Our week that was: Apple picking, a play date and moon missions

We’re still playing catch-up here on the blog after another fun-filled week – time is whizzing by in a flash. It does, doesn’t it, as you get older?

Apple picking

One of my friends from the Women’s Institute has a garden with an orchard. She invited a couple of us over to pick some of the apples, as she’d never be able to make use of them all.

The apple trees are old, rare Welsh heritage varieties such as Baker’s Delicious and Cadwaladr.

As well as apples, there were a few, much less commonly found trees in the orchard… including these walnuts that were almost ready to harvest.

We spent less than an hour apple picking, after which I returned home with two large sacks, heavy with fruit, with not much of an idea of what I was going to make with them. A pie and an upside-down cake are most likely; I have so many apples, I can attempt things I’ve never done before; apple juice, apple jam, hard cider?

Play date for Barley

A few weeks ago, we encountered a lady out walking her dog near the Arch near Hafod. After a tentative 30 seconds or so, we were all really pleased to see that her dog, Tala, and Barley hit it off splendidly. They’re about the same size and possess the same energy levels. They got on so well, in fact, that we agreed to meet the following week in the same place for a doggie play date.

The afternoon of the play date was a welcome chink of lovely, warm sunny weather in an altogether damp and dreary week. Tala & Barley loved it; tearing through the woods, chasing each other for most of the hour-long circular walk. We hope it will become a regular occurrence.

For All Mankind

We’ve just binge-watched 3 series of For All Mankind. The series proffers an alternative world history that hinges on the ‘space race’ not ending with the USA landing on the moon in 1969. The series broaches many subjects such as male chauvinism, feminism, sexuality, politics, technology and conspiracy theories. And I’ve just found out – there’s going to be a series four at some point in the near future!

Cakes & Bakes: 7 best fruit pie recipes

There isn’t a much better way to round off an autumn or winter evening meal than a warming, filling, fruit pie. We love a slice with an afternoon coffee too.

Here are 7 of our favourite fruit pie recipes – they always go down a treat served with a dollop of cream, ice cream or custard.

Plum pie

I first made this pie prior to having a garden with a plum tree that produces abundantly. This recipe will therefore be revisited each year in September and October when our fruit is ripe and ready to be picked.

Vegan lemon meringue pie

This is a lovely pie… you’ll enjoy it whether you’re a vegan or not! The ‘meringue’ is made using aquafaba, the water left over after cooking chickpeas or other white beans. You whip it up and, as if by magic, you’ve got something that looks just like whisked egg whites.

Blueberry pie

I love blueberries! I buy them frozen in bags and pop them into porridge, smoothies, my home-made yoghurt… and pies. Blueberries are considered by some to be a super-food, they contain all manner of vitamins and other health-boosting chemical compounds.

Rhubarb & berry shortcake pie

This recipe is like a cross between a pie, a crumble and a biscuit. It’s lovely straight out of the oven with a dollop of clotted cream. It’s just as good cold and is very good as a picnic or al fresco dessert; it wraps up easily and travels well.

Cherry pie

This sweet yet tart fruit pie is encased in a delicious almond pastry – the two flavour compliment each other well.

Apple & blackberry pie

As well as a plum tree, we have a number of apple trees. There are lots of blackberry bushes growing wild in the area near where we live. Apples and blackberries ripen at the same time time of year; and the two flavours are a match made in heaven. So this is a two birds, one stone kind of pie!

Luxury mince pies

Last, but not least, is something for Christmas; mince pies. I must confess, I like mince pies so much that I don’t just eat them in December. I make mincemeat that keeps in (unopened, sterilised) jars for years. A batch of these little tasty morsels can be rustled up in a flash… any time of year!

Do you have any favourite fruit pie recipes that you enjoy cooking or eating?

Home-made damson cheese

After making use of some of the plum crop in our garden, I needed to find something to make with the damsons.

We inherited two mature damson trees – both about 20 foot tall. This autumn, they’ve both been laden with fruit, some we gave away, some we couldn’t reach to harvest. We kept about 5 kilos of fruit for ourselves.

I found lots of recipes for jam and jelly – however, it was a Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall recipe for damson cheese that I fancied trying. There are only 2 ingredients; damsons and sugar – and you don’t need to undertake the time-consuming task of de-stoning the fruit either.

The damson cheese mixture sat bubbling away on top of the simmering hob of our new Esse for a couple of hours until it resembled a thick chocolate sauce. All it needed was the occasional stir to make sure it didn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. I could get on with other little jobs while it did its thing.

Like jam and jelly, damson cheese keeps for months once wrapped and refrigerated. Have it as a component on your cheeseboard – it’s lovely with a ripe brie. It’s also a great accompaniment to hot & cold meats.

Click here to repin the recipe to Pinterest

Home-made damson cheese

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall

Print recipe Pin recipe

Course Condiment

Cuisine British

Ingredients

5 kg damsons washed
2 kg granulated sugar approx.

