Autumn/Fall has arrived

It has taken its time - but it's here.

Sunday afternoon on the farm

A beautiful warm day and 8 friends for the afternoon and evening. Time to let WFO mentor Steve Adams try some Pizza from our WFO, time to introduce Penne and John to some of our friends, time to play some boules, drink some wine and eat outside. Our quintessential autumn farm afternoon.

Three pizzas to start, then moroccan/indian inspired grilled OZ lamb, caponata, spinach and sweet and potato salad - courtesy of Penne and couscous with pistachios and pomengranate. Dessert was a hazelnut and chocolate torte. Enough said from me- it is great to see how our friends blogged the lunch http://penneandjohnstravels.blogspot.com/ and http://blog.steveadamsstudio.com/ Thanks for coming!

Making Bread

I have been making bread on the farm now for a number of years. Have made lots of loaves and most have turned out to be tasty and good to eat fresh - but better toasted. They were always somewhat heavy. I always enjoy the process - so keep persisting. This trip I have mastered a loaf I am happy with. What happened? I finally read the Il Fornaio baking book by Franco Galli (which, by the way, we have owned for 5 years). I made a 'biga"- starter dough - which became the base of my bread making. The starter can sit in the fridge for up to two weeks - you use some each time you bake a loaf. It worked. My loaves were crusty outside, soft inside, fresh and flavoursome. I made the round country bread (pagnotta) and italian baguette (sfilatino).

The house smells great- yeasty and warm and comforting.

Farmhouse with Friends

This time it was dinner at our farmhouse with Walt and Marcia Carpenter. They arrived with an appetite around 4pm having biked the Madison County bike path (25 miles!) We started with pork rillettes that I had made early in the week. This is cubed shoulder (butt) of pork cooked slowly in chicken stock and lard with secret spices. Served with sweet/sour onions and toasted bread , and a Trimbach 1992 Gewurtztraminer.

Walt and Marcia brought a penne pasta to start with italian sausage in a wine sauce. Delicious. Main course were quails that Mark had hunted last fall - grilled over coals in the WFO, and served with a fennel and apple salad. Dessert was a fig, hazelnut and yoghurt tart. Wish I had biked 25 miles. A great night.

Farmhaus with Friends

We have been keen to try a restaurant in St Louis called "Farmhaus." Known for using fresh and locally grown produce, the owner and chef Kevin Willman grew up in Greenville - 10 miles from our farmhouse. We met up with Steve and Barb Adams for dinner last night and we all really enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Helped along by the quality and quantity of wines - Pinon 2002 Vouvray, Roulot 1998 Mersault, Pegau 1099 CdP, Breton 1997 Senechal Bourgueil.

Barbs blog /www.barbaraadamswebstergroves.com has more detail of what we ate and some great photos - my camera stayed in my bag. These photos courtesy of Barb Adams