G is for Ginger

ABC Wednesday
August 27th, 2014

The letter is G for Ginger

I love ginger - it is my favourite spice.  

I love ginger-ale, ginger beer, ginger tea, gingerbread and ginger cookies, orange and ginger chicken, my ginger headed great grandson, the ginger skin refresher that lives in my bathroom, Ginger Rogers, ginger cats and just any kind of ginger that has that wonderful exhilarating scent and soothing to the stomach quality. 

And candied ginger - my passion!!!

When the children were all home and we were a growing family it was our custom to make dozens and dozens of bottles of ginger beer in the summertime, and everyone took a turn at capping the bottles.  When one batch was finished we made another, and so it went through the summer - everyone nicely gingerized!

When I was a child ginger was a remedy my mother counted on for settling upset tummies, and I still keep it handy to use for that purpose.

Ginger is lovely in the garden.

Blue Torch

Singapore Gardens

Unfortunately as a tropical or sub tropical plant you are not going to be able to carry it

 safely through the winter unless you live in Zones 9, 10, 11 or 12.  

However it is possible to grow ginger in pots and if you are interested here is a good source of information and guidance.  The plant can't tolerate temperatures under 50 degrees F.  It grows best in well drained rich soil, and spots that receive partial or full shade and would be happy

spending the winter indoors, away from sunny windows.

Considering that we are fast approaching September and apple picking time.

 here is a nice gingery pie recipe for you, from the pages of Canadian Living

In a bowl stir a quarter cup of flour with two tablespoons of packed brown sugar, and cut in two tablespoons of butter until crumbly.

Stir in one tablespoon of finely chopped crystalized ginger.  Set aside

On lightly floured surface roll out the pastry to fit a nine inch pie plate.  Sprinkle one and a half teasoons of chopped crystallized ginger over the bottom.  Peel six apples (preferably pie apples) core and cut them into eighths, or thereabouts.  Toss with one third a cup of packed brown sugar and if you are really trying to be classy arrange the wedges upright on ends at 45 degree angle in concentric circles in the shell.  Otherwise you can be more casual about how they lie....

Pour one quarter cup of whipping cream over the apples and sprinkle them with the streusel, which you set aside.

Bake in 425 F oven for 15 minutes, and then reduce heat to 375F.  Bake for one hour or until apples are softened and topping is golden.

Delicious....
This is bound to earn you Brownie Points!

Here is a Ginger that is new to me - Ginger Wildheart, a UK rock guitarist, singer and song writer, and the leader of the band which bears his name, - the Ginger Wildhearts.  This is one of his quieter numbers.....

Tip toe gingerly over to ABC Wednesday and see what else Roger and Denise have

 for you on ABC Wednesday!

The Fig

ABC Wednesday
The letter is F and F is for Fig

A recipe for enjoying this most ancient of fruits. - a gift of pleasure and necessity to humans and wildlife alike;

a main role player in the story of Adam and Eve (with what would they have covered themselves if the fig leaf had not been available? Rhubarb?  I think not.) and in my memory a wonderful delicacy at Christmas time.

The purple, green and white hues,

Tender, succulent.

Cato advocated the conquest of Carthage

to make them the property of Rome.

Sliced on plate, balsamic vinegar

drizzled across their mauve interiors

wrapped in prosciutto di Parma,

as a babe in its blanket,

diced and spread within the salads of the garden

on a platter with goat cheese, thin crackers,

dried,

with sweet spices, ginger, cinnamon and cloves,

the sharpness of lemon and orange,

figs and ricotta crostini,

grilled with some tenderness

sprinkled with olive oil,

vanilla pistachio fig tart,

all of this, yet I prefer to sit beneath the tree

my white handkerchief unwrapped

my harvest nestled in my lap

my mind at ease

the fig -

thankful that God did not deign this tree

the forbidden one.

Ray Brown

For more entertainment and to find out things you never knew, pop over here to ABC Wednesday, with many thanks to Roger and Denise and everyone who helps them visit....

