Harvesting, Hot Weather, Hot Relish

What a gloriously hot bank holiday weekend. I had several visitors this week so I have mainly been giving Artful Garden tours.

The barley crops in the fields are almost ready for harvesting. Not a lot of cereal crops are grown in the Eden Valley as it is mainly livestock farming.

Bearded barley stalks

The bracken this year seems to be dominating the hedgerows.

Deep green bracken

This is a view of the Lakeland hills travelling through St. Johns in the Vale.

Look at the slope of the hillside

Clouds can often create some lovely patterns. This is known as a 'mackerel sky' because of the clouds look like fish scales.

Floating white puffs of cloud

A lovely study of white and blue

This sunflower has self seeded and grown in a pocket of my strawberry growbag. 

Grow anywhere sunflower

The cosmos is still flowering and I deadhead the flowers each day.

Crazy for cosmos

Bistort is a pretty pink flower which you can also dry.

Shades of red and pink

The rocket flower has such a simplistic shape.

Rocket stars

The Kentish hop flowers on the trellis are just starting to appear. At the end of the summer I will make a hop garland and hang it from a beam in my kitchen.  

Hop flowers

The bees are busy collecting pollen from the mint. There have been a lot of bumble bees this year.

Garden mint

My pottery houses blend well with the flowers.

Shabby chic homes

My pottery birds float above the the mint and rocket.

Birds of a feather

Flock together

Bluebird over the green hills of Eden

Today I picked my first blackberries, it looks to be a good year for harvesting. 

Yum

Another interesting vegetable shape, this time a tomato.

Tomato head

The peppers in the greenhouse are starting to ripen. I have used them in my Hot Tomato Relish.

Hot and fiery

Hot Tomato Relish
This recipe is a family favourite and an excellent use of both red and green tomato gluts.
Recipe taken from 'The Complete Book of Preserves and Pickles, Catherine Atkinson and Maggie Mayhew, Hermes House, 2009, ISBN 1844770168

600 grm ripe tomatoes skinned and quartered
400 grm red onions, chopped
3 red bell peppers seeded and chopped
3 fresh red chillies seeded and finely sliced
200 grm granulated sugar
200 ml of red wine vinegar
2 tbsp mustard seeds
2 tsp celery seeds
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp salt

Put the chopped tomatoes, peppers and chillies in a preserving pan, cover with a lid and cook on a very low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the tomato juices start to run.
Add the sugar and vinegar to the tomato mixture and slowly bring to the boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved completely. Add the mustard seeds, celery seeds, paprika and salt and stir well to combine.
Increase the pan heat slightly and cook the relish,  uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture has a thick , but moist consistency.  Stir frequently towards the end of the cooking time to prevent the mixture sticking to the pan.
Spoon the relish into warmed sterilised jars, cover and seal. Store in a cool dark place and leave to mature for at least 2 weeks before eating. Use the relish within 1 year of making.

Delicious.

Birds, Beetles, Frogs and Spiders

The weather again has been mixed and last weekend it was torrential rain in the Lake District. Trying to stay dry I visited the Cumberland Pencil Museum in Keswick. 

This van was once used to transport goods.

How many pencils does this van hold?

These wonderful pencil artworks are from a time gone by.

Pencil Circles

Pen nibs

1920 pencil packs

At one time the factory's had a clock where you 'clocked in' and 'clocked out' of work.

A clock that could tell a good story

The museum made a secret pencil for use in world war 2. Hidden inside the pencil was a map, how ingenious.

The third pencil in the row is the secret pencil

A replica of the map pencil

I saw this beautiful round topped gypsy van on the road near Hexham in Northumberland.

Beautiful artwork

How about this for accommodation?

This takes camping to a new dimension

When weeding the flower border in the Artful Garden out jumped a frog.

A frog he would a hopping go 

This black beetle was basking in the sun on the stone flags in my garden.

A sun baked black shiny beetle

This metal spider was along the disused railway track at the Garden Station at Hexham.

Metal spiders

Here I also found some large toadstools.

Red for danger

Another poisonous toadstool

I am still harvesting carrots. I think these carrots could win a prize.

