The Sleepy End of a Hot Afternoon

"It was the sleepy end of a hot afternoon. The foliage of the trees seemed to shimmer in the heat; the flowers - wild flowers and cultivated tangling together in the neglected borders - breathed their scents heavily. There was something dream-like about the garden that, with the house, was so soon to disappear at Mr Smith's command ... All the sweet summers that David had ever known came drifting into his mind, and last came this one - the best of them all, that he had shared with Adam. He heard the swish of the Minnow as they paddled her along the Say; he saw again the moonlight silvering the water meadows by Jonathan Codling's bridge; he smelt - yes, he really smelt - the delicious scents that follow in their order the summer through - only these were mixed together all at once - hawthorn and cowslips in the meadows; in the garden, apple-mint and clary, honeysuckle and roses. A wave of summer sweetness moved over David as Squeak Wilson passed, singing."

Philippa Pearce, Minnow on the Say

Spoon Bread

One of the unspoken about pleasures of owning a second home is the sheer delight of decorating and equipping the second home in a manner that excludes all reference to work, the 8-til-8, the sainsburys, the bloody gardening. No suits, no paperwork, no journals, even the pc has a totally different list of favs..

I have a bread machine at this second home, for those evenings when I forsee a marmite-on-toast hunger settling in with dusk. 20.00hr and the familiar bleeps announce the bread is ready. Opening the lid I take out the pan with fragrant hot white loaf...

So how the hell did I manage to cook a dessert spoon in the middle of the loaf?

To wake for the first time in a new place can be like another birth

This morning my ears were filled with a high clear sound broken into small sharp edges; it was a little while before I knew it was from birds. The room was filled with dim light; the ceiling was high and the walls far away, for it was a big room. I made out the top of a green shutter and then saw that the shutters ran from the ceiling to a floor of plain polished boards without a rug. I was in an immense bed.

The sheets felt dry and hot as if their cotton were brittle. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and slipped down; the boards were cool under my feet as I walked to the window. After a few minutes I found how the shutters opened and threw them back.

The garden was light, but it was a young light without sun, clear and stained green by the shrubs and trees. The peace I had felt at the gates of Les Oeillets filled me again and I could have whistled like the birds for well-being and joy.

Rumer Godden The Greengage Summer

A Terrace Life, by Anne Scott-James

"In August, if ever, one hopes to have a terrace life and to enjoy one's garden, not to be it's victim. Cool drinks, well-loved friends, a show of flowers and a rest from heavy labour are what the soul requires at the end of summer. Pots and tubs of long-lasting petunias, begonias, pelargoniums, fuchsias, pansies, lobelias and other bedding plants, and perhaps also of lilies and hydrangeas, are the perfect decoration."

Byzantine mosaic, Tabgha

Summer Pruning Stone Fruit in the Glasshouse & Nectarine Conserve

I pruned out all the summer growth on the peach and nectarine fans in the glasshouse this week. This revealed a huge number of fruits, beautifully coloured and attracting the wasps like nobodies business! Time to prune. The summer prune is simply the removal of most leaves to about three sets of leaves per branch, thus revealing the fruits to the full force of the sun and offering them up to be baked until they are fat and luscious and full with sweetness.

I left the fallen fruit scattered under the fans as a horticultural offering to my gardening companions, the wasps, insects, ground-feeding blackbirds and mice. Plenty of time in the autumn to clear away the debris of stones. The leaves etc were cleared to the compost heaps. Newly shaved fans always look a bit bald and scary, and make me think, "uh-oh, I might have gone too far this time," but luckily, so far, the stone fruit in the glasshouse has thrived. Maroon coloured cricket balls of juice are thus revealed! Carefully holding each fruit I gave each a quarter turn on the stalk - if it comes away easily in my hand its ripe, if not, I leave it a day or two longer. I brought the nectarines into the kitchen and laid them artfully onto a pale blue platter on the table.

Soft Set Nectarine Conserve

Consulting Delia, Frances Mayes, Elizabeth David and the BBC's recipe section under the "Lifestyle / Food" section, I came up with the following mish-mash of a recipe. It may not keep so well, due to the reduced sugar content, so be scrupulous with hygiene and store in the fridge. Eat rapidly after opening... (as if that needs to be said).

4lb / 2k assorted nectarines
2lb / 1k icing sugar
1 lemon

Wash nectarines then cut into rough chunks. The purpose here is not merely to cut up fruit, but to enjoy the dripping juice on your hands, and the snap of hard-as-bullets fruit as you pull the halves from the stones. Pile into a large basin as you go. You should be left with a small pile of stones, and a very large basin of nectarine chunks, that smell just lovely.

Tip nectarines into a large heavy based pan, and add the icing sugar. Halve the lemon and squeeze over the fruits. Add no other liquid. Stir a bit to mix (this looks lovely, maroon and pink fuits coated in white icing, a bit like the very best Turkish delight), then bring slowly to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring to release the heavenly scent into the kitchen. Give a final stir, then turn off heat and leave to settle. Drop a knob of unsalted President butter into the pan to clear any scum.

Using icing sugar means that the preseve doesn't become gritty and magically doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. It also leaves about half a pint / 400ml of throat-catchingly sweet nectarine syrup. Bottle and throw into the fridge for a Bellini base...

Carefully pour the nectarines into your prepared jars using your jam funnel, seal and when cool store in the fridge. Delicious poured over icecream and all manner of pies. Best eaten on warm toast for breakfast. Makes enough to fill five 400g Bonne Maman jars.