October

The hawthorn-trees blow in the dew of the morning

Robert Burns.

At this time of year, while outside the cottage is a swirling mass of gold and rust coloured leaves, the hawthorn trees in the lanes and the hedgerows are at their best. With its abundant clusters of blood-red ‘haws’ the hawthorn tree heralds the onset of Winter. Many people think its berries are only fit for the birds but they are very tasty, high in vitamin C, and can be made into jams, jellies, preserves, and even wine. Folklore in this part of Scotland tells of how a circle drawn around a hawthorn tree provides a special trysting place for Fairies!

Country walks at this time of year are particularly refreshing. Polly and Ruby love to play in the fallen leaves and pine cones. The air is both fresh from the hills and pungent from the pine forest and, while walking through the fallen debris, I am continually having to stop to inspect the fascinating array of fungi hiding beneath it all. The landscape picture shown below is my all time favourite view from the cottage. Whatever the weather or season this scene is constantly changing colour and it both inspires and thrills me. The colours are fiery just now and the hawthorn in the foreground, although it looks bare, is actually full of bright-red berries and is where I took this month's opening photograph.

The view from the cottage

October has been a difficult month in the henhouse. Prince, the new cockerel, has been given many chances to settle in and numerous opportunities to behave himself but I’m afraid he has to go – and it’s not just Kylie, Britney and Beyonce who are afraid of him – I am too! He raises his illustrious feathers whenever I come near and he hisses: resembling a rather terrifying Raptor from the Jurassic Park movie.

The Cockerel formerly known as Prince

His bad behaviour, at first, I put down to him being in a strange new home and, as he had obviously suffered from being previously pecked, he has been given plenty of time to settle down. However, he had gone from being understandably defensive to downright offensive and the ‘girls’ are not happy. I’m not happy either, in fact, this morning, for fear of being attacked by him again, I asked my six foot four inches tall youngest son to open up the hen house and lay down the food. Although, I still have to plan how to retrieve the eggs (if he hasn’t stamped on them) and clean out the hut. I expect the cockerel formerly known as ‘Prince’ not to be with us much longer…

On a lighter note, Polly and Ruby have had their Autumn hair cuts and are feeling very proud and pretty. You might think they would prefer long thick coats in the wintertime - but they will be much easier to keep clean (and white!) with short coats as the wetter and muddier weather sets in.

Polly and Ruby with their new haircuts

This month, Mr Country-Cottage and I had shared rare quiet time and evenings out together when our youngest son decided to spend his half term in Edinburgh visiting his brothers who are at university there. Then, in complete contrast, we had a busy weekend mid-month when they all returned home. Suddenly the washing machine was going non-stop, the bathroom floor was continually laden with wet towels and, although I had filled the fridge and baked lots of tray bakes and cakes, every scrap of food in the cottage had disappeared by Monday. It was wonderful to see them!

We had a lovely time socially this month when we were invited to dinner by some good friends who live in a converted mill just a few miles away. My dear friend JB is a wonderful cook and a perfect hostess and she always sets the table so beautifully. I took a photo (with her permission) of the impressive table centre she had created on an Autumnal theme.

JB's Autumnal table centre

I was delighted and excited to be given a ‘Lovely Blog Award’ this month by my dear friend, wonderful writer and writing mentor, Anita Burgh. The rules say that you should:

1) Accept the award, and don’t forget to post a link back to the awarding person.
2) Pass the award on.
3) Notify the award winners.

So, I happily accept the award from Annie and pass it on to two friends who have very interesting and consistently updated blogs. They are (drumroll) Rosemary Gemmell, a multi-talented writer who writes articles, short stories, poetry, and novels. And, Sue Houghton, a wonderful writer whose blog is always informative and entertaining.

Finally, this month I’m cooking venison. I consider it a flavoursome treat and something to look forward to eating at this time of the year. The richness of the meat, which is low in fat, is complimented by many of the other long awaited seasonal treasures - like chestnuts, wild mushrooms and seasonal vegetables. I source my venison locally and inspect the carcass for myself. This assures me that the animal I am serving to my family has, until recently, lived a good life on the land around me; that it has been shot for the table by an expert marksman and that, even in death, its life has been respected. This is important to me as a meat eater. Some of you might find the picture below a little distressing but I’m showing it to you because I absolutely believe that if we choose to eat meat, we have to take responsibility for it, and to know that while it was alive, it had the opportunity to live a free or a well-cared for life.

