Salmagundi

I'm here again with a brand new laptop - my last one was erasing everything I wrote which is why no-one has heard from me recently. Hopefully normal service will be resumed from today. The picture at the top is Gabriel who is now known as Mr Giggles - I caught this one just right. The one below is his 'Can you please take that camera away Granny!' look. It really made me laugh:)


He looks very disapproving doesn't he?


Of course I wasn't able to post anything at Lammas but J and I took the dogs up on the moors and as we walked down the lane we passed a herd of Herefords with several new calves, one was still very unsteady on its feet. This one is just as attractive as the newborn one but mum was keeping a close eye on our activities.



I'd tucked a couple of plastic bags in my little rucksack in the hopes that we would be able to gather some of the first fruits of the harvest to celebrate Lammas and my hopes were fulfilled - enough bilberries for a decent size crumble:) Bilberries are a moorland fruit and have different names in different parts of the country, they have been one of my favourite fruits since I was a child. Picking them is hard work, they are small and hidden away under the leaves and getting enough for a pie is a time-consuming occupation done with the assistance of what seems like thousands of enthusiastic flies! By the time you get to eat the pie you have earned every mouthful.


Growing among the bilberry bushes in places was this rather beautiful red-berried shrub - the same kind of low growing evergreen plant. I wish I knew what it is, does anyone know?


More first fruits - gooseberries from the garden this time.



Gooseberry Pie.....


....and the left over pastry made a dozen cheese and onion tartlets.


Kaitlyn - waiting for lunch to appear and ready to supervise the filling of the pastry cases. I've just bought a new high chair and hadn't quite figured out the straps at this point. They are a bit more secure now!



My garden has a new guardian - my summer Green Man. There is an autumn version of this plaque too and he will be appearing due course.

And Salmagundi? It's a 17th/18th Century salad made from cooked chicken,hard boiled eggs, anchovies and all kinds of salad leaves, vegetables and herbs. These are beautifully arranged on a large platter and the finished dish is quite something. But basically it's a mixture of all sorts of things:) It's great to be back blogging.