Food in Provence (and elsewhere)

Ireland, like the UK, celebrates May Day on the nearest Monday so no cookery school today. I took the opportunity to walk around the extensive gardens in the morning. Some things were easy enough to find my way around.

Others less so!

After 40 minutes starting from the entrance on the right in the picture I cheated and took the entrance at the bottom!

Then on to check on my sweetcorn; they both seem healthy enough even if the near one is still leaning a little.

And check up on the farm animals.

After a cup of tea back at the cottage it was time to check up on my water kefir again. I figured it was still a little sweet but the production needs of the Fermentation HQ meant that even those who only checked up on their jars today (and so had added more sugar on Friday) had to bottle up their production and start a new batch. I’ve put one of my two bottles (with the clementine peel and some ginger) in the fridge for its second fermentation; the other is in a cool place in my room. Tasting time tomorrow evening!

Then it’s time for some more cooking in the afternoon. Pastry practice again—a potato, leek and cheese tart—but I also bake another brown soda bread loaf in a tin to have with the tart. As I have an audience for the pastry making (KB in the cottage hasn’t had any pastry to make in class yet), Sod’s law steps in to ensure that this tin lining doesn’t go as well as my last one…

And sod’s law strikes again, Just before I need to start baking the tart the fire alarm goes off! As I’ve left the oven on I worry it may be my fault but it turns out the sensor that went off was in the laundry so I’m in the clear. I call the emergency contact number and find out how to reset the alarm but the key you need to do this turns out to be broken… Help eventually arrives and a key is borrowed form a nearby cottage to restore calm. But someone turns the oven temperature off so my quiche sits in there for half an hour without cooking! Someday I’ll remember to double check!!

In the end, though, the tart turned out OK and my fellow diners appreciated both it and the soda bread.