Puffball soup

I love the fact that my children have an astute awareness of the countryside and have fostered my love of foraging. A couple of weeks ago whilst driving home across the estate after an ad hock outing, the children suddenly spotted a collection of puffball mushrooms in one of the cow fields.

Now I'm very cautious where mushrooms are concerned and will only eat those that I know to be edible. There are many varieties out there that have poisonous lookalike, and those I steer well clear of, it simply isn't worth the risk. The giant puffball however is a mushroom that is pretty obvious and rather beautiful really. It's basically a giant ball of pure mushroomy white stuff. They are easy to spot from a distance as they stand out so well from their surroundings as white blobs on the landscape.

Within minutes they returned laden with the autumn delights, their aroma is very distinctly mushroom and can be rather overpowering in the confined space of a car!

Our latest find was turned into soup today and rather scrumptious it was too! Soup is unbelievably simple to make, I rarely use a recipe as most follow the same basic principles. Here's how if you haven't tried it before:

Firstly chop an onion and a couple of cloves of garlic. Fry them in a saucepan until they are soft in with olive oil or I use coconut oil as it copes pretty well with being heated.

Add a stock cube or tablespoonful of vegetable bouillon powder then add some water (I kind of guess amounts here, perhaps half to a pint of water).

Peel and roughly chop your puffball ensuring that the flesh is white and fresh looking.

Add a little salt and pepper and cover and boil.

Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20-30 minutes covered (add more water if necessary) then whizz with a blender, add a splash of cream and serve.

Mmmmmm

Enjoy!!

All change September.....SCHOOL

Arrr September!
Isn't it odd, the month changes and it seems that almost overnight the nights start drawing in and the start and finishes of each day seem to have a dewy crispiness about them.
Hello early autumn!

Life in our domain has experienced a rather significant change this week. The Little Lady has for the first time EVER, just started school. It's a shock to say the least! It all came about way back this time last year when I was in the depths of helping Miss P with her IGCSE studies and decided that I'd rather not go through all the stress  and torture that comes with the responsibility of educating your own (and that was with the help of tutors who provided most of the direction and input!) I just had that moment of thinking how much easier life would be if I handed over the responsibility to the state. Hmmm!
So we called up the school and arranged a viewing etc etc and here we are at the beginning of the term with the whole idea now a firm reality.

This is all very different........

Of course I went to school (in body) and so know how the system works, but this is a small school and I got a really good feel about it.

It's tricky when you know that there are very positive and fun alternatives..........

The beginning of the first week started off well. We were both enthusiastic about the change and embraced the idea of the opportunities that being part of an organisation/institution present. The realisation is a very different story. Suddenly the Little Lady and are are faced with early mornings and early nights. Turning your routine around is not easy, especially after the loveliness of the loooonngggg lazy summer days that we have become accustomed to. I could feel myself age rapidly as my body was rudely awoken from it's peaceful slumber to drive the 9 mile hike to reach the place.

We have to give this a go..........

The first few days were a novelty, a period of adjustment and finding your way. Then the reality of the situation sets in and you begin to question your decision and the reason why you have steered clear of this route for so long.

Why are we actually doing this?...........

We want to be educated right.....and make lots of friends........and have amazing opportunities.........and this is the way it's done.
Hmmm.....those of you who question the system as I do will know all too well that this is not the only way.
The comments flow....'This is boring......, I already know that......., why does it take 5 hour long lessons to learn how to use a Bunsen burner?'

The light bulb is on........questioning?????

Contemplating

Hello!

I've not had the desire to blog much recently. That usually means that I actually haven't had time to leave the ho hum of daily life to do so.
I've been very much reminded recently of the need to make the most of life, to be kind and thoughtful towards others, to savour time with friends and family and to really appreciate the little things. I've also been trying to remind myself to slow down a little. Life is not a race, there's no prize for reaching the pearly gates first!

Apple days seem to be really popular these days. This one was at our community orchard. Twice a year they host a shared lunch, singing, apple pressing, live music, games for the children and an opportunity to socialise.

Hanging strips of toast soaked in apple juice from the branches of an apple tree was an unusual activity!

December- How did we arrive back here so fast? It feels like Christmas but it certainly doesn't feel like December! Some of the trees on my regular little drives haven't even shed their autumn leaves yet. What is going on?
Wasn't Autumn beautiful this year! I sooo loved the colours and the way the light presented itself. I took quite a few lovely photos back in October that I haven't got around to sharing as yet. I do hope they look as beautiful on here as they do on my little phone camera!

The Little Lady and her friend.....babies!

We finally found a sweet chestnut tree!

The fungi this Autumn were stunning. We found so many different varieties.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend a permaculture course in November. I have to admit that 'permaculture' kept cropping up and although I thought it was something I should know about, I had never really looked into it. Not until now that is.....As always, I was probably the only student on the course that didn't really know what I was about to learn....but that makes it all the more exciting!
For those who are not in the know, as I wasn't, permaculture can be summarised by me as the interconnectedness and working together of 'things' to produce greater effects. An easy example to understand would be a garden setting where by you would plant in sunny positions against south facing walls and make the most of your growing space by 'stacking' crops. You could also grow your own salad near to your kitchen in a sunny spot and encourage insects into your garden to pollinate and aid production. A wormery or compost converter could make use of kitchen/garden scraps which when well rotted could then be added to the beds to improve soil quality.
That's a pretty brief summary but this idea of permaculture can be applied to all areas of life. It was pretty interesting!
What I realised though was that what I learnt was really stuff that I already know and do, I just hadn't thought about all things as being interconnected (not sure why as it was something I also learned during my Montessori training 10 years ago!) and hadn't given my way of life a label of 'permaculture'. So, lovely garden field space...next year will be your year!

The children gathered essential items and gifts for their Christmas Child boxes to be sent to children in need.

Miss P turned 15.......

.......and gained her Baden Powell award!

Other than that I've been very busy in the sewing room. I realise it is now two years since that moment of thought that I should indeed try and make a living out of the (mainly) self taught sewing skills I somehow acquired. If I look back, I am not quite sure how such a decision came into being other than at a moment of despair at having become 'without work' unexpectedly. I drafted a little note and popped it in a local newsagents window and 'the rest' as they say 'is history!' I feel very fortunate that I have managed to continue to make 'just enough' and remain at a steady pace. I've met some lovely people along the way too. Always a bonus!

Sissy dear painted our nails. Not sure that red is really my colour neither is nail polish my thing for that matter! It was rather a novelty in the beginning and to say I 'chipped a nail' on day one, felt somewhat vain. It wasn't long before they began to annoy me. Said sister took five weeks to visit again and these gel things don't come off with regular NP remover. I managed to chip the damn things off with some force and perseverance.  Never again!

November marked the fourth anniversary of my soul mate's passing. It seems, in so many ways like yesterday yet at the same time I have come so far on my journey. Grief is a strange thing. I still miss him greatly but this year the anxiety of that anniversary was so much less painful than previous years. I'm ready to write my story now and have been gathering thoughts and notes in order to do so. It's going to be a story of my survival....Early on I was told that we are not victims any longer but 'survivors'. I like that!

Have a peaceful December :-)