Hail new life! (and pies)

Hyacinth shoots, hailstones.

Our human calendars create a demarcation point for what is in reality  a seamless natural transition. 
May this new year bring with it hope and health for everyone and especially for the people we most care about.
Very best wishes to you all for 2021.


In extras: for those interested in our culinary adventures, son Huw decided, in the late afternoon, to make a Russian coulibiac pie, a complicated procedure that normally takes many hours, of preparation. It's essentially a yeasted pastry parcel enclosing layers  of fresh ingredients (fish, mushrooms etc). Huw used what  we had in the larder and the fridge, including smoked salmon, tinned tuna and sardines, dried shitake mushrooms,  white cabbage and several eggs, all wrapped in pastry dough and baked to perfection. 

On a personal note,  I have only made coulibiac once, following a recipe which advised 'Start the day before you intend to have it'. I did, and   included the best wild salmon and  the cep mushrooms we had picked earlier, all layered with fresh blini as per the recipe. The finished item was a triumph, a once in a lifetime  dish expressly prepared  for my half-brother's 70th birthday. Trouble was, we had gathered together several old friends he rarely saw and after the  vodka-accompanied zakuski (starters) they were all so deep in reminiscence that they never noticed what they were eating for the rest of the meal - it could have been  a supermarket pork pie for all they cared. Nevertheless, it remains a wonderful memory and memories are what this turning season is all about.