Second key to my Renault Megane

Discussing parking at the airport with a friend the other day, she mentioned how important it was to know where the second key to one's car was. Hmmm, yes.
When I got home I started searching. No success. So decided to go to the big Renault garage and order another key. The guy tapped on his computer furiously, went to look at the car, the car registration, tapped some more on his computer and then said:o.k., but you have to pay in advance. Aha! Combien? 150 Euros.
That sent me promptly back to search some more. Amazing how motivated one gets when that sort of a sum is involved, And I FOUND IT! I had tucked it away into a little drawer in my desk to which I can only accede after I clean up stashes and stashes of papers. So I feel like I have made 150 Euros!

red crabapple and nefle jelly

Since the success of the nefle jam I feel inspired and today I made red crabapple and nefle jelly. Not only is it pretty to look at, but is delicious.

In the meantime Jesper and Bjarne are working in the hot sun in order to finish painting the wrought iron gate before their early departure tomorrow morning!

stacking wood

I had 6 steres of chene vert (holm oak) delivered! Fortunately I also had a team to stack it!

nefle jam

Thirty years ago I had an Italian lady help me in house and garden. One day she brought me a little pot with a little plant in it. "This is going to be big tree, a nefle tree," she said. It had very shiny dark leaves.
Today it stands about 12 meters high and produces nefles (medlar in English). They taste so-so, but being orange colored, like apricots, I figure they are full of anti-oxidants.
The other day my neighbor asked if I ever made jam with them. Well, I hadn't, but upon his recommendation I did and it is just delicious, much better than the raw fruit would suggest.
It has got to be the most labor-intensive and most exclusive jam ever. First you have to peel the fruit, then chop up the flesh carefully so as not to cut into the big seeds which are bitter. I put 275g of sugar into 500g of nefles, added a teaspoon of lemon juice and a couple of gratings of lemon zeste.Boil until it sets and pour into sterilized jars. The few jars that I have are going to make a very special Christmas present.

gougeres

Gougeres I made for Kristi's dinner party

Gougeres are a specialty from Burgundy and I have just discovered what versatile things they are:

You can add cheese,fried onions,shrimp paste or herbs to the dough; they are pretty, delicious and once you get the hang of them, very quickly made.

Here goes:

Heat the oven to 210 C.
Get everything ready.
Weigh 100g of butter
150g of cake flour
150g of coarsely grated cheese,ripe cheddar or manchego
Measure 2.5 dl of water
Add 1 level teaspoon of salt, 1/4 of a teaspoon of ground pepper and some grated nutmeg to the flour
Have 4 medium eggs handy (taken out of the refrigerator beforehand)
Get the eggbeater ready
Line a cooky sheet with grease proof paper
Now pour the water into a saucepan, add the butter and let come to a boil. As soon as the butter is melted add the flour mixture in one fell swoop, take off the heat and beat hard (I use the egg beater). Wait a couple of minutes, then add one egg at a time and beat furiously in between. When you have added the last egg the dough should be glistening and come off the side of the pan. It must hold its shape.If it doesn't the eggs may have been too large, add a little flour.
Add the cheese (or the fried onions or anything you fancy) and with a teaspoon make little mounds on the cooky sheet.

Place in the oven and insert a wooden spoon to keep the oven open a crack for the first 6 minutes. Close the oven and lower the temperature to 180. Keep an eye on the gougeres and when they are golden brown, turn the oven off and insert the wooden spoon again. Don't take the gougeres out for at least 20 minutes.
Bon appetit!

If you are a perfectionist, use a pastry gun and brush the gougeres with egg yolk.

Rain, rain, go away....

Ulla brought heavy rain from Denmark and this is what Feisty and Trilby thought of it: