1st January 2007

The beginning of the new year. Wet, and the weather station says its 11 degrees outside. Just as well, my hands are aching from the last few days of pruning olive trees, tying up 70 vines, mowing several acres of overgrown grass between the vines, and trees and in the front of the shearers quarters and barn and it looks great, but even my thumbs ache.

Here's a pic of new years day lunch. Yesterday, experimenting with pear conserve was my main thing. Two years ago, we stayed in Villandry in Le Chat Noir on the Loire, a great little gite, and Madame served glistening clear pear conserve on fresh warm baguettes with cafe au lait, divine, and since then, I have wanted to find out how I might re-create this moment. I tried two varieties, one crystal clear, and some with fruit to give extra texture. This is so great with blue cheese, yumm.... and then some which is creamy opaque with some of the fruit strained through it. This was great with lamb fillets last night, and then on crunchy hot toast this am. We planted a conference pear tree the weekend we paid our deposit, and hopefully that will be our pear supply in the future.