pretty bee-busy

Atentionare : urmeaza un articol lung si probabil plictisitor :)

Toamna a sosit deja....absenta mea in blog este justificata...in fiecare zi, aduc din gradina mici parti din recolta....azi una, miine alta, si uite asa am impresia ca recolta este enorma. De fapt sa zicem ca este oarecum modesta dar suficienta pentru noi doi...si doi catei ;).

Aici parti diferite in zile diferite...

Warning : following a long and probable boring post. ;)

Autumn is already arrived here...so my absence on blogland is justified....I'm present in my "ownland". LOL. Every day I bring from the garden small amounts of crop...today something, tomorrow something else and this is how I have the impression that I have a huge crop. Actually , lets' say is quite modest but fullfilling for our neccesities ( and for our dogs , too !;) )

here are different parts in different days...

A sosit si vremea alunelor si a...nucilor verzi. Seri de rontaiala si degete innegrite...seri deja racoroase...mi-e dor de foc in semineu si de pocnetul conurilor de brad ....

Alune...buzunare pline de alune si un zimbet larg pe fata...vintul prin par si o imbratisare calda in pragul casei...cine isi poate dori mai mult de la toamna ?

Now is the time, also, for hazelnuts and...green nuts ( pecan ) . Crunchy evenings and blacked fingers...I miss a good fire in the fireplace listening the noise of waxy pine cones....

hazelnuts....pockets full of hazelnuts and a large smile on my face....wind in my hair and a warm loving hug on my home porch...what else can anyone want from autumn ?

Da, toamna aduce cu ea si putina munca in bucatarie : de aici

Oh, yes : autumn bring some kitchen work, too. From here

...prin citeva ore de munca ( observati si cafeaua de sustinere "psihica" in fata celor 10 kg de fasole)

...after several hours of work ( please notice the coffee beside as "support" for those 10 kg of beans)

iar la final am obtinut citeva portii bune pentru la iarna ;) gata de asezat in congelator.

at finish I got a few good portions for winter, ready to put inside the freezer.

Apoi au urmat castravetii

then follows the cucumbers

si ciupercile ( anul acesta sunt foaaaarte putine ciuperci....brrr....cam gol congelatorul pentru ele.... ati inteles, da ? metoda mea preferata de conservare a ORICE pentru iarna este sfintul si binecuvintatul congelator. Incerc , incet-incet sa adaug si alte metode, dar ...nu sunt as in directia aceasta. Am incercat deshidratarea ( inafara de ciuperci am renuntat la alte cele, am nevoie de ingrediente care se pregatesc rapid - foarte rapid- si nu care sa stea la inmuiat cu orele....) am mai incercat conservarea cu sare ( varza murata, si ...atit!) si in otet ( castravetii si...atit! ha-ha! ). Mereu revin cu incredere la congelator. ORICIND. Pentru aproape ORICE. Fructe, legume, carne, sucuri, mincare gatita, prajituri, etc. Aproape TOTUL.

deci poza cu ciupercile si metoda MEA de a le taia rapid - foarte rapid! - feliute . Ati priceput cum, da ?

And the mushrooms ( this year we have so few mushrooms...brrr...the freezer for them is quite empty. You do already understand, yes ? my preffered method for preserving ANYTHING for winter is the holly and blessed FREEZER. I'm trying other methods, too...but I'm not too good at those. I do tryied dehydration ( beside mushrooms I let go all the rest, because I need ingredients that are preparing fast - very fast - and not those that need hours of soaking ) , I tryied salt preserving ( but just cabbage and that's all ) and also vinegar preserves ( cucumbers and that's all , also. LOL )

I always come back to my dear freezer. Always. Fruits, vegetables, meat, juices, prepared food, cakes, etc. Almost ANYTHING.

So , here come the mushroom picture showing you my super-quick method of slicing them. Got it ?

si ardeii iuti intinsi pe sfoara la uscat ( un ingredient obligatoriu in spaghetele cu ciuperci )

and those hot-peppers set for dehydration ( a "must" in spaghetti with mushrooms dish)

si apoi au urmat alte zile de efort sustinut pentru prepararea magiunului .

Adica de aici ( adica de vreo 10 ori cantitatea din poza, luata pe rind, si la un moment dat considerata infinita)

And then follows other days of hard work at preparing the "magiun" ( plum jam ).

I mean : starting form here ( like 10 times more that you see in the picture, taken one by another and at one point considered infinite)

am luat-o pe parcurs in directia aceasta ( la fel de "rustic" si de "sanatos pe foc de lemne" ca in vremurile de demult la tara )

we go to this ( in the same "rustical" manner and healthy "made on wood-fire" like in old time in real villages )

si evident ca in timpul prepararii trebuie si putina mincare...si vin ;) si daca tot ne-am jucat cu focul toata ziua, am profitat de niste aripioare si coaste de berbecutz la grill.

