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I can’t quite believe it’s been a month since I last posted something on my blog. Where does the time go? Especially at this time of year with the actually daylight hours rapidly decreasing it seems there literally isn’t enough hours in the day. So what have I got to tell you all?
 As always things around here are centred around the animals, that’s life folks. Milking is still at six even though it is still dark, the birds etc. aren’t actually being released from their night pens until well after seven now. The young ducklings are growing fast and eating us out of house and home. The Ölandsk Dvärghöna (Oland Bantams] have started laying which came as a real surprise. With daylight hours being so short now I wasn’t expecting that to happen until February at the earliest. It gives me real hope for the future of my little group of this very rare bird. I’d like to get a couple of breeding groups established here at Alledal, each with around six to eight birds. Hopefully in this way we can ensure their future.
Steph and I have also been working hard on installing a new satellite dish to replace the crappy 2.8 meter Fortecstar dish. If anyone reading this is ever tempted to by Fortecstar here’s my advice – DON’T. They are of the lowest possible quality and appear to be made from recycled washing machines. We have been battling with ours for over two years now and have finally given up. It’s being replaced with a 1.8 meter Channelmaster dish, which should still enable us to receive English TV. The kingpost has been cemented in and tensioning guy ropes added for stability, we’ve just got to wait for a reasonably calm day now to mount and align the new dish. Then we’re back to cooking with gas. Getting English TV here in Skåne shouldn’t be the battle it has been with the Fortecstar so I’ll let you know how this project progresses.
It’s Martinsgås next week [11 November] and Skånians everywhere will be celebrating with the traditional roast goose dinner and svartsoppa [black soup] I tried this delicacy last year and didn’t enjoy it very much, however after some research and talking to friends I believe what I ate wasn’t a very good example of this goose blood soup and I’m anxious to give it another try.
In case any of you out there also want to give svartsoppa a go here’s a recipe I am assured is authentic and delicious:
Svartsoppa
This recipe serves eight to ten:
Goose giblets [heart, liver, gizzard etc.]
Goose wings and neck
Carrots
Celery
Fresh chicken or goose stock
2 Cooking apples
4-6 prunes
Beurre manié [see note]
Thyme
Marjoram
Cloves
Cinnamon
Ginger
100ml red wine
400-500ml port
400-500ml cognac
400ml fresh goose blood
Svartsoppa [black soup] is at its best when allowed to mature for a day before it is served.
Clean the goose heart and gizzard, separate the wings and neck
Cook the goose liver, neck and the vegetables in lightly salted water for around 30 minutes, skim off the broth during the first ten minutes. Strain when the stock is thickened
Increase the volume of the broth to two litres with the stock.
Dice two cooking apples and four to six prunes, cover with water and cook for fifteen to twenty minutes, drain and put to one side
Bring the broth to the boil and thicken with four to six tablespoons of beurre manié [see note]
Spice with thyme, marjoram, some whole cloves and one teaspoon of cinnamon and ginger
Add the wine, port and cognac and allow to cook for around half an hour
Lower the heat and slowly add the goose blood, ensuring it is kept at a simmer
Simmer for thirty to forty five minutes
Allow to cool and mature for around ten to twelve hours [overnight is ideal]
Gently warm the soup over a low heat, flavour with more herbs and serve with warm giblets, cooked apple wedges and prunes
Note – Beurre manié
Beurre manié is a paste made from flour and butter which is used as a sauce thickener. Sauces and stews are both thickened with the assistance of beurre manié, which should not be confused with roux. The paste is usually made in small amounts at the time of use.
In French, beurre manié means “kneaded butter.” The paste is made by working usually equal parts of butter and flour together so that the butter completely encases each grain of flour. When the beurre manié is added to a sauce or stew, the butter melts, releasing the flour and promoting thickening. Using beurre manié will eliminate clumping, since the flour is not added in a solid mass.
Because beurre manié is not cooked before use, it can add an undesired raw, floury taste. For this reason, the sauce or stew is always cooked after the addition of the beurre manié, to neutralize the flavour. It also tends to be used in small amounts, so that the flour does not become overwhelming in the dish it is used in. Most people are familiar with roux. The two thickeners are actually very different, because roux is cooked before it is used. Frequently, roux acts as the base of a sauce, rather than a later addition. Finally, because of the browning process which occurs while roux is made, roux is used more in brown and coloured sauces. Not all roux is brown, however. Lightly cooked roux will be almost white, and it will lend little in terms of flavour to the sauce it is used in, although it will act as a thickener.
I couldn’t possibly finish my entry today without saying something about the stunning victory of Barak Obama in the American Presidential elections. For the last two years [and it seems longer] we’ve been bombarded with news of the selection of candidates and their campaigns, I have to say I was heartened when the Democratic front runners were a woman and an African American. I thought it showed how far America has come.
Despite the words carved on Lady Liberty,
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me
And the words spoken by Lincoln at Gettysburg
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
It seemed to me at least that the only huddled masses considered equal in twenty-first century America were white, right wing christian fundamentalists. It was amazing to see Hilary Clinton and Barak Obama in the mix. I was sceptical that either could get elected to high office. I wrongly assumed that while America had chosen groundbreaking candidates when the crunch time came that a hawkish seventy-five year old republican was all the change they could stomach. I have never been so pleased to say I was wrong. Finally after eight years of being led by one of the worst president in history America has a president that will be her equal. Let’s hope that the seeds of change sown here will grow and bear fruit. The world is watching America, surprise us all again… |
