Autumn is definitely prime mushroom time, and while there have been no more cèpes since a flush of them perhaps a month ago, there are loads of fungi popping up in the One Acre Wood, demonstrating the biodiversity and the health of the underground mycelia. Today there were green ones, purple ones, different shades of brown and a couple that might be compared to field mushrooms except they weren't in a field! The two types that I illustrate here should not be eaten. The little brown ones pop up all over the place and can be difficult to spot, but I think they are quite pretty in their own way. The other ones are deadly but are very beautiful.
If you keep your eyes open, there are still some stunning flowers around. A neighbour has a passion vine growing on their house and there are still blooms which are so impressive. The forecast frosts for next week will likely kill them off for this year. The cyclamen have their last flowers glowing against a background of vibrant foliage which will last through until March or April next year and serve to build up stores in the corms.
Following on from last week - we had the parsnips and carrots in a slow cooked oxtail stew and they were great and made a lovely soup for the following day too, as I cooked way too many vegetables. The kitten, Rebus, is a boy, and was about 13 weeks old when we got him, so 14 weeks for his vet visit. He is now chipped and legal and partially vaccinated. The "operation" will be in January.
Friday was a day of new experiences. One of the best trainers of race horses over hurdles in France is based near us, and so we wangled an invitation to visit the stables and exercise area with a couple of owners. What a magnificent set up! The stables were large and airy, and the exercise area was discrete and beautiful in a large clearing in pine forest. We watched about 20 horses put through their paces on the flat - impressive to see 10 at a time charging past at a fast canter. After a coffee and visit to the stables, we then walked back to the gallops to watch another 12 do work over hurdles and fences. The enjoyment of the jockeys and the horses was evident, with the particular horse we were visiting very proud to show himself off, be patted, be told what a good and handsome boy he was, and to see his evident relish at stretching out at a comfortable canter.
So that made for a lovely morning. Then in the evening we hit the town at Chinon, starting with a drink or two at the excellent establishment XV, followed by an extremely good dinner at the restaurant Un Air d'Antan. This small restaurant does not have an extensive menu - the night we were there, there was a choice of three starters, three mains and three desserts plus a cheese plate. The challenge with choosing what to have, was that everything sounded so good! We didn't cover all options, but the two starters we did taste were a mushroom tarte with a small side salad and a pumpkin and chestnut velouté with crushed hazelnuts on top, and both were excellent. The (probably) home made bread that was served with them was also delicious.
The main courses were things that had been simmering during the day - while we could smell the Blanquette de veau (which we didn't have), the beef cheek had clearly being cooking gently for hours as it fell apart, while the fricassee of chicken was falling off the bone as it arrived! The chocolate fondant for pudding was also magnificent. In the winter there are not many tables, more in the summer when there is an outdoor terrace. The atmosphere is convivial and it is a bit like eating in someone's front room. We heartily recommend it.
This morning I finally made it into the poplar plantation at the bottom of the Meadow. Hunters and boar had cleared a path that wasn't totally easy to follow, but was possible. The resident woodpeckers weren't too pleased to see me. Some of the trees are dead and creating interesting feeding stations for them. I leave you with an image of that for this week.
Have a good week!
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