Catch-up

The week has flown by - a little gardening, a trip to Penticton, two sessions in the Bargain Centre and a lovely day in the kitchen,  canning and creating.

Sunday morning, and a quiet, lovely day ahead of me with no commitments
(we have church every second Sunday)

Early in the morning I got waylaid on my way to the compost bin by the sad state

the bee balm was in, after blooming in such a gorgeous fashion

and providing many a sip for the tiny humming birds that have

visited the garden so regularly this past few weeks.

Once started on the Monada, cutting and tidying and noting with pleasure

small new plants just beginning to bloom, I got led along the fence,

appalled at the vines that have grown up from the neighbour's yard,

covering this handy support and sending vigorous tendrils to capture

the roses and wrap themselves around the second growth delphinium 

and the remains of the summer lilies.

The Mister Lincoln has been blooming quite nicely, and Abraham Darby is in his second flush,

but what is most apparent is that the garden is being taken over by

sunflowers and yellow daisies - Rudbeckia?
They are cheery and showy and flourish, but require a fair amount of dead-heading.

I noted that the apricots which are draped over the garden gate and on the roof of the
shed that belong next door have reached that stage of absolute perfection
and are beginning to fall into the narrow space that divides the house from the adjoining building
and I cannot bear to see them go to waste!!!!

I pick two buckets, and then go in to contemplate how I will save them while
I have my breakfast......  Definitely I will fill the ten small jars I have left over from
my last canning session, and I consider drying the rest.  However, the weather
forecast is for rain, and I lost my last attempt at drying when the sun decided to hide awhile
behind last week's storm clouds (the first batch is magnificent though!).

I didn't have any pectin to make jam, - just a couple of lemons, - but I did
have some brown sugar that had stiffened up somewhat, as brown sugar is inclined to do
if you ignore it for too long. And I had a little of the honey syrup I had
been using for canning - and a mango that I bought on impulse last week......

So I chopped up the apricots and put it all together, and sat and knitted on my new
lacy scarf  (that's another story) while it simmered and thickened a little.
It didn't turn out to be jam, but the most delicious apricot and mango sauce
for ice cream and pancakes.

As to the scarf, - one of my dear daughters-in-law came and fetched me on
Thursday and we dallied along to Penticton for an appointment with the
optometrist.  Not that I have been having trouble with my eyes, but I wanted
to make sure that I was going to be able to read the chart when I go for my driver's
medical examination, - something legal and in writing, to foil the young
beaurocrat who will look at my records and say in horror "Ninety years old!!!!
This woman should not be driving"!!!

Since having my eyes lazered a dozen years ago I have not had to wear glasses, and was
pleased to discover the situation has not changed.  So lucky.

But I digress, - the optometrist's office is just two doors down from a dangerous
establishment just started up in Penticton last year - The Naughty Knitter's store!!!
I had vowed I would not go there, but my DIL pressed me............
They have the most gorgeous roving for spinning,
and silks, and cashmeres, and wonderful pure wools of all shades
and thickness.  And how can one resist????

I came away with a beautiful varigated mohair roving to spin, and some lovely
Himalayan dyed silks - two skeins of purple and one of naples yellow.  And two balls of
black silk and wool, very fine, to make this intricate lacy scarf.
Heavenly........I can see ny dear one rolling his eyes!

And then we went to the Used Book Store!!
Stegner, Doig, Berry and a couple of nice beginner's music books
for the great grandson who shows his delight with the piano.

Oh, a most satisfying day.......

Friday afternoon I spent at the Bargain Centre, clearing racks and packing clothing
into bags to be sent to the Gleaners, and from there to places where these
things are needed.  Saturday I was on the cash desk for a couple of hours.

These are all donated items we sell at the Bargain Centre, - it is an Outreach for the Church
and also helps support other things we do, like paying the power bills
and the minister.  We had a couple of sleeping bags whose zippers were broken
but we put them out anyway, as blankets for the many itinerent orchard and vineyard workers
who come in.   A young man approached the desk with one of these bags.  He spoke with an accent,
and explained to me that he only had a large bill, which he extracted from his passport.
It was not one I could change, and so I suggested he just take the blanket/bag.  When he
was reluctant to do this I suggested that if he was in again and had the dollar (which was
the price of the item) he could pay it then.