Photo: courtesy of A. Treadaway

Recipe for October:

Roasted Shoulder of Venison with seasonal vegetables
As venison is so low in fat, I always marinade the meat overnight before roasting it and this is my basic venison marinade recipe:

Venison Marinade:
4 tablespoons of good quality oil – I use olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 small glass of red wine
1 grated lemon rind
A sprinkle of nutmeg
1 tablespoon juniper berries, crushed
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 dessert spoon tomato puree
1 dessert spoon soy sauce
1 level teaspoon mustard – I use wholegrain
1 teaspoon brown sugar
salt & pepper

Venison in Marinade

Method:
Place the marinated venison meat, in this case a whole shoulder, into a suitable oven tray, covered for half the time in a roasting oven of 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for about one and a half hours. Then prepare the seasonal vegetables. I’m roasting potatoes on the shelf above the venison and boiling carrot and swede. When the meat is done, slice it and make a gravy with the strained meat juices. Pour the gravy over the sliced meat and serve with the vegetables.

Next month, in November, we are planning a Big Birthday for Mr Country-Cottage, with friends, family, and fireworks. See you then!

Janice

March

I LOVE March. It means longer days, and even though the weather here in Scotland can still be on the shivery side, there are daffodils flowering and lambs are being born all around us. In the field behind the cottage, this ewe and her newborn lamb are just out from the birthing shed and into the brisk March air – but junior, you will see, if you take a close look – has a little plastic coat on to protect him from the elements. Bless!

The beginning of the month heralds my birthday, and this year, as usual, I have been spoiled rotten by family and friends. First, I enjoyed a few luxurious and romantic days away with my darling husband and then I was treated to a party organised by our dear friends, with a cake and candles and dancing and Margaritas. Okay, so you might think girls in the countryside don’t DO cocktails - but you’d be wrong – we can be very cosmopolitan!


In mid-March, and in anticipation of Springtime in the garden, we put a new fence and gate around the vegetable garden and lined it with chicken wire. This is primarily to protect the raised beds from the pesky puppy but it also defines the ‘working patch’ from the rest of the garden. I can’t wait to start growing our own vegetables and salads again but, unfortunately, it’s still far to cold up here in the hills to begin work outside. To compensate, I have my ‘Pentland Javelin’ early potatoes ‘chitting’ inside on a kitchen windowsill.

A very generous friend gave me two old butlers sinks and I have sited these outside the kitchen door. They are just waiting for the herbs I hope to grow from seed!


You’ll be sad to hear that this month we lost one of our hens. By lost, you know I don’t mean that she took a stroll and forgot to come home, don’t you? Our poor feathered friend met a violent end, I’m afraid, but I take some comfort in knowing that her short life was a happy one. R.I.P. Madonna. I miss you.

The dogs have been to get their springtime haircuts, and now that the puppy has lost her puppy-fluff and has grown so much, I can hardly tell Polly and Ruby apart in looks - although in personalities - they are still SO different!


The month end was very special as I launched my recently published romance novel entitled ‘Beneath Apricot Skies’. The event took place at a fabulous village venue called Thomas Tosh. It’s a bookshop, an antiques centre, an art gallery, and an absolute treasure in Dumfries and Galloway. Courtesy of owners Paul and David, we had apricot themed nibbles and drank pink bubbly, while I signed and sold lots of books. It was a fabulous event and my heartfelt thanks go out to all of those who supported it and made it a very special, and for me a never to be forgotten, occasion.

Available to order online and from all highstreet bookshops

Recipe of the month:
My recipe this month is a warming spicy parsnip soup. I can’t take all the credit for it because a friend made this soup for a supper dish recently - and we loved it – so much so that I experimented in the kitchen the following day until I had managed to recreate the exact exquisite blend of flavours. Parsnips are so much sweeter and tastier after the frosts of January and February have bitten them - and if, like me, you don’t have any parsnips still tucked up in your vegetable beds – you’ll notice that the shops are selling them at very good prices just now.

Spicy Parsnip Soup.
6 Parsnips, peeled and chopped.
2 carrots, peeled and chopped,
2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped.
1 leek, washed and chopped.
1 small onion, peeled and chopped.
Dash of olive oil/butter.
2pts/approx 1 litre of chicken stock (I use stock made with Knorr Stock Cubes).
1 teaspoon of curry powder.
1 teaspoon of curry paste (I used Madras as I like it hot!).
1 tablespoon of tomato puree.
Good handful of fresh coriander (the secret ingredient!)

Method:
Wash peel and chop the vegetables into small pieces. Add to a large pot with the olive oil/butter. Fry for a few minutes until soft. Prepare the chicken stock cubes (2 or 3) by adding 2pts/ 1 litre of boiling water and then adding the curry powder, curry paste, and tomato puree, to the stock. This gives the soup a lovely colour as well as a lots of flavour. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Puree the soup with a hand blender or in smaller quantities using a food processor until smooth. Wash a good handful of fresh coriander leaves, chop, and stir into the soup. Bring back to a simmer. Serve up with your favourite crusty bread.

