Pumpkin Pie

Our pumpkins have ripened and are looking good.  We have 3 fine specimens and a big pumpkin that the slugs have discovered.  A good proportion of it has been eaten into and the slugs were close to finding the other pumpkins, so they have now been harvested and cleaned.

Not to be wasteful, I cut out the damaged side of the slug infested pumpkin and was left with a good chunk to salvage.  Once opened, the pumpkin would not save, so I decided to make a pumpkin pie.

Chop up the pumpkin into slices and remove the inner pith and outer skin.  Cut the flesh into small cubes and steam for about 20 minutes to soften.  Mash into a purée. and cool.

Make some pastry (350g flour, 200g margarine or butter and a small amount of water) and line a pie dish.

 

  500g pumpkin purée

  175g light brown sugar

  +cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg

  200g milk (condenced milk is an alternative)

  3 eggs

Mix the ingredients thoroughly and add to the dish.  Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.

The pumpkin pie needs to cool before it is cut and then it should give a crisp and clean slice.  OK!  I made two small ones in flan dishes, which is probably the best way to do the job.  I had enough pastry and pumpkin purée left over to make a small pasty with pumpkin, nutmeg and honey.

Just the job after a hard days leisure now that the weather is starting to become Autumnal.

Controlling the wet

Over the past few weeks we have had some wet weather.  The path from the patio to the pond has been quaking with water, so we decided to lift the grass and gravel it over.

So far I have laid gravel to the pond and placed stepping slabs at regular intervals.  This should allow better drainage to keep the path dry.  Later in the year I intend to gravel between the raised beds, but for now I have run out of the stuff.

 There are a few bits to trim, like this conifer that overhangs the path.  The difficulty of mowing the grass on this path is now a thing of the past.

The pumpkins are doing well.  There are actually four of them and three are big enough to make lanterns from.  The skins are now quite hard and they should be ready for harvesting at the end of October.  Halloween lanterns and pumpkin pie / soup should be no problem now.

Not a sparrow in sight

Rosie looked out of the landing window and said "What's That?"  Oh, its just a juvenile Goshawk sitting on our fence.  We stood and watched the bird for a while as it cleaned its feathers and looked around for lunch.  The only birds in sight were pigeons and magpies.  They were just too challenging for a young hawk. This is the third time in a week that I have seen this bird.

The hawk sat for quite a while and allowed me to take a leisurely few photographs.

Goshawks do tend to be a little variable in their colouring, but the size (bigger than a sparrow-hawk) and that distinctive pale flash over the eyes gives them away.  I would love to see this bird when it has its sleeker and paler adult plumage.  This hawk is attracted by the abundance of sparrows in our hedges, but the little birds are wise to its presence and fast to disappear.  They will even scatter at the sight of a magpie flying past - quite a strong survival instinct.  We have not yet seen any sparrow remains in  the garden.

Flowerpot Bread

As I glanced out of the window on the upstairs landing I saw a hawk descend upon a small group of sparrows.  The small birds scattered into the hedges and the hawk swooped down and missed its target.  It settled on the shed roof for a while, then flew off.  A quick snap revealed this to be a goshawk (white flash over eyes and stripes on the tail, almost chestnut in colour, bigger than a sparrowhawk).  Whilst this bird is common in Europe, it is a rarity in the UK - quite a treat to see.

Yesterday I purchased a couple of plantpots for baking bread in.  Oiled the insides and baked them dry for half an hour to season them for baking - repeated a second time.  Cooled them, then placed a disc of greaseproof paper in the base to seal the drainage hole - greased and floured the inside.
My bread was a spelt flour and strong white mix, one loaf with black olives and rosemary and one with tomato puree and basil.

The bread needs to be baked longer than normal, until a good crust has formed on top.  Leave to cool before turning out the loaf.

The pots need a little more baking with oil inside to finish of the seasoning as the loaves did stick a little on the edges, but the taste was excellent.

What could be nicer that a garden vegetable risotto, a glass of home made blackcurrant cordial and a lump of black olive and rosemary plantpot bread.  Good living works for me.