2024 - What I did today

Outing with a pal most of the day then helped P cut the remaining grass and he helped me put the courgette pots inside the gh as we're forecast colder nights. I'm not convinced that courgettes in a pot in the gh will extend the season but it's worth a try.

Picked lots of apples some were juiced and some are dehydrating.

Took various cuttings of borderline tender plants to overwinter indoors for next year:

Lemon verbena
Blackcurrant sage
Pineapple sage
Fuchsia la campanella

Pulled up all the chilli & sweet pepper plants. Some of them I’ve pulled all the leaves off and hung upside down in the tunnel. With the hope that some might ripen. Leaving them in the bed wasn’t going to achieve anything. The minute any started to ripe something would just bore a whole into it. Also pulled up my courgette. It still had a couple of potentials coming but what’s the point when there is only me eating at the moment. Removed a few more finished tomato branches. Dug over and covered one empty bed. Dug over and plant my pomegranate , lemon, blood orange and 2 avocados in the other.

In the Lidl YS tray was clotted cream at 40p. Who could resist. In fact my pal took 3. I was a bit restrained and only bought the one. Now P is not a dairy freak like me, so clotted cream doesn't hold much fascination, I on the other hand could just eat it by the spoonful. So my new thing this week was to make some scones. They're not something I've baked for absolutely ages, it must be 10 years at least, so l consider it to be a 'new' thing. There's nothing much to scones, flour sugar, butter and milk but a great deal of waffle about how to get a good, light rise. I refreshed my memory and googled recipes, all had lovely pictures of tall, risen, golden topped scones. I did as advised, rubbed in the flour, didn't knead or handle the dough too much, all the things mother told me as a kid when learning to cook. I only made half batch of 6 scones and watched them in the oven as they developed a lovely golden top. Shame they didn't grow much. After all this care and attention why did they end up looking like rock cakes! I'm ashamed of myself.
Nevertheless they were very nice rock cakes, split, buttered topped with homemade blackberry jam and lashings of clotted cream.

Had a good weed of VP5. The weeds were coming out easily, roots and all, because the soil was so wet. A few more hours like today and I'll have that bed clear, Not sure what I do with it then!!

In the Lidl YS tray was clotted cream at 40p. Who could resist. In fact my pal took 3. I was a  bit restrained and only bought the one. Now P is not a dairy freak like me, so clotted cream doesn't hold much fascination, I on the other hand could just eat it by the spoonful.  So my new thing this week was to make some scones.  They're not something I've baked for absolutely ages, it must be 10 years at least, so  l consider it to be a 'new' thing.  There's nothing much to scones, flour sugar, butter and milk but a great deal of waffle about how to get a good, light rise. I refreshed my memory and googled recipes, all had lovely pictures of tall, risen,  golden topped scones.  I did as advised, rubbed in the flour, didn't knead or handle the dough too much, all the things mother told me as a kid when learning to cook. I only made half  batch of 6 scones and watched them in the oven as they developed a lovely golden top. Shame they didn't grow much. After all this care and attention why did they end up looking like rock cakes! I'm ashamed of myself.
Nevertheless they were very nice rock cakes, split, buttered topped with homemade blackberry jam and lashings of clotted cream.

Did you use self-raising flower or baking powder? Could be that the raising agent in either has lost its oomph.

In the Lidl YS tray was clotted cream at 40p. Who could resist. In fact my pal took 3. I was a  bit restrained and only bought the one. Now P is not a dairy freak like me, so clotted cream doesn't hold much fascination, I on the other hand could just eat it by the spoonful.  So my new thing this week was to make some scones.  They're not something I've baked for absolutely ages, it must be 10 years at least, so  l consider it to be a 'new' thing.  There's nothing much to scones, flour sugar, butter and milk but a great deal of waffle about how to get a good, light rise. I refreshed my memory and googled recipes, all had lovely pictures of tall, risen,  golden topped scones.  I did as advised, rubbed in the flour, didn't knead or handle the dough too much, all the things mother told me as a kid when learning to cook. I only made half  batch of 6 scones and watched them in the oven as they developed a lovely golden top. Shame they didn't grow much. After all this care and attention why did they end up looking like rock cakes! I'm ashamed of myself.
Nevertheless they were very nice rock cakes, split, buttered topped with homemade blackberry jam and lashings of clotted cream.

Did you use self-raising flower or baking powder? Could be that the raising agent in either has lost its oomph.

Both. Can't imagine either are oomphless. I use them every week for baking.  Next pot of clotted cream (hopefully not too soon, my waistline can't cope) I'll try buttermilk scones which my pal says never fails. Rock cakes or not they were still very nice.

P de-weeded the patio crevices and I collected all the Orangeto tomatoes and trimmed the bushes of dead stuff, leaving any green ones on just in case we get some warmth to ripen them up, I'm not that hopeful. I know I could ripen them indoors but there weren't many and I've nowhere to put them. After that I deadheaded marigolds and dahlias.

An apple day here some were dehydrated and the others juiced.