the last little chunk of honey in the honeycomb, from my friend Nicki whose hubby Mike has a hive or two.  I try to make this honeycomb last and use it when I need cheering up:  I had this pain the jaw, and my dearly beloved was away working.

Yes: a good breakfast, in the conservatory on a nice sunny morning, can lift the spirits.

When you cannot fit anymore empty jars into the cupboard, and feeling very sorry for myself.

On Monday, a friend brought back some empty jars, they were lingering at the end of the counter, and as Hubby is the very tidy sort, he took them out to put them into the 'empty jar' cupboard.  There was no room, it is a full 'empty jar' cupboard.

So, I have not been making many preserves recently, and the jar and preserve cupboard is starting to look a little sparse.  I took my last jar of Courgette Chutney as a gift for Vicky:  a well traveled jar having been taken from Kenilworth to Alnwick, then back to London.

With wonderful rich apricots available locally,  1 Kg was transformed into a luscious compote.  The kernels were easy to extract, which give that lovely amaretto flavour to the preserve.

On Thursday I just could not resist the large mangoes on the market, so I bought a couple.  When I arrived home I got all my books out to find a suitable preserve, found one which would form the basis of 'my version', and realised that I would just have time to rush out to buy a couple more.

That is when I realised that I had 'lost' my lovely solitaire ring, which was my mother's.  I turned the house upside down, then I rushed into town, and went to every place I had been that morning.  I ended up with blisters from running around, made a statement for what now stands as a Police point at the local library, when the assistant could not even bring up the sheet.  No is is not stolen, just lost. It could have fallen off my finger.... It could also be in the garden, as I did a silly thing of having my lunch in the garden, all bejeweled, then did a little quick dead heading!  I have never lost a piece of jewelry before, so I am gutted, as when I put on the ring, several times a day, I think of my lovely Mum.  I have other rings, so will have to select a new one for everyday wear.  I just hope that if anyone finds it, it will find itself back to me, or the person will sell it, and use the money wisely.

I have been having a dreadful pain the face, and on Tuesday was relieved to find out that it wasn't anything to do with my teeth, even though that is where I feel the pain.  The Dentist was wonderful, and explained everything to me with the help of the xrays...it is either neuralgia or an infection of the sinuses.  Does that explain or maybe excuse my rash behaviour in loosing my ring?  Well I can just about hear what Mum would have to say about that!

This morning with all the ingredients, I made Mango Chutney for the first time...why have I waited so long?  I love Mangoes, I love Chutney, and I usually buy Mango Chutney.  I'll write up my recipe on Mrs Mace Preserves.

In a Vase on Monday: Loads of Excuses

I feel like a girl coming back from her holidays, with home work not up to scratch, just full of excuses for entering her work a day late.  Whereas Head Prefect Cathy, on her blog: Rambling in the Garden, has prepared the props, knows the name of her flowers, and has got her 'In a Vase on Monday' project in on time, with a great title Baby Face.

My Excuses:  Just back from holiday, the garden suffered in the heat, I have tooth ache and am going to the dentist today, I have had loads of washing and ironing to do, I have not had time to look up the proper names of the flowers, and there are more!

Why I am posting this?  Well these flowers deserved to be shown off, it was my cousin's birthday whilst I was away, and I have got into the habit, for far away friends and family, of making a bouquet from the garden with them in mind, and then sending them an email with an attachment, and then taking the bouquet to someone local who needs a 'pick me up'.  I picked the fern leaves because in Mauritius everyone who cherished little areas of deep cool shade would have some ferns growing, and I remember Georgette's Mum smelling of scented powder, hence the roses and lavender.  

Well I am late with the bouquet email too.....Shall I go into detention and write some lines? Well I deserve to...but maybe weeding, dead heading and tying up will be more productive.  As part of detention later in the week, I shall look up flowers names and add them.

The bouquet will be dropped off at Roz's who has just had an operation, and is back home recovering.

Clematis make lovely cut flowers

Just wait a couple of days for the flower to firm up after it has opened, before cutting, and invariably the clematis will last well in water.  This is the vase made up Monday.  The roses are nearly over, but the clematis is doing very well.  One started to flounder yesterday morning, so I snipped the stem and changed the water, plus one drop of bleach...

Bastounakia

This is the mid June bake from Jane Mason's the Book of Buns, p 30.  They are a light tasty stick/bun which will be eaten here with tapas and soups, and no doubt one sneaked into a salad packed lunch for hubby...

They came out light and fluffy, herby with a nice crunch from the coarse sea salt, which I had brought back from our Sicily Holiday.  The crystals are hard and square and stand up well above the olive oil glaze on the buns.  You can also see the layers where more oil, salt and fresh oregano from the garden were spread.  The dough itself has no salt in, and there is quite a different mouth feel as a result.

You start with a predough, for one day it was on the work-surface, but for the next 24 hours it went into the fridge as it is really warm at the moment.

The recipe gives clear instructions, and a note to say there is no salt in the dough!  After a jolly good knead, it is left for its first proof under a layer of olive oil and clingfilm.  Sort of reminds me of my youth, on beaches in Mauritius, when you would sunbathe with just oil...

You then start to make the salt and herb layers.  The recipe suggest rosemary, but also gives alternatives.  As I have some roasted red peppers with rosemary to go with these, I thought a different flavour would balance this out, so chose some of the shoots of majoram which are just peeking into flowers.  A few days more and I would have to wrestle the bees and hoverflies for get to them!  Don't worry there are several clumps of different types in the garden...just because the bees love them.

You do this layering, folding into three as you would do for a piece of paper going into an envelope, three times.  As the dough is quite soft and a little tricky to handle, I took full advantage of using both the long side and short end of the work-surface.  As it had been a problem with the dough sticking to the work-surface, I decided to do the final rise on the piece of clingfilm I used for the first rise, with a little oil brushed on..this really worked well for me.  Maybe I should have been much more generous with my flouring of the work-surface first time round.

After another hour resting under a tea towel, it was time to get out the pizza wheel and get cutting the dough into little fingers.

As I lifted the sticks onto the parchment lined tins, I realised how long they were, and cut them into two.

 They are delicious, and quite different from any other bakes I have made.

As I was making these I have been listening to the radio, and wondering what the future for Greece will be.  I expect that there are many Greek people making their bastounakia today who will be also be extremely worried about their future.