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”
I think TonTon should pose in the daily picture – like a yard statue :-). Then you could say today the snow was ankle/knee/belly deep – like another weather gauge.
That can be arranged you know, plus we could do a facial barometer. dog grimace, dog horror, dog grin! excellent.. c
🙂
the first year we had hens, we did what the poultry book says and provided artificial light. With no bed and breakfast guests to feed and not that many customers in the glen at that time, we ended up pickling 175 eggs – and promptly turned the light out! Nature is best we decided!
Christine
Wow, they laid well that year! AND I want your picked egg recipe, what does one do with pickled eggs, salads? c
My gang will just eat them as snacks!
Gosh, it’s so long ago now that I can’t remember where I found the recipe! There are plenty on the web however and it essentially just involves hard boiled eggs, vinegar, sugar and pickling spices. We used the a a snack thing, maybe with a picnic or an alfreso lunch. Back in Lancashire, where we come from, there was traditionally a huge jar of pickled eggs on the bar in a pub, although the combination of a pickled egg and a pint kind of makes me shudder! I’ve not seen such a thing in ages though – maybe it’s a bit too ‘common’ for today’s sophisticated tastes!
Christine
So glad to hear Charlotte is up and moving about again. What a relief!
That’s excellent news about Charlotte and there’s nothing wrong with being fat and happy like Sheila 😉
Those kittens look very happy too!
I’m smiling all the way through today’s post. A sunrise that fills one with awe. The kittens being kittens, Charlotte walking. Then dessert!! Chocolate is better than almost anything else ….well almost everything else. Virginia
Hi C! It looks like your having a wonderful weather over there. The mousse au chocolat sounds and looks delicious…My mother in Law has a recipe for it (she’s French) but I think hers doesn’t have brandy in it, yours sounds much more interesting 😉
Have a nice day you too!
Oh, Paddington Bear with blue coat (like big dog’s) and yellow hat (fits a small child) and red boots(also fits small giggling child) We have one in the sunny room.
Nice to see Charlotte ( what a great pix with the grassy texture in the shadow) and the pouncing kitty. HUG for all – especially you for letting the chickens sleep in the dark.
(Oh, keep forgetting – if you have an interest in quilts, hop over and scroll down to see some on last week’s post)
As always, I learn something new! I never thought about a “rest period” for the chickens and egg laying supplies being seasonally affected. And then to think of how much milk is used to feed the other animals, shortchanging your yogurt supply. There is just so much to consider, I am learning! I wonder how you will find the quiet you need to write? I’m not a football fan by any stretch and my weekend was also devoted to housing and feeding the football crowd! I continually marvel that for someone who doesn’t care for the sport my life does revolve around college football in the fall. 🙂 And yes, the delicate shade of gray is really stunning!
Like you I’m not a winter person! Hooray for Charlotte…now for more healing and complete wellness!
I also am not a friend of time change…I much prefer Daylight Saving time.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
I’ve got the brandy, I will hunt for the good chocolate !!!
Oh chocolate mousse! Fall is here and we crave calories as the light declines. I just made pecan rolls thanks to my friend Lisa who sent pecans.
Thrilled about Charlotte… and the kittens… and the mousse… 🙂
Those kittens are a handful and hilarious! Glad to hear Charlotte is doing better. Have a Great One on the Farmy:)
Celi, you need a NaNoWriMo widget so I can keep track of your progress. I added on to mine, though 1200ish words seems so tiny compared to your masses.
1200 is awesome, i do a lot of blocking (speed writing blocking out scenes) then go back and do the slow work.. that is how my mind works.. I need to find that widget again.. Klaus told me about it.. c
My ‘scroll back for another look’ today belonged to the pussies playing: you have the most relaxed lot of animals ever, Celi, and haven’t they come to feel at home in a hurry!
My biggest problem with them, now, is keeping them from being underfoot whilst milking.. it is all about the milk you know Eha.. c