Next month, in April, I’m on the lookout for a greenhouse as I suddenly have a longing to grow chillies and other peppers and to protect my precious crop of summertime tomatoes. I am also looking forward to warmer weather, particularly over the Easter weekend, when our eldest son is home from university and lots of family are coming to stay. We will be rolling decorated hard-boiled eggs down the hill behind the cottage – an annual and traditional event. I can’t wait..!

Janice


NB All rights reserved. Extracts and photographs may not be reproduced in any form except with the permission of the author.

February

February

Snowy Snowdrops

Despite it having been the coldest and snowiest February for many years, the snowdrops in the grass-banking have somehow managed to show themselves. The rest of the garden though, is still sleeping, and it will be a while yet before I’m outside doing anything about the holes which have suddenly appeared in the middle of the lawn. It’s not the moles digging but our wee west-highland puppy, Ruby, who looks far too cute to be so very naughty!

Wee Ruby

During early February, three of our dear friends decided to celebrate their birthdays together with one big joint party. It was wonderful to socialise again after our ‘flu ridden exile over Christmas and January. A great night out was had by all!

Mid-month, we went along to an Old Time Musical Evening held in the village hall. The entertainment was truly fabulous. There were lots of talented local people, poets, and singers, dance troupes and pipers, all performing alongside world-class opera singers, accordion players and stand-up comedians, some of whom had travelled home to Scotland from far-flung places to support this important local charity event. All the money raised (in excess of £1500) was in aid of The Crossroads Orphanage in Matatiele, South Africa, a children’s home regularly supported by our village.

While coping with the cold and icy weather, I have been keeping a careful eye on the hens and watching for any signs of a chill. (If you have ever heard a hen sneeze it’s a funny wee sound!). The ‘girls’ have needed an extra feed around midday this month to keep their body temperatures up in these sub-zero conditions, and a generous daub of Vaseline on each of their little combs, (that’s the red wobbly bit on their heads) has helped to prevent frostbite. Unlike the dogs, Polly and Ruby, the hens don’t get to spend their evenings sitting next to the log fire!

The ‘girls’ need an extra feed…


While Polly and Ruby keep warm by the fire…

The landscape around the cottage in February has been so white with snow and the trees and branches so dark, that each morning, it has appeared as if the world has been presented to us in black and white. Beautiful in its contrast.

A snowy scene from the cottage in February

My recipe for February was inspired by the glut of eggs being laid by our industrious hens and the presence of several boxes of Ferrero Rocher chocolates left over from Christmas! I took this easy to make sweet dessert along as my contribution to the joint birthday party buffet table early on in the month (but not before I took a photo to show you the result) and everyone said it was both unusual and delicious.

Ferrero Rocher Roulade

Ingredients:
6 eggs whites, whipped until stiff but not dry.
6 oz caster sugar
A handful of flaked almonds
8 Ferrero Rocher chocolates melted in a bowl over a pan of simmering water
Double cream or whipping cream, whipped.
Method:
Lightly grease a baking tray with baking parchment or use bako-glide.
Whisk the eggs until stiff but not dry. Add the sugar. Continue to whisk until all the sugar had been incorporated and the mixture is stiff and glossy.
Spoon the meringue into the lined tin and spread out.
Sprinkle the surface with the flaked almonds. This will be the outside of the roulade.
Bake in a preheated oven at 220 degrees C (425 degrees F, Gas 7) for about 8 minutes until the top is golden brown. Reduce the oven temperature to 160 degrees C (325 degrees F, Gas 3, or use the warming oven on an Aga) and continue baking until the meringue is firm to the touch.
Remove the meringue from the oven and turn out onto a baking sheet with lining paper. Peel away the baking parchment/bako-glide from the meringue and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
During this time, take the Ferrero Rocher chocolates out of their wrappers and put into a small bowl over a pan of simmering water. Beat with a fork until melted.
Add the melted chocolate mix to the double whipped cream and beat together.
Spread the chocolate cream mix over the meringue and roll up carefully from the long end, using the lining paper to help lift it. Wrap the roulade up and leave to chill and firm up in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Next month, in March, the days will be much longer. I’m hoping to see daffodils and some early springtime sunshine in the garden. I’ll be chitting potatoes ready for planting out and making plans about what else might grow in the vegetable patch this summer.

Outside the cottage, which is over two hundred years old, it is clear to us that the winter has ravaged the stone and paintwork rather more than previous years - so there will be much to do once the weather allows. Well, let’s see what March brings us…

Janice

NB All rights reserved. Extracts and photographs may not be reproduced in any form except with the permission of the author.