Inspiration from the garden

A walk in the garden was all that was needed to tell me what I should be writing about today! I went out to do some weeding and discovered the quince tree bursting into bloom. What a truly beautiful flower this tree has, and of course, to top it all off, next year we should have a lovely crop of quinces to deal with in the kitchen.

Our tree is certainly not a young tree, and gives a lot of character to the garden. It is nicely placed to form a partial barrier from the main garden to where we are now establishing our vegetable garden and espaliered fruit orchard. It will also provide a little shelter for the new little garden shed, which will go up in the next week or two.

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A lot is written about what can be done with the fruit of this beautiful tree, but very rarely does anyone mention the beautiful flower that comes before the fruit. I think it is stunning, a delicate pink bud that opens to a 3-4 cm bloom which is the most delicate of pink. I just needed to feature it somehow in a blog. So – what to cook…

Fortunately in my store I have jars of preserved quinces ready to be used whenever I choose. I must add that I also have jars of quince paste and quince jelly as well. But this time I decided to use the quinces preserved in syrup, along with some spiced honey that I had also prepared and stored. I thought the use of the spiced honey was most appropriate, given the work that the bees are doing among the quince flowers. The final result was a Spiced Honey and Yoghurt Panna Cotta with Quince and Crunchy Granola – I have to say, that it was delicious.

Spiced Honey & Yoghurt Panna Cotta with Quinces & Granola

For those who have been following what’s in bloom, you might like to check the progress of the “The Grand Old Dame” – I think she is going to be very happy and cannot wait to see her in full bloom – I wonder what colour she will be? I have also added a page showing what we have done with “The Kitchen Wall Rose Bed”

Finally I must apologise for being a little quiet of late, but we have been very busy with guests and our grandson’s 2^nd birthday, for which I did a little cooking and cake decorating.