Call myself a Blogger?

It's been such a long time I have looked at my blog!  My new year's resolutions include posting regularly, starting today!  This blog, however, doesn't deserve its title, as no ale has been brewed for a long time.  The reason being that I have had to cut down on the old calories, and I can't make beer and not drink it, can I?

News from the old homestead:  I am thinking of growing rice, as the garden is flooded.  The chicken is depressed.  Her tail has grown longer and curving at the end - could she be turning into a cockerel?  Is that even possible?  Talking of being depressed, my last visit to the allotment left me very deflated:  I worked so hard last year to get it ship shaped, but it is now a see of mud.  The bags of compost I stacked there ready to put on the beds in early spring have been visited by rodents from the railway embankment.  What did they want with it?  They punctured the bags and made a right mess.

Still I mustn't let it get me down.  It is sunny today - long may it last!  All I need is a few days of settled weather to cheer me up, not much to ask, is it?

I am on a mission to use up the odds and ends of food in the cupboards, fridge and freezer.  Last night I improvised a salmon starter which went down well and used up some leftovers.  Here is the recipe:

1 fillet  cooked salmon, about 100g
1 good tablespoon mayonnaise
1 good tablespoon cream cheese
lemon juice and seasoning to taste
1 handful chopped fresh dill
a blob of tomato paste, for colour.

All thoroughly whizzed up in the blender, served for starter, chilled with home made melba toast.

For dessert I used up some whizzed up strawberries that were languishing in the freezer.  I mixed the fruit puree with the contents of an opened tub of double cream, whipped, some icing sugar and the juice of half a lemon.  I divided the mixture between 4 wine glasses and left it overnight in the fridge, where it set due to the lemon juice.  To go with this I made some meringues, which used up some egg whites - I always have lots of egg whites in the freezer.

I am pleased with the results of my experiments so far, I hope the ideas keep coming!

Better late than never?

Yesterday I finally moved my chicken to her summer headquarters.  It took me a couple of hours to get it all ready for her, and just as I finished the rain started.  I am not sure if she's glad: on the one hand she's on grass and she doesn't have to climb to get to bed; on the other she has less protection from the elements. I let her out into the garden early today, as it's raining hard and this gives her a chance to find shelter in the forest-y bit of the garden.  She's usually confined to barracks until lunchtime, so she is forced to eat her layers pellets, which she isn't keen on - she'd rather beg for treats!  Like a little child who'd rather have ice cream than greens, I suppose. 

The hen (Daisy's her name) is very keen on mice and voles - she must have been a kestrel in a previous life.  Last week she and the cat were running round and round after the same mouse (which got away in the end).  Vincent the cat likes to catch them, but not eat them, so they have a nice little partnership going whereby he catches them and she gobbles them up, all in one, like a baby barn owl would. Yuk!

Daisy can't walk properly.  She limps badly, has done for years.  Once or twice she has been off her legs and I found her collapsed in the rain.  I brought her home and dried her, and she spent some time in a cardboard box.  I took her to the vet, who charged be £20 to tell me she had a "sprain".  I don't think he had a clue actually.  My uninformed view is that it's something to do with her nerves.  She's quite happy, red of comb, and can move quickly enough if you try to catch her.  She 3 years old, had sour crop twice, and managed to produce 5 eggs last week, so quite a fighter I think.