"Rentrée" gifts
I’m sitting searching for a new recipe for the chicken we’ll eat tonight when I hear a car draw up.
Life in the country is never predictable–especially when you hope it might be for a few quiet minutes!
The bell outside the courtyard gently rings and footsteps slowly crunch across the gravel.
I put down the cookbook and reluctantly rise to greet the visitor.
There is the lightest knock on the front door.
There stands our neighbour Alice, holding a small rectangular box with 2 kilos of her honey in it.
Honey box
She says it’s only fair she shares some with her “second pair of hands”.
Meredith helped with the recolte [harvest] of her honey on Monday.
“The honey’s runny–better keep it a plat [flat],” she says of the harvest. “there was more last year–but not bad nevertheless….”
A spoonful of the honey with a tablespoon of the organic cider vinegar from Thursday’s market will help shore up our health as the seasons change.
Of more interest to me is the small basket of tomatoes, aubergines and courgettes that Alice holds in her other hand–could make a wonderful ratatouille.
Ratatouille basket
“These are probably the last”, Alice says, “in spite of constant watering things have dried up–so enjoy these while you can”.
Too right, Alice–superb! Merci beaucoup!
(And I did nothing to deserve it!)
Talk of the season change persuades me to try the chicken cooked with dried porcini mushrooms (bought last November in Tuscany) tonight.
Recipe to follow–if we like it!
Robin Ellis 
Hi Robin, I came back from holidays too. Seems you have had a special “rentrée”!!! At work now, next holidays on 8 of Dec. ;(( I would be in Truro 09/17, but I think will not possible…. I could take a plane on Friday night and return on Sunday night, but I am not sure… cause work even. I will be in contact with Ann at Waterstone to have your BOOK signed !!! She will tell you about the sign for me….but I hope to be there??!! Ciao!!!
Hi Beatrice,
Well it would be lovely to meet you but that is a tricky journey.
At least I can sign your book!
Welcome back Meredith& Robin hope you enjoyed your little break you have been misse.make your Though I did enjoy watching your pesto sauce.Those vegetables look ver fresh & lovely hope you put them to good use,as I am sure you would have done.
Do you use honey in your cooking? I thought it might be more concentrated than ordinary sugar.Jimmy gets very frustrated with James (our son) as he like’s to have honey in his coffee,but Jimmy can no longer have it,& he will not use sweeteners as they spoil the teast he says. Just thinking about a treat for him!!!
Thanks, Elaine.
I don’t eat honey as a rule.
I do have a dried fig and a couple of untreated dried apricots with my coffee after lunch.
AND a square of 90% cacao chocolate.
It’s a treat
I haven’t had sugar in coffee or tea–I think ever. My parents didn’t take it so I followed suit I suppose.
I would imagine honey in coffee would spoil the taste too.
Sorry Robin finger ‘s not working very well today, Arthur’s-rightus playing up.Pesky thing that it is.
Elaine
I miss letters
on a regular basis Elaine–no problem!
Hi Robin I could not drink James’ coffee either but he does have a very sweet tooth
which is strange as Jimmy & I do not.Though he does spend a lot of time at the gym.
Comes in like a limp rag, don’t see the point myself, but then when I was in my teens & twenties I was climbing mountains each to their own I suppose.
Thank you for the tip about the chocolate,I will get him some.
We sometimes buy him Thornton’s Diabectic chocolate, but there can be problems with that.
Regards Elaine
Welcome back! Hope the two of you had fun.
And about the honey: It has a medicinal purpose too. Our local beekeeper has nothing else but honey in his medicine cabinet, he says, when it comes to taking care of his skin. Whether it be scrapes, burns, cuts or scratches, he just puts on some honey, and it kills off all the bacteria.
A friend of mine had a dog that was hit by a car, and his leg was hurt, the skin was mostly scraped off. Horrible to look at. The vet gave us a creme made of honey to apply every day on the leg, and after a few weeks his skin was healed.
Clever little things, those bees..
Dieneke
Bees and their ways are a miraculous mystery, Dieneke
I realise honey is frouned upon in diabetetics , as a so far non diabetic, I enjoy its taste & health giving proppterties, it should be aplauded. Meredith is wonderful to encourage bees as there whole purpose is to propogate new life. Your friend Alice should be encouraged to enlarge the bee poppulation in any way possible. Good for her, hope her bees are desease free & keep there good work .