Ridding ourselves of the threat of vipers

Vipers are quite prevalent in this part of the world especially at this time of year - to the extent that the local pharmacies all stock the anti venom which is available to buy to have on hand if you think you may need it.  The pharmacies here are really very good in that they do tend to stock the appropriate drugs depending on the time of year - a little later in the year they will have posters about which mushrooms are safe to cook and which ones will kill you!  Interestingly the “trompette de la mort” mushroom literally translated as the “trumpet of death” mushroom is perfectly edible and quite delicious if you like a nutty flavour to your mushrooms!!

We had a large pile of stones (pictured above) in the courtyard from when we had some work done on the piggery, and, given that snakes like long grass or perhaps piles of stones to curl up and sleep in, we decided we’d remove them from the courtyard and replace the threat of snakes with the new 10 foot blow up swimming pool we bought for the imminent arrival of our nieces (notwithstanding the fact that we’d like to fill it before the imminent hose pipe ban is imposed).

The initial plan (pre tractor days) had been to load the stones onto the wheelbarrow by hand and cart them off - today was a great day for tractor appreciation as we realised we could not only remove the threat of snakes to us in the removal of the stones, we could also remove the stones in half the time!  And so, at 9.30pm while it’s still light after a beautifully sunny day, I am typing this in my stone and viper free courtyard!

Whilst working in the garden today we noticed that presumably due to the early hot summer, we’ve already got many figs on the tree (photo above) which is exciting especially as I made my very last clafoutis from our very own cherries on Saturday and so will be looking for a replacement fruit for future pies!

Easy Clafoutis recipe - depending on time of year replace fresh cherries & almonds with fresh (chopped) figs & walnuts etc....

Serves 6 - you need a 9x9 or 10x7(ish) baking tray

You will need...

2 cups of fresh cherries, pitted

2 tablespoons of slivered almonds, roasted (pop in a frying pan and shake until nicely browned)

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 cup of all purpose flour, sifted

1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)

1 cup whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Icing/Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 220/350 - butter the baking dish - toss in the cherries and roasted slivered almonds

Whisk the eggs, sugars, (salt if using) and flour together until smooth.

Add the milk and vanilla extract.  Whisk until smooth and pour into the baking dish on top of the cherries and almonds.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until lightly browned.  Expect it to deflate a little while cooling - dust with icing/powdered sugar and serve with “creme anglaise” (custard)

Bon Apetit!