He was back within half an hour with the dollar, and built a little fire under my esteem
for him, and his colleagues.

And on that nice note I think I have covered most of what has been happening
in my life since I last wrote about Ethelbert Nevin, - except that I have been
practising crossing my hands as I play Narcissus.

And Barb, - yes, I have been playing the organ since May, but am really
retired and just fill in when the regular organist is away, - and I love it!

I remember a picture I saw once of a ninety year old organist, - oh my, I must stop doing this!

Ethelbert Nevin

ABC Wednesday
August 13th, 2014

The letter is E

I couldn't think of any really exotic fruits that begin with E, or any commonplace ones that would be of interest..  And Mister Google was not much help when I went to see what he had to offer.

So I left off thinking about fruity E's and went back to sorting my music, which was the BIG plan for the day. I was really looking for a copy of Nola, being in a nostalgic mood, but instead found just one page of Narcissus  from Water Scenes Op. 13. No. 4.composed by Ethelbert Nevin.  This was equally nostalgic, being a piece that both my husband and I played in early years.

I can remember being thrilled when I got to the point in piano lessons when my teacher introduced a few more interesting pieces than what could be found in the Toronto Conservatory books, and Narcissus was one that really appealed to me, - the idea of playing with crossed hands seemed terribly sophisticated and exciting at the time!!!!

You will be asking why I am going on about Narcissus, - no E's there!  Ah yes, it was written by Ethelbert Nevin, a short lived but very popular composer of the late 1800's (he died in 1901 at the age of 39 - probably from a stroke although it was reported as apoplexy ).

Ethelbert Nevin wrote romantic salon music for piano and other instruments - among them  Barcarolle, Ophelia, Water Nymph and Narcissus all from Op. 13, and many songs - The Rosary (my mother's favourite), and most famous of all, Mighty Lak a Rose.  Listen here to Paul Robeson sing it - sends shivers up my spine.

He was also a gifted concert performer and in recognition of his talents and his contribution to the musical world of the late 19th Century a 1940 ten cent stamp was issued in his honour.

.

Here is a nice performance of Narcissus, - at least I think so.  Many, I found, play the piece much too mournfully but this is a more lively rendition.  There is another Youtube performance by a young Asian girl which I found very endearing, but Youtube didn't present  this as an option, alas.  She crossed hands with much elegance and presence and reminded me of how impressed I was with that technique!!!

                                       Grace Notes, in drag, also plays Narcissus on Youtube, 
                   but more in the style of ragtime, which is rather naughty, but you might enjoy the nice swing.

For more interesting E's visit here at ABC Wednesday and give thanks to Roger and Denise and all 'elpers.

Summer's Day

While out in the back garden this morning I caught the lowly Barn Flower

looking splendidly gorgeous, don't you think!

It was a lovely morning, - still a cool breeze and the sun barely up and stirring up the fire he

plans to roast us with later in the day.

I don't have an apricot tree in my garden any more but the neighbours on both sides

have wonderful trees that very generously lean their branches over on

my side of the fence and drop the fruit as it ripens with a rather

disastrous splash. 

To avoid this, and because they are both nice neighbours, they

are also very generous and bid me help myself...

which I do!!!

I have canned a couple of dozen small half pints, just enough for a wintery dessert,

and made three apricot pies yesterday, as well as a crisp.

But this morning I was thinking about our youngest son's passion for dried apricots

and how he used to split buckets and buckets of them, laying them

on the roof of the chicken house (amongst other places)

until they dried in the hot summer sun and were a wonderful

soft leathery morsel to set aside for winter.

I decided I would try my hand at drying apricots again, found a wire cage that

Charles had conveniently included in our move down town.

I picked a pail of beautiful tree ripened cots, hanging over the picket fence

and I sat in the shade, split them and laid them on the wire, in the sunshine.

