Sunrise. Do you see that particular shade of barely bruised gray just above the uppermost layer of new light? I hope to find a scarf in that colour one day. Or maybe a full length skirt. It is such a delicate shade. 
Charlotte is back. 
She is still listing to starboard but gamely waddled out into the field and had a lovely day in the cool autumnal sun. 
Much as I love that word autumnal I shall soon have to put it back in the book and take out the word: Wintry. Sigh. I am not a wintry girl.
Chocolate Mousse. 
I have discovered that there is NO WAY I can write my Novel while The Bears (Football, not to be confused with Footy) is blaring away in the room next door. My little travelling headphones were not up to the job, I need a noise-OUT pair. So I gave up and read some more of Last Chance To Eat by Gina Mallet. And then I made Ulisse’s chocolate mousse. When in doubt – cook.
This is so simple and so decadent. Use 8 very fresh eggs. Todays eggs are best.
In one bowl 8 egg yolks beaten, in another bowl 8 egg whites whisked stiff.
Melt 8 oz of chocolate with 3 tablespoons of very strong coffee, then add 1 good slug of brandy.
Beat the melted chocolate into the egg yolks, then fold in the egg whites. This is a very old French recipe, and demands the very best ingredients and all I had was ordinary cooking chocolate bars and rough cooking brandy but still I was having real trouble waiting for it to cool enough to eat. This is light and divine. When you scoop out a portion it is all gorgeous pockets of chocolate air like a souffle. A very healthy dessert. Gabrielle we must make this when I visit.
Refrigerate until quite cold and set. Eat in tiny portions or you will get as fat and happy as Sheila
.
Daisy is milking much better with her new cups, it is a bonus for me to be able to see when the milk stops flowing through the little window at the top of the cups. So there is no danger now of over-milking her. She is happier. The surrogate milkers are happier too. They still come every evening. They chose to start the training early and it was a good choice as it has taken a while to establish a rhythm that works for them and the cow. She only gives about 20 pounds a time now, which is about four gallons a day. This barely covers the calf and the pigs and the cats and dogs and about a gallon a day for the house. So the days of piles of yoghurt and fresh cheese are over for a while. I am seriously looking at the grass now to see if it can sustain another milk cow.
The chickens are just coming out of their molt, and will soon start laying better again. When I come back from New Zealand I shall extend their days a little with a light. But there is no point pushing them quite yet. If we all ate eggs in a natural rhythm then there would be few eggs on the supermarket shelves during the deep winter. It is a natural rest time for the birds, (especially after their first year) they need 14 hours a day of light to lay well, but consumers demand eggs all year round and so they are forced to lay with artificial lights shining in their eyes day and night. However my new pullets (Easter chickens) will toddle along (I get 6 0r 7 a day)and cover for the old girls who need a lengthier recuperation period. And as the days get longer egg production will rise.
The Daily View
Yesterdays highs and lows.
There now. Someone forgot to inform Daisy about the outdated principles of Daylight saving. Falling Back an hour. In fact my little Paddington Bear brain has trouble getting it together as well. I hope you all have a lovely day.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
66 responses to “A Delicate Shade of Lady’s Gray and Chocolate Mousse”
Yum that mousse looks amazing. I love Good Authority, he makes me miss Mary’s Cat a little less.
He is a funny wee chap, peeking over like that and LuLu throwing around his old corn cob is a laugh! c
A listing pig brings to mind some great imagery – lovely to hear she is on the mend.
And yes we are well and truly autumnal – bright blue day, damp underfoot, perfect bonfire night material 🙂
AAH, bonfires.. yes.. c
Cooking is ALWAYS the fallback option…We’re swimming in snacks after this weekend.
Wonder if there’s room in the fridge for mousse…or pudding…or….or….or….
There is room alright, in fact i am going to be using it as a writing snack!! c
Ohhhh, the chocolate mouse looks so delicious, I will definitely be trying your recipe. So glad Charlotte seems better, sans the expense of a vet. Thank goodness for aspirin. (Or the Aleve I sometimes resort to for my arthritic hands this time of year!) We let our chickens rest too. They work so hard for us the rest of the year! I got a color somewhat like the Lady Grey at the edge of one of my pieces in my experiments with torch fired enameling on copper for jewelry. Nature really does it best though!
enameling is fun, I did not realise you did that too..you are a very talented lady.. c
good girl charlotte! keep getting better! i love the pic of the kitty pouncing on the mouse.
LuLu is actually pouncing on a corn cob, isn’t she hilarious! I bet she wishes it were a mouse, so do I! c
What a delicious post! Recipe and farmy. And those lovely kittens. I’ve pinched that funny pigshadow pic for a poem – hope you don’t mind. The daily view looks incredibly clear and crisp today.
I almost write in the text this one is for your collection ViV!! I quite like this one too.. that ear.. c
In Italian that beautiful color is called TORTORA. Dove. Maybe I can find you a dove scarf here…I think an Italian scarf would like very much to travel to the American Midwest for a change of pace. The mousse looks beyond yummy. Will try it.
Tortora, what a lovely word and it IS dovelike, that shade. An Italian scarf would certainly liven up the Midwest.. let me know what you find and we can sort something out.. morning charlotte..(Tho I keep wanting to write Carlotta) c
My what big ears you have!
All the better for hearing I hear her say. c
ha ha I would love to be as happy as Sheila – Mousse Mousse I want mousse
It is perfect, i have never tried it before.. c
Glad the piggie is up and about… but that mousse… that would cure any pig of any sickness… it would cure me of any sickness…. and a whole bowl would disappear before anyone else got a chance….
May today bring as much peace to your soul as your post has brought to mine.
Thank you honey, now back to work for us! c
Yippee for Charlotte! The mousse looks and sounds fantastic but I’m low on eggs right now. Sigh. I’ll have some new layers soon even if they’re banties. It takes 3 of their eggs for 2 normal ones. Your grass looks so lovely and green. Ours is mostly brown since we had that snow. And our power came back on last night. Nice not to have to worry about the freezers. Have a great day!
Glad Charlotte is slowly recovering, bless her. And chocolate mousse is always good for the soul. Funnily enough, where we are in Spain we still have quite a lot of light in winter so egg laying doesn´t fall off too noticeably, but it does in the summer when temperatures are sky high and they are moulting…at least I can catch up with baking when we get back to our lovely eggs!
The sound-dampening ones that actually work cost $300. They work beautifully, however.
ah.. an expensive cone of silence, but they would be great on the plane too, I bet! Morning Bill. Did you see how wonderfully your Camera House is performing, that is a dream that camera! c
Glad Miss Pig is better. I’ve a cow with a list to one side.
Happy writing today. Perhaps it will be quieter.
You have a listing cow? oh dear!.. I must poop over and see.. c