Instructions

Put the damsons in a large preserving pan, add a couple of tablespoons of water and bring slowly to a simmer, stirring as the fruit begins to release its juices. Leave to simmer until completely soft
Tip the contents of the pan into a sieve and rub it through to remove the stones and skin, leaving you with a smooth damson purée
Measure the purée by volume. For every 500ml, add 350g sugar
Combine in a large, heavy-based pan bringing it to a simmer over a low heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then cook gently, stirring regularly so it doesn't catch, until reduced to a thick purée. It's ready when you drag the spoon across the bottom of the pan and the base stays clearly visible for a second or two. This can take up to an hour of gentle, popping simmering and stirring
Pour the 'cheese' into very lightly-oiled, shallow containers and leave to cool and set

It will keep almost indefinitely in the fridge. Serve in slices with bread and cheese

Keyword baked cheesecake, damsons, fruit

Cakes & Bakes: Home-made summer fruit Pavlova

When the weather’s as hot as it has been recently, we’re never in the mood for large, heavy meals. It’s been lots of salads, fruit and ice cream recently.

Our strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant and redcurrant bushes have been bountiful over the past couple of weeks, so I’ve used a bowlful of them to make a summer fruit Pavlova which really suits the mood when it comes to dessert.

This recipe uses a Swiss meringue. I created a few, different sized ’rounds’ so a stacked, tapering tower could be formed.

When it came to the fruit, I made a strained coulis or sauce with most of it – and also held some pieces for garnishing. Then simply built the stack of meringue layers sandwiched with cream, coulis and whole fruit.

The combination of crisp yet chewy meringue, rich cream and intense fruit is a real joy – both in appearance and taste. A scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side doesn’t go amiss either!

Save my summer fruit Pavlova recipe to Pinterest for later!

Summer fruit Pavlova

Print recipe Pin recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

For the meringue

4 egg whites
200 g/7oz caster sugar
pinch of cream of tartar

For the fruit

250 g/9oz fresh mixed summer fruit whatever you have: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, bilberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants
75 g/2½oz granulated sugar
50 ml/1¾fl oz water

To finish

300 ml/10½fl oz whipping cream
100 g/3½ fresh mixed summer fruit
fresh mint leaves optional

Instructions

For the meringue

Preheat the oven to 100ºC/200ºF/Gas mark ½
Line a large oven tray with baking parchment
In a heat-proof mixing bowl, gently mix the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar over a simmering saucepan of water (making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water). Keep stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved and there's no graininess
Remove the mixing bowl from the saucepan and, using an electric or stand mixer, beat on a slow speed rising gradually to a high speed. Continue for about 3-5 minutes until the meringue forms stiff peaks
Spoon the meringue onto the lined baking sheet, making three graduated circular shapes and a single meringue kiss for the top
Bake for 1-1½ hours depending on how sticky or hard you want the finished meringue
When cooked, remove the meringue from the parchment paper (you may need to use a palette knife) and allow to cool completely on a wire rack

For the fruit syrup

Put the fruit, sugar and water into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring up to the boil and simmer until the fruit has softened - stir occasionally to dissolve the sugar and stop the fruit from sticking. (If you use blackcurrants, you may need to pop them using the back of your spoon)
Remove from the heat and spoon the mixture into a sieve over a heat-proof bowl or measuring jug
Push the fruit down through the sieve using the back of your spoon to get as much of the fruit as you can away from the seeds
Discard the seeds and put the mixture back into the saucepan and simmer for a few minutes to reduce to a lovely syrupy consistency
Allow to cool completely

To finish

Beat the whipping cream until thickened and forms peaks. Set aside
Put the largest meringue round on to a large serving plate (put a little dollop of the cream on to the plate first, to keep the meringue round in place) and top with ⅓ of the whipped cream, ⅓ of the fresh fruit mixture and drizzle with ⅓ of the fruit syrup
Repeat with the two other circles of meringue (the smallest goes on the top) and finish with the little meringue 'kiss'
Garnish with the mint leaves, if using

If you have an excess of the fruit syrup, you could freeze it into portions using an ice cube tray

Keyword fruit, meringue, Pavlova, summer, Swiss meringue

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: fruit

Our week that was: Apple picking, a play date and moon missions

Apple picking

Play date for Barley

For All Mankind

Cakes & Bakes: 7 best fruit pie recipes

Plum pie

Vegan lemon meringue pie

Blueberry pie

Rhubarb & berry shortcake pie

Cherry pie

Apple & blackberry pie

Luxury mince pies

Home-made damson cheese

Home-made damson cheese

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Home-made summer fruit Pavlova

Summer fruit Pavlova

Ingredients

For the meringue

For the fruit

To finish

Instructions

For the meringue

For the fruit syrup

To finish