They are covered with cheese cloth to keep the flies and ants away, and I even saw a small green

grasshopper thwarted by the thin covering.

However, considering the skunks that are growing up under various back yard sheds,

and their night time perambulating,

I think I should probably put the drying cots to bed in the garage tonight.

Hopefully they will dry nicely and I can do more, and more and more,

as long as the sun continues to shine so energetically!!!

We had a lovely sunset last evening - I took my camera when I walked to get the mail

and here is what I saw....

 

In addition to the wonderful light reflected by these clouds

I walked back through it from the post box with a small parcel containing

five Wallace Stagner books that I am replacing on my shelves.

All the Little Live Things,   Crossing to Safety,

Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Spring, 

Angle of Repose and Wolf Willow

All books that I have read before but have a great yearning to read again, 

along with some of  Ivan Doig's and more of Wendell Berry.

Besides being wonderful reads, they take me back in time.......

D fruits

ABC Wednesday
August 6th, 2014

The letter is D and I had to think long and hard before I could come up 

with fruits that begin with the letter D.

All I could think of at first was Dragon Fruit. and I have only tried that once and didn't think it was worth the money I had to pay for it at the Super Store.

So I had to turn to Mister Google, and he came up with all sorts of suggestions.  I was immediately drawn to the Dangleberry (sometimes called the Dingleberry) but when I began to research the Dangleberry I found all sorts of rude allusions to it. 

But here is a Scottish group of musicians known as The Dangleberries, dressed in kilts and playing the kind of music my grandkids go for.  (Except for this one which I really like....)

And besides, I discovered the Dangleberry is known as the good old Huckleberry on this side of the Atlantic, and I'm not sure if huckleberries make good pie and jam or if they are just good for painting fences as in Huckleberry Finn.

Dates seemed quite sedate, and then I thought of Damson plums.  Lots of recipes for Damson jam but I suspect they are not all on the up-and-up as they talk airily about cutting them in two and discarding the stone, and we all know the Damson Plum is a clingstone and the devil to part from it's stone.

However I did find a recipe for Damson liquor that seemed to have a way around this nasty stone business.

What you do is lightly stab your Damsons (with a straight pin, a hat pin, or a rusty nail and put them in a sterilized jar (scratch the rusty nail!) of sufficient size to hold both damsons and alcohol.  Choose your poison (alcohol);  brandy, vodka or gin, according to your taste and pour it over the fruit.

Seal up the jar and set it away in a cool dark spot for a month or two.

Strain it,- discard the plums, taste the liqueur and add as much sugar as seems good to you.

Somewhat the same as making Sloe Gin.

This information came from a blog entitled 'Seasonal Ontario Food' and contained a few more precious tid-bits about Damson plums if you want to expand your knowledge.....

For more about the letter D visit  here at ABC Wednesday with thanks to Denise, Roger and all their darling helpers.

Remembrance - August 4th, 1914

August 4th, 1914

My father - a young private in the First World War, 

and a snap of he and my mother, courting, at war's end.

This morning at 11 o'clock I will go to the Cenotaph, where the Royal Canadian Legion will be holding a ceremony in remembrance of that sad day in August one hundred years ago when war was declared and the world was plunged into turmoil and devastation. 

In sorrow I acknowledge that we haven't learned very much yet about settling differences and dealing with terrorists - and how do you deal with terrorists who harbour hatred and are prepared to sacrifice even their own to achieve their frightening ends????  Probably love is the answer,
if we could just unlock its secrets about how to make it trump ego.

I will remember my father, who at 17 joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force and was wounded at Cambrai, just a month before the war ended in 1918.  He bore the scars of his wound and twenty years later a return of the osteomylitis that had so badly infected his body and now resulted in another

year in hospital and the stiffening of his leg.

The History of the 191st Battalion gives an account of the second battle for Cambrai (Oct. 11th, 1918)

My father was with the 31st Battalion, attached to the 191st, and they waited in their assembly position for the battle to begin at 9:00 a.m. and the Brigade to move.  

