Thursday 20 November 2008

Last of the peppers and more olives / Les derniers poivrons et encore d'olives

Today we picked all the remaining green peppers, most of them quite small, but any night now the temperature may drop below freezing and we'd lose them all. I've pickled the smallest ones whole in a mix of 1 cup white wine, 1 cup red wine vinegar, 1 cup of sugar, with bay leaves and thyme. I'll fry the three bigger ones with some onion and tomato as a vegetable dish for our supper tonight.

last of the peppers_1_1 peppers pickled_1_1

Aujourd'hui nous avons ramassé tous les poivrons qui restaient. La plupart étaient petits, mais à cettte saison la température peut tomber au-dessous de zéro et nous en perdrions tous. J'en ai conservé les plus petits entiers dans un mélange d'une tasse de vin blanc, une tasse de vinaigre de vin rouge et une tasse de sucre, avec des feuilles de laurier sauce et thym. Je vais sauter les trois poivrons plus gros avec d'oignon et de tomates pour notre dîner ce soir.

More olives! / Encore d'olives!

Lucques olives_1_1
Lucques olives
small olives_1_1
Small olives - could be Tanche (Nyons variety) or Arbequina (a Spanish variety)

Some kind friends have given us several kilos of their olives, mostly Lucques and a bowlful of tiny black ones which may be Tanches - the variety which is grown in Nyons in Provence - or Arbequinas, a Spanish variety of small olive. They are all soaking in spring water while we look for enough big jars to pickle them in.

Des amis très gentils nous ont donnés quelques kilos de leurs olives, des Lucques et un bol d'olives noires très petites qui peut-être sont des Tanches - la varieté de Nyons en Provence - ou des Arbequinas, une varieté espagnole d'olive petite. Je les trempent dans l'eau de source pendant qu'on cherche assez de grands bocaux pour les conserver.

Lemon tree / Le citronier

In the garden today I sowed peas while Lo Jardinièr made a space for our lemon tree in a sunny corner of the garden. It was getting too big for its pot, so we've planted it in the ground in a sheltered spot with stakes around it so that we can easily cover it to protect it from cold weather. I hope it will be all right - it has our first three lemons on it, one of which is ripening!

lemon tree_1_1_1 1st lemon ripening_1_1

Aujourd'hui au jardin j'ai semé des petits pois, pendant que Lo Jardinièr a arraché les mauvaises herbes pour créer une place pour notre citronier dans un coin ensoleillé du jardin. C'était trop grand pour le pot, donc nous l'avons planté dans la terre dans un endroit à l'abri du vent. Lo Jardinièr a mis des pieux autour du citronier pour le proteger du temps froid. J'éspère qu'il va bien - il a nos premiers trois citrons, un de lesquels mûrit!

According to Hugh Latymer in The Mediterranean Gardener, the lemon tree is much less hardy than the orange tree and can stand temperatures down to only -3 C. It can get colder than that here occasionally, but we hope to be able to protect our tree by wrapping it when very cold weather is forecast.

Selon Hugh Latymer dans The Mediterranean Gardener, le citronier est moins résistant au froid que l'orangier et peut supporter une température de -3 C. Il fait plus froid que ça ici de temps en temps, mais on éspère de le protéger avec de la voile d'hivernage quand il fait très froid.

7 comments:

Maggie said...

Hi, thanks for the recipe for pickling the capsicums, I have not done this before, how do you pickle?

Unknown said...

Nice to have peppers n lemons in the garden
North shore plumbing

Anonymous said...

In an ideal world I'd have a selection of individually tailored plant jackets hanging in the garage. On cold days I could rush outside and pop one on.

chaiselongue said...

Thanks to all for your comments.
Maggie: I haven't tried pickling peppers like this before - I just simmered them until they softened, but weren't over cooked, then put them in a sterilised jar.

easygardener: I love the idea of a 'wardrobe' of plant jackets! From the weather forecast it sounds as though all of us in the northern hempisphere will need them over the next week or so!

Jess said...

I have been following your blog for some time now and find your sustainable garden/receipe accent most motivating for my own semi-self sufficient life in the hills behind Melbourne.... lover of slow food & real life.

chaiselongue said...

Jess: I'm so glad you enjoy the blog. I think we all (garden + food bloggers) motivate each other, although I don't think I'll be brave enough to cure my own ham like you do!

Maggie said...

Oooh, I am so jealous of your lemon tree. I have wanted one for such a long time. My next door neighbor has one, although hers has never flowered. I hope yours will do well in its new location.