Autumn Tea

I am taking tea in the brambly hedge today, where the blackberries grow in my garden. The leaves have almost all fallen, and just like that, some of the trees are bare. 

I have a library book I have been reading. I am a history buff, and I have been reading The Journal of Beatrix Potter. I taught my son high school, and we read a lot of primary documents sort of like this. This is a journal written by Beatrix between the ages of 15 and 30. Okay, here is the amazing thing: she never expected anyone to read it because she wrote it in a secret code. She never told anyone about the code or the key to deciphering it. So it was studied, and the translator Leslie Linder cracked the code. It was in fact the heading to verses 1-12 of the 90th Psalm, the prayer of Moses. I was fascinated all the more with her after finding this out. So many layers to Miss Potter indeed.

What lies behind the beautiful watercolors and pretty pictures she paints? 

Doing my part to bring you pretty pictures here as well. The afghan was from my great grandfather's house. It used to hang on the back of the couch. It was also at my grandmother's, and I can remember my grandfather getting under it after a Sunday dinner for a nap.

The roses that are still blooming are gorgeous! 

I have never kept pansies alive all summer, but these are still going strong and are just beautiful.

In nature, fall colors are my favorites. What is your favorite season?

In Victory,

Sherry

Herbs de Provence

For the month of October, I am making an herb blend called Herbs de Provence. This is an all-purpose seasoning that originated in the Provence region of France. I have picked my herbs and had them drying for over a month. With the herbs fully dry and crumbly, I can now make my seasoning blend.
 

This is an herb project I found in the book The Herbal Yearbook. All year I have done one project a month out of this book to get more use out of the herbs I grow in the garden.

In September I made a fresh herb basket with this blend of herbs, and this month I will use them.

The herbs have been drying for a month, and I take them off of the drying rack and now crumble them up. Herbs shown here in my blend are: thyme, rosemary, oregano, and sage. The herb blend varies a bit from producer to producer.

They should not have any moisture left in them and be brittle, not pliable.

Here, I am showing a little bag I made years ago to place the herb blend in. 

Originally posted herbs de Provence here in 2010 on the blog.

This post on The Daring Gourmet shows all the versatile ways you can use this herb blend. This book has been a great resource for using and trying out new things with my herbs in the garden. I have thoroughly enjoyed working my way through it this year. 

In Victory,

Sherry

Autumn Colors

 

The fall colors this year may be the prettiest I have ever seen them. Here we usually get dull color. This year the color is very bright.

Some say it is because of the dry weather. I don't know what makes the color more vibrant. 

But the color is really pretty right out of the camera. No color enhancing in the editing.

It has been warm this week too. I still have some summer flowers. I planted these in July to have fall colors in October.

There are still some bugs hanging around enjoying the garden also. 

In Victory,

Sherry

Autumn Story

Brambly Hedge Autumn Story might be my favorite. I love the idea of the mice storing up for the winter and then, of course, Primrose gets lost in the brambles among the mushrooms in the dark of night. 

 

The illustrations in the Brambly Hedge series are very likable. The Autumn Story is like cozying up with a good book on a stormy afternoon.

I tend to opt for less words and let the pictures create the alchemy in my posts.

Who knew muffins and a tea pot could tell a story. But, if you try hard enough you might see one with your eyes. 

In Victory,

Sherry

Gooseberry Crumble

I think my family may be getting more fond of this crumble than pie. It doesn't matter what fruit I put in this; they love it. 

The reason it is so popular would be the double crumble crust. It has a bottom layer of crumbs shown here and a top layer over the fruit.

I gave you the original recipe here with a smaller amount I made in a 9-inch pie plate. The family loves it so much this time I made it in a 9 x 13-inch pan. 

Gooseberry Crumble

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup cold butter

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Fruit filling:

4 cups of gooseberries, washed, topped and tailed

1/2 cup white sugar

6 tablespoons of cornstarch (I go by 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to each cup of fruit filling)

I used a home canned jar of gooseberry pie filling I made myself. I canned the gooseberries exactly as directed by the Ball Blue Book of Canning. Gooseberries are a high acid food so they are water bath canned. 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. 

Make crumble: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir until combined. Cut up cold butter and incorporate with a pastry cutter. Mix until a coarse texture. Stir in egg yolks, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar and mix briefly. The mixture will have some coarse crumbs and some small dry crumbs. Set the crumble aside. 

Make filling: Combine all gooseberries in a large bowl. Add sugar, and cornstarch. Mix until cornstarch is dissolved. 

Assembly:

Put half of the crumble in the bottom of baking dish( here a 9 x 13-inch pan). Press the mixture down with the bottom of a cup until well compacted. Spread the berry filling on top of this. Sprinkle the remaining crumble over the top of the berries and squeeze some of the crumble into clumps. 

Bake in a preheated oven until the top is browned. 40-45 minutes. Let set for 30 minutes after baked and then serve.  

(Recipe adapted from: The Ultimate Berry Crumble at allrecipes.com)

In Victory,
Sherry

A White Bouquet

 
I have said goodbye to tending the garden, but I keep seeing bouquet potential in some of the flowers. So off I trek to the garden, cutting some flowers for those last beautiful bouquets. I have to enjoy it for as long as I can.

Nothing photographs in natural light quite like white. It is amazing. I believe the name of this cosmos is 'Purity.' The native aster is a weed around here, and I also included some blackberry vines.

Purity is a fitting name for this cosmos. It is absolutely beautiful. I have grown many varieties, and this one is my favorite.

Have a great weekend!

In Victory,

Sherry