"No sooner had the advance commenced, however, than German artillery observers, watching the lines of infantry as they moved forward, signaled their batteries, and within a few minutes a devastating barrage had been brought down upon the Canadian formations.

The 31st Battalion...came in for a terrific shelling with gas and high explosives......For a time hell was loose among the men of Alberta.  The shells, as they fell, detonated off the trees that covered the Battalion's assembly area, and the wounds caused by the flying shell splinters were terrible.  Enemy machine-gunners, realizing the Regiment was being cut up, poured belt after belt of machine-gun  bullets into the area;  and the deafening crash of bursting shells, the rending of riven timber and the continual stammer of the machine guns combined in an inferno of din sufficient to strike terror into the heart of the bravest.

To the lasting credit of the 31st Battalion it must be recorded that this terrible punishment at the very start of the day's operations produced  neither panic nor confusion, nor did it in any way deter officers and men from proceeding to carry out their allotted tasks in the day's campaign". (from the History of the 191st Battalion)

This is the battle in which my father was wounded, - a wound he suffered from 

but seldom mentioned.

My children knew him as a loving tender grandfather, who walked with a limp and a cane 

for the rest of his life.

When I come home I will post some pictures of this community's remembrance of the unbelievable number of young men who gave either a part of their lives in the mud and trenches of France or made the ultimate sacrifice with such honour.

Not an overwhelming turnout, but a reverent one.

And there was a piper!!

August

I waken to thin clouds and cool breezes, and although they may not survive the morning, still, it is pure luxury to feel the refreshment they bring after a week of scorching weather.

It is 'White Rabbit" day, - the first of August, and I pay my dues to the lucky fellow before I speak on the phone to my daughter's morning call.  As I wander down the hallway to unlock doors and open windows to morning breezes and cool air I pass the door to the loom room (where the loom languishes, untended for a number of warm gardenig weeks) and I whisper a promise to return.  

It is so easy to drift, living alone, and so I took myself in hand and made a disciplined list of 'things to do". July was the month to attend to files and all those other legal things one must do, but August! - August is the month I have set aside for weaving, building up my enthusiasm as I shredded all those dratted papers in July. 

The door to the loom room is hung with silk ribbons, cut from old silk blouses and awaiting the magic to turn them into soft, silk matts, braided skeins of silk and polwarth fleece to spin, and dyed warps and weft.  

So there is no reason to delay. And can you think of anything better to do with August, when the heat confines the garden to hardy yellow daisies and mums and sedums preparing to bloom, and the only thing to do is to keep the pots well watered so the nicotinia doesn't fade and die and rob one of that gorgeous evening scent.

I see the sun has broken through the clouds and sends its rays through the branches of the hazel nut tree outside my window - soon it will be time to close up the house to dissuade the heat from entering, but I have a lovely place to retire to and so I am off to keep my promise to the loom.......

Robert Louis Stevenson speaks to the child in us, to whom summer was never too hot or uncomfortable and the sun was there 'to please the child, to paint the rose, the gardener of the world, he goes.'

Great is the sun, and wide he goes

Through empty heaven with repose;

And in the blue and glowing days

More thick than rain he showers his rays.

Though closer still the blinds we pull

To keep the shady parlour cool,

Yet he will find a chink or two

To slip his golden fingers through.

The dusty attic spider-clad

He, through the keyhold, maketh glad;

And through the broken edge of tiles

Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.

Meantime his golden face around

He bares to all the garden ground,

And sheds a warm and glittering look

Among the ivy's inmost nook.

Above the hills, along the blue,

Round the bright air with footing true,

To please the child, to paint the rose,

The gardener of the World, he goes.  RLS

Oh, if we could only retain that wonderment and lovely friendship with the warmth of the sun that was such a beautiful part of childhood summers.

C for Chinese Pears

ABC Wednesday
July 30th, 2014
The letter is C and it stands here for Chinese (Asian) Pears.

The Chinese Asian Pear is called the Shinto Pear, and it is delicious!

