Come the New Year, with the deposit money burning a hole in my pocket, we set about finding our dream house. Spring came and went, summer came and went and with the seasons came and went a mountain of totally unsuitable details sent by unimaginative and lazy estate agents.
Then, one day out of the blue, I received a phone call from an estate agent, who talked to me as if he'd known me all my life, telling me he'd found exactly what I was looking for and as it had only just come onto the market, he was offering me the opportunity to view before the details were published.
Seemed entirely unlikely, but as our lease was coming to an end, I decided it was at least worth a look.
Improbable as it was, the estate agent was right and I fell in love with the house before I even set foot inside. Granted there was some serious work to be done - the padded, velveteen bar with mock hand pumps had to go - but THIS WAS IT. Three weeks later we exchanged contracts and moved in.
However, it wasn't just the house... we were now the proud, but somewhat daunted owners of a beautiful, if neglected garden, with 3 apple trees, 2 egg plums, 2 damsons and a peach tree. Sadly the peach tree succumbed to a storm 5 years after we moved in, but the damsons have self seeded and we now have 5 and I have planted a cherry tree too.
And this year has seen the best harvest yet. Cherries galore, bumper crop of damsons and more apples than you can imagine - the branches are touching the ground with the weight of the fruit.
From this...........
To this ..........
These are obviously very old trees and I had no idea what kind of apples they were, but I have now been told that they are Howgate Wonder and very good they are too.
These have been eaten straight from the tree, made into pies, crumbles, cakes, jellies ( sweet and savoury) and chutneys, but one of my favourites is a batter pudding called Apple Pan Dowdy.
I've got this in a hand written note book that I have had since student days and cannot remember where the original recipe came from, but it is delicious and the bowl of our deep casserole l is an ideal vessel to cook it in.
6 apples, peeled, cored and cut into thick slices
1-2 tblsp brown sugar
1-2 tblsp golden syrup
This will depend on how sweet your apples and your teeth are!
grated nutmag and cinnamon
6 oz self raising flour
2 oz sugar
2 eggs
3 oz melted butter
8 fl oz milk
Put the apples, brown sugar and syrup in the bowl and sprinkle with the spices.
Cover and bake in the oven at 180ºC for 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, sift the flour in to a large mixing bowl and add the sugar. Gradually add the egg, milk and melted butter and beat to a smooth batter.
Pour over the apples and return to the oven for approx 30 minutes.
Serve with clotted cream. This served 4 of us, 2 days in a row!!
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