The Manx carrot

The suggestive carrot

Mrs Woody has taken up residence in the stone trough at the entrance to the Artful Garden. There have been so many visitors that she wants to keep track of all the compliments about the Artful Garden. 

Don't mess with Mrs Woody

The Ooh La La bird has flown in from France. She was attracted by the smell of the onions drying on the picnic table.

Cherie the Ooh La la Bird

These don't look much like eggs

Cherie's beak and legs are made from a pair of wooden laundry tongs that inspired her creation.

It is the harvesting season. I am still harvesting, potatoes, peas, carrots, onions, garlic, courgettes and runner beans. I also picked the last of the blackcurrants this week and the Autumn raspberries are starting ripen.   I have been busy making Hot Tomato Relish. recipe to follow next week.

Bottles, Beans and Bounty

The weather this week has been very mixed but it stayed fine on Sunday for a farm walk at Dolphenby farm at Edenhall near Penrith. Here they have a milking parlour that takes 80 cows. The cows are a cross between Friesian and Jersey so they vary in colour but all seem to have the classic big eyes of the Jersey breed.

Cows gathering to be milked

The milking process

The farm is part of the Edenhall estate.The house was demolished in 1934 and these gateposts are all that remain of it's former glory. Their style in intriguing. 

Musgrave family coat of arms?

I found this pretty broken blue bird's egg in the flower border.

Dainty bird's egg

The bronze fennel in the Artful Garden looks very dramatic.

Bronze fennel with dragonfly

Tansy is bright yellow with very tight pompom flowerheads.

Vibrant tansy

Yellow pompoms

This lovage I found in the Physic Garden near Corbridge in Northumberland.

Lovage seed heads

The vibrant red of the cuckoo pint found in the verge.

Red for danger

The peacock butterflies and bees were going frantic for this plant.

Beautiful peacock butterfly

Wonderful wing patterns

These wooden sculptures that were also in the Physic Garden are great fun.

Dragon

Wood man

This pretty penstemon is in the Artful Garden.

Purple bonnets

This pretty blue harebell is along the lonning from my house.

Dainty blue fairy bonnets

This is a selection of the wild flowers that I have grown. The colours are stunning.

Vibrant

When digging a border in the orchard in the Artful Garden I dug up two old bottles. The inscription on the clear bottle is' Glassons Penrith Breweries' and on the green bottle 'H. W. Bartley, Penrith.' 

Drink and be merry

Crazy Maisie has seen been reading Glamour magazine. I am not sure if this is where she got her gold hair extensions of not.

Golden goddess?

The Bottle Boys had a trip to the Barbers shop. They decided to be more adventurous with their mustaches and this is the result.

Mustache styles, Walrus, Stud and Banker

I found this pretty china jam pot at a car boot sale. I will use it for my homemade jams.

A lovely pattern  

This is one of my most popular recipes and is an excellent way of using an overload of runner beans.

Runner Bean Pickle

Runner Bean Pickle - Makes 2 x 450 kg jars

Recipe taken from 'Preserves' by Pam Corbin ISBN 978074759532810987, published in 2008 (part of the River Cottage Handbook series.)

1 kg of young runner beans
Salt
300 ml cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
100 ml water
300 g  granulated sugar
1 teasp ground allspice
1 teasp coarsely ground black pepper
6 juniper berries

Trim the ends off the runner beans. If the beans are young they should be no need to string them. Cut the beans into short lengths (remember they will need to fit onto a serving spoon)

Put the vinegar,water, sugar, all spice, ground pepper and juniper berries into a saucepan over a low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil for a couple of minutes.
Also put the beans into a steamer and steam for about 5 minutes (do not over cook.)
When cooked add the runner beans to the spiced vinegar mixture and simmer for 4 - 5 minutes. Strain the vinegar mixture into a smaller saucepan. Pack the beans into warm sterilised jars pushing the beans down into the jar.

Return the spiced vinegar to the boil then pour it over the tightly packed beans. Cap immediately with a vinegar- proof lid.

Store in a cool dark space and leave for several weeks until the pickle matures. Use within 12 months.