Where have all the Blackberries gone?

I'm a bit incensed, I’ve been meaning to tell you why for a while, but never quite got around to it. My Blackberry picking spot has been destroyed,

Note the lack of Blackberry Bushes!

I got over 15lb of berries there last year, and although I know they will grow back, it wont be instant.

So I need to find another place for this years crop, or ration my Jam and Wine.

 This morning I was down at Sharkham with the dogs as the sun was coming up, it was a frosty morning, but the light was good, and I managed to capture a couple of good pictures on my phone.

At the same time, George announced  that she would soon be home (She had to rearrange flights due to bad Aussie weather), we cant wait.

Dinner with Norma and Phillip was a success, good food and company, what more could you ask for.

The Coca went well; I’d never made them before, although I had eaten the real thing in Barcelona many years ago. It’s basic dough, but made with a mixture of Water, Milk and Oil. Also you use more yeast than usual, so it rises well. I topped mine with Onion and Chilli; they went well with the oil and Blackberry Balsamic dip.

As an accompaniment to the Chicken and Chorizo main, I made Patatas Bravas, basically part boiling chunks of Potato for about 5 minutes, then after cooling, tossing them in a mixture of Oil, Garlic and Chilli. They were then cooked in the oven for the last 45 minutes with the main.

I added chopped Onions, Peppers, Mushrooms and Sun Dried Tomatoes to the Chicken and Sausage mixture, with a good splash of Oil and Balsamic.

Yvonnes chocolate cake was extremely well received, with Coffee Ice-Cream and Bailey’s  as a sauce. That coupled with Pea Pod and Elderflower wine, plus some liquid sunshine, meant that it was quite late (I think) when the evening ended. In fact technically the evening had ended before the evening ended, if you get my meaning.

Consequently, when I re-felted the shed roof on Friday morning I was feeling little pain, it was a really cold morning, and I lost the feeling in my fingers early on, when sensation returned I noted that there were several knuckes that I appeared NOT to have hit with the hammer! My father was a Carpenter and Antique Restorer and I have inherited a lot of theoretical knowledge of woodworking, but regretably none of his practical ability.

  Anyway, the roof has stayed on overnight, which is a good start, mind you its not been windy.

Hortense has now been transferred to the fridge for a rest, she provided a portion of dough starter for a couple of loaves, unfortunatly the yeast was not fully developed so the rise was not so good, but the flavour is starting to develop. I will rest her for a week or so and try again later.

We go out for a meal with Carol and Paul this evening, we are trying a new place in town, it has very good reviews so we will have to see. Consequently we are having a decent lunch to keep us going (calorifically speaking) consisting of a mushroom omelette, bacon and fried potatoes. Eggs kindly provided by Normas flock – Thanks Girls.