Jelly and Scones

Yesterday was a lecture day. We had a wine lecture and tasted six different wines. The problem I have is that most bottles don't label the kind of grape used. They only list the region where it was made and from there you should know what kind of grape they produce. I have a lot to learn....

After the wine lecture we had a 'tea lecture' We had a guy come in and teach us about tea leaves and the tea we buy in most grocery stores. Did you know a lot of the tea we drink from bags are mostly 'dust' .... well according to this guy they are. I learned why PG tips are called PG tips and why green tea is so good for us. After that we had a massive tea party. We baked buns and biscuits and everything sweet. It was delicious and beautiful.

Today was another great day. I made Jelly (different from Jam), quesadillas, raspberry sorbet and the most amazing orange scones. I think I mentioned those before. Sadly I lost all my photos on my phone so you will just have to imagine the goodness.

 I started with my Jelly... apple and elderberry. I chopped up the apples, threw in some elderberries and added some water. Once the apples were soft I emptied everything into a Jelly bag and let the juices drip out into a bowl. I boiled that and added sugar.... presto JELLY!! It was really delicious.

Orange Scones

Next was my sorbet which is still a work in progress. My orange scones were a last minute decision but I managed to pull it off. It was a regular scone dough with orange rind mixed in it. Next I made an orange butter which was just orange rind, butter and icing sugar. I rolled out the dough layered on the butter and rolled the dough like a jelly roll. I cut it and brushed it with egg wash and sugar. They turned out great. I just took a picture of what was left of them.

Darina showed us how to prepare livers this afternoon. We had chicken patte on toast and another fish recipe. Did you know foie gra (duck liver) comes from ducks and geese who have spent their lives being forced fed, literally their little beaks are opened and food is stuffed down them. Horrible.

To top off the day we had some baby chicks on show. They were lovely. :)

Tomorrow i'll be filleting another fish (I am going to be a pro!) and i'll be making an aubergines salad. Its starting to get darker here. I went for a walk with Rosie and crew and had to turn around. This weekend we are supposed to be going to a fashion show so we spent the evening trying on dresses and picking out what we should wear. Sunday we are all going deep sea fishing. I've got my sea sick pills on hand just in case. :)