The painters and decorators are back after a five day recess, on account of how they were making the bridge for Toussaint. They tend to start early but aren't really any trouble. My blue room is now entirely white and cream and looks much larger already. I don't mind a bit.
The misty mornings and warm afternoons, Intercession in Late October weather, have brought about a good crop of field mushrooms.
They are good and clean, scarcely any grass or other VM* to pick off them even, and very little insect damage. However, though we had the smallest and firmest of them fried with some bacon and a baked potato, they were a bit too dew soggy to do much with except make duxelles.
For this, after wiping them, chop them up small, then do the same with a shallot or two. Soften the shallot in half and half butter and olive oil, then add the mushrooms, with salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg is good, and a slosh of sherry-like liquid (Rivesaltes in this case). Reduce it all to a thick gloop, then leave it to cool a bit, and I then freeze it in small portions in cake papers, the only use I have for cake papers as I don't bake. One can then just plop them into soups stews and sauces for extra flavour as and when.
I somehow thought when going through the great purge, that I would no longer do these kind of squirrelling, putting-up-for-winter type things, and would live more lightly and immediately, seeking only what I needed when I needed it, but I can't help myself, and we will be here another winter anyway, and it's free food for the foraging. I'm also beginning to regret getting rid of one or two things, like the totally shapeless pair of jeans that were lined with soft brushed stripy cotton and made me feel like I was wearing pyjamas under them. Nevertheless, I wilfully relish the new found order and space around things and am resolved not to mess and fill it up again, and the jeans really were ugly and unflattering.
* awesome link to Australian Wool Innovation site, I didn't know there were so many nasty things that weren't meant to be in wool...
4 comments:
that's the danger of getting rid of things enthusiastically - there's the occasional thing i miss or feel i gave up thoughtlessly, but then i survive, as one does.
white does make a room feel airier, doesn't it?
as for squirrelling away for the winter, it's the best kind of addiction - i love making pickles and butters and krauts and can't wait to be in a position to do so again.
There are still odd things I miss that I got rid of over the many moves, and even the last cull since moving into the house. I figure that's just normal. You can't have everything. Where would you put it? as Steven Wright says.
Followed the link about VM, then had to look up sheep coats. Lots of bemused sheep.
Ugly vs. Comfortable, one of the eternal struggles. It's interesting to see what pops up in memory after its departure. Most things are just gone. But I still think of a pair of earrings misplaced in a move more than 15 years ago...
As we age, we get rid of more and more things. (Thank gawd for a granddaughter who has inherited most of them.) Then I have second thoughts after it is too late. So it goes, as Kurt Vonnegut used to write.
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