October, eh? Where has the year gone? One minute, you’re looking forward to Spring; the next, Summer is over, and Autumn is upon us. The Christmas stuff is appearing in the shops, and we’ve not done Halloween yet. We are well and truly in the season of fruits and mellow mistfulness.
One nice thing to have happened recently was a display of the northern lights, which the scribes managed to capture. Usually, when the aurora is forecast, you can almost guarantee wall-to-wall clouds accompanied by wind and rain. This time, the sky was clear when the alert came through to go outside and look up. It didn’t disappoint.
Literary Competition News
The feedback for All Steamed Up has arrived, and it’s brutal. The judges liked the opening, but after that, it went downhill fast. Too many characters are introduced too quickly, which happens in two boring scenes. Ouch. The thing is, with hindsight, they’re right. I knew when I entered the competition I’d rushed to get the manuscript finished. The reason was that it would be the last chance to get feedback as the competition wasn’t going to run again. I had no expectation of it getting anywhere. Even so, it’s not what you want to hear. So what happens now? Right now, the answer is nothing. It’s not so much on a back burner as off the stove and ready to be put in the freezer. I have Pass The Duchy to finish off first, and then there’s The Scriptorium Chronicle to get back to. Time away will give me a chance to think about whether a novel format is the best vehicle for All Steamed Up. If it is, there’s a huge rewrite to be done.
Works In Progress
What I’m calling the machete edit of Pass The Duchy is well underway. Considering that it’s supposed to be a radical pruning away of excess material, the word count has gone up from 90k to 96k, and I’m starting to get worried. I’m only two-thirds of the way through, and at this rate, it might end up too long and need another round of editing to chop the length down. The explanation is that while a lot has been cut, I’ve also added new material to round out the story and fill in some gaps. It’s looking in much better shape, and I’m keen to press on as I have high hopes for this.
Work on The Scriptorium Cookbook has picked up again. This is very much a side project with no firm end in mind other than to gather favourite recipes together in one place.
Talking of the Scriptorium, I had been on the point of reaching out to a contact to find out if he was up for taking a look at the revised The Scriptorium Chronicle. To my delight, he reached out first to see if a revised version was available. I’m crossing my fingers that the improved opening and the inclusion of an introduction will help to set things up better. There are a load more illustrations compared to the previous draft and more running gags. There’s also a lot more Alexa and Musky.
Talking of illustrations, you can get some of these on Redbubble as T-shirts, mugs, stickers, fridge magnets, posters, etc. That’s the shameless promo over. Normal service will now be resumed.
The Wildflower Meadow (formerly the Front Lawn)
After the September Scything, the wildflower meadow is looking more like a regular lawn. The dried stems of the Spotted Orchids have been cut down now that they have set seed (which is more like dust). The evening primrose is just about done flowering, and the seed is ripening. The red clover is still going strong. Lots of spring bulbs have been planted for next year, and yellow rattle seeds have been scattered. Being good gardeners (and having learnt from past mistakes), the scribes have labelled what they have planted. Sadly, for one pile of bulbs they dug up and replanted, the label is not exactly helpful.
Work on reclaiming the kitchen garden has continued, with the whole area now weed-free if not fully cultivated. Garlic has been planted, as have onions and leeks. With the weather now turning colder, thoughts are being given to building raised beds.
Dear Alexa,
It has been brought to my attention that someone has been using sherry to make trifle with and has been topping up the bottle with cold tea to make it look like none has gone missing. As we have been having a lot of trifles lately, I am concerned that what I have been eating is not sherry trifle but cold tea trifle.
A Concerned Prior Who Goes To A Different Priory
Dear Concerned Prior,
As you go to a different priory, I’m glad that it’s not our Mrs Pritchett who is in the frame as she doesn’t use sherry in our trifles. The ones she makes are more likely to have the sponge soaked in brandy. Any sherry that goes missing is down to her having the odd glass while she’s cooking, and rather than top up the bottle, she replaces it with a fresh one from the cellar.
Alexa
Green Tomato Chutney
At the end of summer, there is always a glut of green tomatoes from the kitchen garden. Even ripening the best of these using the brown paper bag and a banana trick leaves tomatoes that will never ripen. This is when Mrs Pritchett steps in to make her celebrated green tomato chutney. This is her standard offering for the harvest festival and makes a good gift if you happen to know a lot of people who like green tomato chutney, as it makes a bucket load of the stuff.
Makes a lot
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 90 minutes
Ready: 1 hour 50 minutes
Ingredients
1kg green tomatoes, chopped
500g onions, finely chopped
2 large apples (about 300g), peeled, cored and chopped
100g raisins (optional)
500g brown sugar
500ml malt vinegar
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
3 cloves of garlic cloves, minced
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp salt
Directions
1. Add everything to a large pan or stockpot. Make sure it’s a big one as the recipe makes a lot of chutney—more than one person could eat unless you lived off the stuff for a week. It may be more or less than a week, depending on what your appetite is like. Note that this is not a challenge and the scribes will not be writing “The One Week Chutney Weight Loss Diet”.
2. Stir well and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Make sure the sugar dissolves.
3. Low and slow is the mantra for the next bit. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1½ to 2 hours. Stir from time to time to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan, which is a pain to clean up afterwards.
4. Allow the mixture to thicken. The chutney is ready when most of the liquid has evaporated and it has a thick, jam-like consistency.
5. While the chutney is simmering away nicely in the pan, give the jars you will store it in a good wash and place them in a warm oven at 140ºC/fan 120ºC/gas 1 for 10 minutes. This will sterilise them and prevent the chutney from going ooky. This is the word Mrs Pritchett uses when she means something is off.
6. When the chutney is ready, stir around to find the cinnamon stick and remove it. Spoon the hot chutney into the jars and seal tightly with lids while still hot.
7. Allow the jars of chutney to cool down before storing them in a cool, dark place. The pantry is a good place for this, although you may have to remove the jars of chutney from last year first.
Scribes’ Note:
The chutney stores well in jars, and the flavours mature if left for at least 2-4 weeks. Once opened, keep in the fridge and consume within 4 weeks. If you don’t like raisins in your chutney, leave them out. That’s what optional means.
Red tomatoes can be used instead of green ones, but the flavour will be different and have a milder taste. Reduce the amount of sugar slightly to balance the sweetness.
Mark Weaver 