Winter is most definitely here! The last few days have been rather dismal. Over the past weekend we fired up the central heating for the first time. There were a few technical problems with that and one or two other things in the house but I won't go into all that! I prefer to think that everything is repaired.
The last couple of weeks have seen a change in the scenery in and around Nafplio. The view of the orange grove outside the front of our house is one thing that has changed dramatically.
A couple of weeks ago the oranges were small and very green. Now they have grown a lot and are starting to change from green to pale yellow and some even have their orange color already. It is amazing what a couple weeks of rain and a little sunshine can do!!!
It's exciting for my son. He can't wait for the oranges to ripen so he can have fresh juice! He has been asking nearly every day since we got here "when will the oranges be ready?" I am not sure if he realizes that he won't actually be able to help himself from the oranges across the street.
This week my Father in Law brought a huge bag of walnuts and another of quince from his trees in his village, Klepa, which is in the region of Northern Nafpaktos. Quince is not something I have cooked with before, so I started googling to see what delicious recipes I could find.
We settled on trying some quince jam first. I was quite pleased with the way it turned out. We discovered that the color of the jam depends on the type of quince you have, some quinces make very deep pink jam and others make a more pale pink jam. Ours were the variety that make a paler coloured jam.
It was very nice on a slice of fresh crusty bread, but I also think it would be delicious on a freshly baked scone and, if I wanted to be very naughty, with a pile of whipped cream on top. If I get a chance to try it any time soon I will tell you if my conclusions were correct!
The change in the weather has made me put my mind to all the wonderful different flavours of cupcakes we will be able to make in the different seasons. In the café I want to try my best to have some flavors influenced by the seasons. This time of year it would be nice to have autumn-and-winter taste cupcakes. Something with pumpkin and winter fruits, like apple and pears or delicious spices, that remind you of sitting around the fire in winter, such as cinnamon and cloves, maybe cardamom. Quince? I am trying to think of a way to incorporate quince jam into or onto a cake! That could be interesting!
Liz
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Liz, your post transported me to the beauty of flavors, Nature,and delicious food!
ReplyDeleteI did love it.
Good evening!
xxx
P.S.
Great pics!
Lovely pictures especially the one with the rainbrow.
ReplyDeleteI love quinces. If you eat pork you should try pork and quince, it's a lovely combination. Glyko tou koutaliou is also another great way to use the quinces.
Ivy,
ReplyDeleteIn the UK we eat fruit with meat quite a lot. Pork and Apple, Ham and Pineapple, Beef and berries being some of the more common flavours. I found quite a few spoon sweet recipes among the blogs I follow but since I am not so keen on spoon sweets myself I went for the jam instead.
Liz
i think that quince gets redder and redder with longer cooking time. either way, it is delicious
ReplyDeletecretans arent really into eating fruit with meat, but i am thinking of cooking meat with apples soon, and i am wondering how it will turn out - you know how resistant to change my family is...
I love homemade jams and I think they are one of theb est ways to capture the essence of seasonal fruits.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos!
I have so enjoyed reading your post and the beautiful pics. In Lebanon too we cook with quinces and make quince jam and walnuts is widely used in recipes and included in fig jam.
ReplyDeleteI made 4 jars of quince jam (glyko), it's delicious with fresh bread ortoast, husband loves it, so, I'll bemakingmore soon..
ReplyDelete