Musing on Winter...

I think you either love it or hate it... Winter.  I love it in parts.  Mostly love but sometimes I wish it was warmer in the evenings when it's too hard to light and keep an eye on the open fire in the other (further away) lounge and I'm busy trying to multi task - cooking my dinner, showering, drying hair etc.  It's the downside to living alone.  On the weekends when Dave is here, its a different matter - and nothing is nicer than curling up by the fire with a glass of red.... I love crisp sunny days when I can dry the washing outside but I hate dull, grey ones where the laundry hangs limply day after day before I am resigned to throwing it in the dryer.

In winter the green finches arrive... I never see these dear little birds normally and its such a delight to sit watching them outside my kitchen window as they bob about so merrily looking for seeds.  They come for my grape seeds - swept as whole fruit from my terrace in autumn, but I have started throwing out wild bird seed mix so that they may stay longer.  They hop around with their bright red legs, much the hoppiest birds I know in fact.... and spar with each other and the sparrows - they are so full of personality.... I  love them.

Trying to live a simple life without too much processed food lends itself to winter too... so much more appealing to cook soups and casseroles from scratch and throw the odd roast into the oven.  I have been baking all my bread for months now - having found a super simple recipe for Irish Soda Bread (no yeast) that I have adapted till it is literally perfect... from start to table in under 3/4 hr with so little fuss it should be illegal...   magnificent warm with butter, and toasts just beautifully too.  I make biscuits sometimes having become disillusioned with store bought ones always being too sweet and sickly - not to mention the additives.  I add 85% cocoa chocolate chips, cranberries, pecans, pistachios, spice - whatever takes my fancy.

Earlier in the year we started making our own cheeses - I gave Dave a voucher for a course for Christmas and we went for an all day course together in March.... we went and bought all the gear - which like anything - some is essential for a good result.  When our family business used to sell wine and beer making gear I remember the folk that improvised or just didn't bother with airlocks and hydrometers  etc and I also remember how bad their wines were...  Cheese making, like wine making, is essentially a science, and then a craft... get the technical side sorted and then you can play around with rind washes and combinations of cultures/moulds etc... walk before you run!  We have made some gorgeous cheeses and will continue to expand our repertoire as time goes on.  Our  Camembert is just soooo good, we have friends clamouring for it!  But when a cheese takes 6 weeks to make one is loath to gift it!  I have a tub of cream cheese in my fridge permanently now as it is just so easy to make and so much nicer than shop stuff.  Yum...