in my kitchen :: thrifty finds, comfort food and repurposing an old pine wardrobe

Did you know that potatoes are related to tomatoes? I didn't. I suppose the clue should have been in the name...the 'toes' bit. After our potatoes flowered we noticed two little green fruits that looked just like tomatoes growing on one of the plants...curious. A quick google query 'fruits that look like tomatoes on a potato plant,' revealed that they are the poisonous fruit of the potato plant that carry seeds. Apparently they only produce this fruit when growing conditions are perfect and if you sow the seeds they'll  produce a variety different from the one that you planted and it might be difficult for them to germinate. I think that I'll stick to planting potatoes when they start shooting out little roots in the vegetable basket the same as we do with the onions. 

In case you wondered...also in the kitchen:

• Quick summer crumbles. Lots more, including peach, egg plum and cherry. I think apricot is still the favourite. I have to stop now before I get crumbled out...
• Bay leaves from the garden to stock up kitchen herb supplies. 
• Vintage shopping...I can't resist white pillow cases. Especially if there's a lace border or even a peep of broderie anglaise to be seen. And a cute little stoneware pie funnel. It will hopefully encourage me to move on from crumbles to pies.
• The teeniest, weeniest frog spotted jumping on the kitchen floor. It must have hopped in when the door was opened. I began to think we had a mini plague after we rescued two on subsequent evenings. Now I think it was the same one that just liked our kitchen so much that it popped back in again...
• A solid old pine wardrobe that was a real bargain from a charity shop. I have been scouring the auctions for months since I left a bid on a larder cupboard and lost it for just £2 above my bid. Had I been there I would have gone much higher and still had an amazing bargain. But this one is still very cheap even though more than twice as much as the one in the auction sold for and the money will go to a good cause. With the clothes-rail removed and shelves added it makes the perfect pantry. Hey presto from wardrobe to larder cupboard in an hour. We're not quite sure whether to paint it to blend in with the rest of the kitchen. What do you think?
• Seeds collected from the garden ready for next year. My mission is to avoid buying as many seeds as possible. (Do you like my classification? 'green spiky')
• Comfort food...more risotto. Another green one, this time with spinach and mange tout.
• Haleem, Persian chicken porridge...more comfort.
• Mini omelette made from lovely local free range eggs.
• There's also been lots of sewing but I'll show you that later...

Haleem, Persian chicken porridge

To make enough for three to four people place a teacupful of oats into a saucepan or porringer and a good pinch or twist of sea salt. Poach a chicken breast in salted water until just tender but not dry. (I usually reserve the cooking liquid to make chicken stock.) When cool, shred the chicken with your finger or two forks using the same method used in Chinese restaurants to prepare duck with pancakes. Add this to the oats in the saucepan.  Gradually add  cold water into the oats and cook over a moderate heat, feeding the water in, in the same way that you would a risotto.  This is one of those dishes where you need to stand and stir...a bit of cooking therapy...After a little while you can add milk instead of water to give a much creamier texture. Cook until the oats are broken down into a smooth porridge.  

I like to eat it with the traditional spoonful of butter. It's also served with the addition of a little cinnamon and sugar or clotted cream stirred in but I prefer to keep it savoury.

That's just a bit of my kitchen chaos...I wonder what's going on in yours. 

Oh and about painting the pine cupboard. I really would appreciate your advise...what do you think? To paint or not to paint? 
debx

...days like these...

The weeks have divided into a patchwork quilt of days where the house is full of men crossing paths. Chimney sweeps arrive with huge vacuum cleaners and friendly faces. Only interrupted by builders and joiners with tape measures and ideas. They prod bits of wood and scratch their heads, pull strange faces, "umm" and "ahh" and promise to return with quotes for us. More often than not, they don't.  But we are told not to worry, that's the way here and that when we least expect it they'll come back with enthusiasm and tools and won't leave until the job is done. 

There are days where we scrub floors, dust away cobwebs, unpack boxes, stitch curtains, paint furniture or walls and try to restore a modicum of order. New neighbours pop in to say hello and lend helping hands; bring  local magazines, ripe damsons or welcome cards, tell us where we can find the best chickens for the run, or bring tools; a ladder and basket to help with the harvest of our ancient plum tree that looks as though it will fall over at any minute. Then return with jam still warm and more offers to help cook what they can see to be an overwhelming crop. 

Then there are the run-away days. Where we may escape to London for a day or two, or maybe more, go for a walk or explore a local village, find an amazing shop or cafe; then excitedly return home, vowing not to stay away so long next time.

The gutter has been repaired, a chimney swept and lined, wood burner fitted, oil and kiln dried wood ordered for winter  and the boiler fired up. Plum wine is bubbling away in the bathroom where it has been segregated until the demijohns stop exploding like  mini plum volcanoes, kindling from the same old tree crackles in the grate. We've had our first visitors who have happily stayed amidst all the commotion twice as long as we expected and are even now planning their next visit...

...how have your days been?