Asian pears are super crunchy, more like crisp apples than other pears, 

and they look more like apples, too.

There are many varieties of Asian pears -  the ones post commonly available in North America

are a very matte, tan color with a bit more texture and roughness to the skin than other apples or pears.

They are great for eating raw, especially when sliced or diced and added to salads.  

They have more of a crisp-apple texture than the soft grainy pear.

They are heavy for their size and have no give when you squeeze them -

they are supposed to be crisp!

I am lucky in that at least once a year I get to have one or two

Chinese pears grown by a generous friend of #3 son

and I enjoy them raw, sliced with cheese and a crisp biscuit.

However, if you should happen to have a glut of them and are looking

for a recipe ...........!

This is a sweet and savoury dish, popular in south-west China.

Lay about 1 1/2 pounds of ham, cut into thin slices, in a steamproof dish.  

Sprinkle with a quarter cup of brown sugar and steam for 25 minutes,

adding more water as needed.

When the ham is nearly finished cooking combine a quarter cup of light soy sauce

with two tablespoons of water and two tablespoons of honey

in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, - keep warm.

Add two Chinese pears, cut into four pieces. 

Brush the pears and ham slices with some of the sauce and steam for five more minutes.

Pour the remainder of the sauce over and garnish with two green onions,

cut into thirds, - or however your heart desires

if you want to be creative.....

I was amazed at how many different varieties of Asian Pears there are.

The best known is probably the Nijisseiki which ripens in mid September

and is also known as 20th Century.

But in the order of ripening there is the Ichiban Nashi, the Kosui, Shinseiki, Mishirasu, 

Chojuro, Shinseiho, the Kikusui, Shinko (as pictured below) the very large Nitaka,

a round shaped Chinese pear called Seuri and the Korean Giant,

very large, attractive orange-brown russet, sweet and juicy

with a long storage life.

All this wonderful information about Asian pears that produce well west of the Cascades

 came from ' wm@hartmannursery.com '  (email address, of course)

For more things you never knew before that start with C visit

here at ABC Wednesday, with thanks to Denise, Roger

and all helpers, - and don't forget to visit around!

Contemplation

Contemplating, this, that and the other thing.....

That seems to be the way it goes these days, although I am trying to discipline myself to finish July's big task by the end of the month so I can devote August to spinning and weaving.

I have a book entitled 'Contemplative Aging - a way of being in Later Life.  It is written by a man (more on that aspect later) - Edmund Sherman, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus, State University of New York at Albany, where he was Professor of Social Welfare before his retirement.

Edmund is espousing  the meditative approach to old age.  He welcomes the 'interior' life, characterized by greater engagement in recollection and reverie, rather than in action; a 'turning away from competition and achievement toward the more elemental and sacred aspects of life'; to shift direction from the mode of doing to the mode of being.

I started to read this book a few months ago, but put it aside, being too involved in the anticipation of 'doing' and accomplishing many of the things that I seem to now have time for.  And yet it touches a chord with me -
I do have periods of great  memories;  thinking of those early formative years of my childhood, and then of the wonderful years of our marriage, and family times.  I try to cultivate a certain stillness, and  a mindfulness in all I do, but am not yet ready to sink into a Buddha like contemplation of life's meaning.

My big task this month (inspired by the approach of my 90th birthday) has been to finish working on my 'Departure Papers' - my will, my wishes, a service, all the details a family has to cope with after a 'departure' - but my reason for doing this is quite a common sense one, - I want it done and finished so I can put it aside with a feeling that it will be there when needed, and then GET ON WITH LIFE!!!!

Has anybody else got ancient enough that this way of contemplative life has occurred to them?  I think it is perhaps more prevelant in men (they don't have the care of a home to keep them busy no matter how old they are...) and probably in more scholarly men whose activity during their lifetime has been mostly in their mind and less in physical action.

But then, who knows what old men who sit on a bank and fish are thinking of during those long periods when they wait for a bite???

