Tuesday 22 December 2015

Winter Solstice

Chaenomeles in flower
The weather at the moment is a bit ridiculous. The Japanese quince is back in flower, the crab apple bonsai is coming into bud about a week after the last leaves fell, and on Saturday evening we barbecued. It's mild, wet and very windy.
Crab apple in bud
Barbecue, 19th December 2015
Barbecued lamb chops on smoked cheese and garlic flatbread
But today is the longest night. England is an old country and it's hard not to feel some of the traditions and archetypes that have been soaking into the land for centuries, so we always try to do something to welcome back the sun. And for Paul, pretty much any old English ritual requires boar and mead. In this case, a joint of wild boar, seasoned porchetta-style and wrapped in some pork rind from another occasion, to help keep the lean meat moist. I baked some sausage-stuffed Bramley apples alongside, and made a dish of Brussels sprouts and chestnuts with garlic butter. We drank some mead. We banished the dark.


3 comments:

Kavey said...

I need the dark to banish itself the hell off faster!!

Megs said...

Excellent feast!

grace said...

i've actually never tasted mead. i wonder if i'd like it!

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