August is two faced

At the beginning of August, the summer is in full swing, the sky is white with promise, we are bright and outside and the holidays will last forever, but by about the middle, already the dawn tarries and dusk hurries in, the sun's rays take on a slant, the odd crisp wind shivers the leaves, and I collect the sticks that our trees have kindly dropped, and prepare for the time when we will come inside again and light the fire...

The elderflowers have metamorphosed into ripe black berry clusters, and we had elderberry muffins for breakfast;

Recipe for Elderberry Muffins

Elderberry Muffins

8 elderberry bunches
300 g self-raising brown flour
150 g soft brown sugar
125 ml of oil
1 small pot of 'fromage blanc' (or yoghurt)
1 egg.

Mix dry ingredients, wash elderberries and tease them off the stem, add to dry mixture, beat egg, add to dry mixture along with oil and yoghurt, cook at 180C for about 20 mins until lightly golden and firm.


Also making...plum jam from garden plums...got the knack of setting now, does not slide around in the jar at all.  I wait until the 'glooping' of the bubbles becomes 'gloopier' and then watch it for 15 minutes until the jam forms a blob on a cold plate and can trace a line through it without it 'closing' and then wait until it forms a sort of stallegtite of drip off a wooden spoon...yes, the joy of employing human senses, without the crutch of a machine!