Autumn, Walnuts and Homemade Bread and Butter

Well it's the 1st of October and autumn is really here. All the fields around here have been harvested and most of them have now been ploughed.


Every morning as I drive Sharron to the station the leaves are taking on a new hue. The long dry spell that we have had here in the East of the country should result in a fantastic display of colour.

I got excited last night as I felt a few spots of rain but it has came to nothing. the soil in the veg patch is like concrete. The forecast hints that we might get some rain by the weekend, but I won't hold my breath.


One of the best things about this time of year is the walnut harvest, as you can see it has started well. regular readers will remember I only got to eat one walnut last year due to a squirrel problem, this year the tree is laden with them (nuts not squirrels) everytime I go into the garden i pick up a pocket full.

Also in the picture is my homemade Sourdough bread and my homemade butter. I am really into baking at the moment, and am producing all our bread now. I had never made butter before, I was actually extracting buttermilk from some cream to use in some soda bread and it was a by product, it tastes fantastic.

If you want to try making butter, put some double cream in a mixer and churn it using a paddle, it will thicken into whipped cream but keep going. You will start to see yellow streaks appear, then suddenly as if by magic it will separate into butter and buttermilk. Scoop out the butter and wash it to get rid of any residual buttermilk and spread it on your toast, wonderful.