Anyway, I am looking forward to re-warping my loom and making some more silk rag rugs this fall, and planting some more tulip and daffodil bulbs, and getting back to fall activities - seeing friends, going out for lunch,  - but perhaps in the morning, over coffee, I will contemplate the day to come.  And in the evening, when I take my book to bed, I may drift off to thoughts of perspective and the eventual 'cosmic union with the spirit of the universe.

In the meantime my motto is Carpe Diem!!!!  In moderation, and with a faint salute to Edmund Sherman and his 'way of being in later life'.

B is for Blueberries

ABC Wednesday
July 23, 2014

The letter is B which stands for Blueberry

That beautiful berry that grows so prolificly here in the Similkameen but most especially 

in the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.

The stores and fruit stands of  the valley are awash with blue these days, and I have my own stash safely in the freezer, frozen on trays so that when I pour them into small bags they rattle around on their own, rather than making a great icy clump that presents me with problems when I go to add a few to my morning cereal.

I have a lovely recipe for you today.  I haven't tried it, but the thoughts of hot, hot days, company coming and the prospects of preparing a sweet for dessert immediately make me think 

this would be a perfect choice!!

It is called 'Berry Bliss Pudding'

and is made thusly.......

Combine three and one half cups of blueberries with a third of a cup of sugar, two teaspoons of lemon zest and two tablespoons of lemon juice.  Set over medium heat and bring to a boil, cooking until the berries begin to let off their juices but still retain their shape, - probably about THREE minutes.  Drain and reserve the juice.

Line a three cup capacity bowl with plastic wrap hanging over the sides.

Roll six slices of white sandwich bread (crust removed) with a rolling pin.  Dip each slice into the reserved juice and line the bowl with five pieces of bread, overlapping slightly.  Press the edges of the slices together so that THERE ARE NO GAPS.

Pour in the stewed fruit and cover the top with the remaining piece of bread.

Press down firmly.....

Wrap the top with the overhanging plastic wrap, then press down again.  Place a small plate on the top and weigh it down with a large can of beans or tomatoes.  Refrigerate until the pudding is firm, at least forty minutes. (If you are clever you can make this the day before and refrigerate until ready to serve)

Now you can remove the can and plate, turn the pudding upside down on to a serving dish.  Garnish with fresh berries, slice and serve with yogurt, or ice cream or whipped cream, - whatever your heart desires.

What could be easier on a warm summer's day - well, Jello maybe, but it does lack a bit of savoir faire.

For more great Bs visit here at ABC Wednesday, with thanks to Denise and Roger and all helpers.

Just a little update on the Garden

Mainly pictorial......

It has been so hot, - I am only in the garden early in the morning and in the comparative coolness of the evening.  Except for the middle of the day when I must go out and water pots and move the hoses that drip on trees and shrubs - like the Rose of Sharon which lives close to the house and cannot be watered with a sprinkler.

It is glorious - here is this morning's picture of the fresh blooms.  I have the old faded blooms sitting in a huge glass jar on the porch, in the sun, making natural dye,  along with the jar that holds the remnants of the day lilies that line the front fence.

Now that the Lilies have faded and gone the garden is embracing the yellows that come with midsummer...

and the patio at the back is slowly being devoured by the great vines of the pumpkin and squash and cucumber.  Alas, that is pretty well all they are, - lovely vines whose fruit forms but then withers away.

The Abraham Darby is beginning it's second flush, and the new bee balm I planted this year is a lovely shade of wine in contrast to the scarlet plant that is roaming through the raised bed.

The nicotania that scents the evening so seductively...

and a dahlia my eldest granddaughter gave me on mother's day that has exceeded in height 

any dahlia I have ever seen before!!!!!

 The barn flowers in the far corner of the back garden, where the compost bins live.

and some apricots, not quite ripe but leaning across the neighbour's fence and making my mouth water!!!

Blogger is loath to put pictures where I place them, but there, - one must be content

with what technology one can master

and accept the rest philosophically.......

Today is cooler - tomorrow it might rain.  The garden will be happy, as will I!!