Mda, TOTUL natural...:)

Obviously that during the day we needed some food ( and some wine , too ;) ) and if we already played with fire all day we take advantage of that and make some chicken wings and lamb chops on grill. Yeap, ALL natural...:)

pentru ca in final , a doua zi seara sa numaram borcanele . Comparativ cu anul trecut ,acum avem foarte-foarte putine....prunele au fost tare marunte dar bine coapte,astfel magiunul a iesit foarte dulce si gustos. Fara nici un gram de zahar ! Perfect! 100% natural...

A meritat toata truda ! )

The next day, at finish, we counted the jars . Comparative to last year, now we have very-very few...the plums were extremely small but well riped so that the jam is sweet and tasty. No sugar at all . Perfect! 100% natural. It deserved all that work ....

Din doua kilograme de mure am pus la congelator sucul rezultat

From 2 kilo of blackberries I get the juice and send it straight to the freezer

care va putea fi folosit peste iarna ca si sos cald peste inghetata sau pe post de gem daca ii adaug zahar si il fierb putin

it will be used in winter as a hot sauce over ice-cream or I can make small portions of jam if I boill it with some sugar

iar cu resturile ramase in storcatorul de fructe

and with the rests that remain in the fruit-juicer

nu am rezistat si m-am jucat putin cu doua bucatele de pinza ( intotdeauna este binevenit un petic colorat in rezerva mea de materiale )

I couldn't resist and played a little with two pieces of white cloth ( a coloured piece of fabric si always welcomed in my stash )

Toamna asta mi-a trimis in gradina un prieten nou, micutz si foarte plimbaretz :

This autumn send me another "gift" in the garden : a new and very "walking" friend

a little new friend from tiktakro on Vimeo.

iar chiar daca vremea nu a fost perfecta in ultimele zile ( furtuna si vint rece ) nu pot in final decit sa spun : "Bine ai venit, toamna ! "

and even if the weather wasn't nice in the last days ( we had storms and cold winds ) I just can't say anything that : " Welcome, autumn ! ".

Cum este toamna VOASTRA ?? :))

How's YOUR autumn ?? :))

home-made...magiun :))

Totul a inceput de aici, de la prunele din pom...
everything started from here, from the tree plums...

cam atitea am cules pina la in final....
these were picked for finally

apoi am trecut la scos simburele si am le-am aruncat, bineinteles, pe cele cu " carne bio" ha-ha!
then I take out the stones and of course, put away those "bio meaty" ( with worms LOL)

Imi place sa pastrez totul simplu, cit mai rustic, asa ca : voila! sistemul meu de fierbere. la foc de lemne . Realizat din 3 pereti din caramida , cadrul din lemn si bineinteles...cratita de inox. Aceasta cratita este atit de mare incit are locul ei de repaus stabilit pe raftul din garaj, este enorma si nu incape in bucataria mea mica...Aceasta este prima poza de cind am pornit fierberea...care va dura timp de 5-6 ore pe timpul zilei de azi.
I like to keep everything pretty simple and rustical, so : voila! my boiling system. With natural wood fire. Made of 3 brick walls, wood frame and of course the inox big pot. This pot is so big that it has its own rest place on the garage shelf ( it's too big for my small kitchen) This is the photo when the plums are set in the pot, at the beggining of the boiling....that will last for aproximative 5-6 hours during the day...a lot of hand-spinning ...

Cam asa arata dupa citeva ore de fiert....pentru ca nu am folosit DELOC zahar, fierberea dureaza mult mai mult dar merita!! se pastreaza gustul natural al prunelor.
This is how it looks after several hours of boiling...because I did not use ANY sugar, the boiling process takes a lot of time...but it worth it !the result is more natural, preserving the real taste of plums.


Si cam pe la final, deja obositi de atita invirtit in cratita, si de povestit si de citit ( ceva trebuie sa faci timp de atitea ore, nu ?) magiunul incepe sa miroase in toata curtea...Mmmmm...
And around final, when tired for such long hand spinning, and talking and reading ( well, we have to do something during all these long hours, no ?) the "magiun" start to smell all over the yard....Mmmm...



Bineinteles ca am avut si ajutor...la privit ! ha-ha...
Of course we have some help ....at watching over ! LOL...


In garda la..."hotul!"
In their proper job looking after: " thief!"



Noaptea tirziu, cu magiunul pus in borcane....o parte din ele.
Late in the night, with the "magiun" put in jars...a part of it.

si cealalta parte...
and the rest of it.



Dupa ce se raceste bine si prinde pojghita la suprafata, adica cam pe a doua zi, se inchid borcanele cu capace. Acum poate sa vina si iarna..."dulce" avem destul ;)) chiar si pentru prieteni.
After is getting cold and dry on the surface, I mean about next morning, the jars have to be closed.Now the winter can come, we have enough "sweet" even for friends.