Tempis Fugit! (and a really excellent chocolate cake recipe)

Tempus fugit is a Latin expression meaning "time flees", more commonly translated as "time flies". It is frequently used as an inscription on clocks. The expression was first recorded in the poem Georgics written by Roman poet Virgil: Sed fugit interea fugit irreparabile tempus, singula dum capti circumvectamur amore, which means, "But meanwhile it flees: time flees irretrievably, while we wander around, prisoners of our love of detail."  Wikipedia

Well I'm baffled by where all the time has gone.  [And sometimes I do feel a "prisoner of my love of detail", though my memories of Latin class lo, these many years - OMG, nearly 47!- is more a pastiche of remembered Latin words and phrases than a grounding.  A little riff here:  It's hard for me to imagine the phrase, "I was fourteen, and I took Latin classes."  All that comes to mind honestly is that I don't think I did very well because remembering the details, I got a D.] Anyway.  In this instance I'm amazed at how quickly the summer has fled. 

So.  What have I done with Corfu this past week...

My fingers are all rested now. 

We started the week quite pleasantly, but it devolved a bit when both my beloved and I were attacked by a rather sinister and ninja-like summer bug.  We each of us tried to remain oblivious and and carry on, as we tried to pretend we were fine, going about cheerfully doing things and merely sneezing explosively at the odd moment, blowing our noses loudly and trying very hard to make it seem like we're taking the aspirin for the arthritis...

I hate summer colds.  Well, I hate colds ANY time, but in the summer it's insult added to injury.

By Thursday we were asked by one of our neighbors (lovely Petra) if we would please join them (and hopefully a few other neighbors) to pick up the leftover detritus of the wheelie bins from the great Corfu July garbage strike.

Thankfully, the trucks had finally come, although because we're a back road and not a primary one, it was a week later than the main roads.

We knew there was a small window of opportunity before - as there was garbage lying on the ground - "some" people would helpfully add to it, apparently to make it a worthwhile pile for the garbage men to pick up "later".

Thursday morning last, they finally came, and in their enthusiasm, had taken away the bulk of the mess (BINS AND ALL!) but there were all the little bits blown by the winds in the tall weeds and bushes along the roadside.  [small note: we were told that our "bins" would henceforth remain on the main road as they didn't have the time (or money or inclination) to come and get ours as well as the stuff on the main road.]

Petra felt that it was necessary to act as quickly as possible, so at 7:30 that evening a few neighbors turned out with plastic bin bags, garden gloves and in our case, a small trailer behind the car to transport the bags to the bins at the main road.

I have pictures but for some reason Blogger has decided that it doesn't understand my URLs.  So, sorry, you can't see us working like little beavers bagging up the debris.

We all felt quite satisfied with ourselves until yesterday morning when someone mentioned someone had left a few bags of garbage in the spot where the bins used to be.  No doubt in a few day the bags will be shredded open by feral dogs and cats and we'll be back to square one.  sigh.

~~~

Friday, I baked two cakes as it was friend Roy's birthday on Saturday and we were scheduled to go to his beach party in Avlaki.  (Can't see those pictures either!)

As a consolation prize I will include the secret recipe for my special chocolate cake.  It is a made up recipe (by me) so take that into consideration.  Just because it always works for me and everyone loves it, doesn't mean it'll turn out exactly the same for you...  (there now that the disclaimers are over with, on with the recipe)

Chocolate Almond Cake (with secret ingredient)

3 eggs
6 oz butter (i have a scale)
1 c sugar
1 1/4 C flour
1 C grated almonds (peeled white slivers work, whirred in food processor)
1/2 C cocoa
1 t salt
1 t soda
1 t baking powder
2 t almond essence
1/4 C buttermilk (or a spoon of yogurt and a splash of milk)
1 C beetroot (cooked (cooled) peeled and grated or pureed and drained of runny red water)
Chocolate chips.


Preheat oven 160 C.  Grease and flour a pan.  Put the eggs, butter (you can substitute 3/4 c oil if you want) and sugar together in an large bowl and mix with beater til it's well blended and pale yellow.  

Add the dry ingredients (NOT chocolate chips yet)  

Add beetroot and essence.  

Add buttermilk as needed for stirring.  

Finally stir in chocolate chips with spoon - I used up to a cup but less is ok.  Pour into prepared pan and bake at 160 C (fan assisted oven).


Let cool and frost with Chocolate Whiskey Frosting.


Chocolate Whiskey frosting

Icing (powdered) sugar
cocoa
soft butter
salt
warmed cream
whiskey.


 It really depends on how much frosting you want.  I always start with the soft butter and add the icing sugar, cocoa and salt and mix it together (for instance a full tablespoon of butter, a teaspoon of salt, a cup + of icing sugar-up to 2 c- and 1/4 cup of cocoa powder)  Then I warm up some cream in the microwave for about 15 seconds (a couple of tablespoons?) and beat it all together with the electric mixer.  Add a bit of your favorite whiskey and check for consistency.  You don't want it too runny.  Add more icing sugar if it's too soft.  

This cake tastes really good if you make it the day before you eat it. 

 The beetroot is sweet and moist and needs to be drained (i use a paper towel to absorb the extra liquid.) Remember BEETROOT STAINS EVERYTHING big time, so be careful. I do most of the peeling and grating in the stainless steel sink.   I would guess you could used canned beets and put them in the food processor and end up with a lovely batch of pureed beets ready to add.

So that's today's post.  Sorry about the pictures but if I wait for blogger to self heal I may never post again...

Winemaking: First you have to pick them...

What a terrific day this has been! Good friends, good fun, great huge amounts of help!!

So today started with neighbors Angie and Mick and lovely daughter (on vacation!) Katie, arriving bright and ready with secateurs in hand. Tony and Barbara soon followed and we all made our way down to the vines.

There was a bit of comedy when we all threw ourselves into the process of removing the nets that covered the vines...fortunately we managed to get them off and not become too entangled in the 'olive nets turned grape defenders' (tho I may end up getting pretty tangled up tomorrow when I try and fold them back up again!!)


Then the hard work of cutting the ripe grapes began. For some reason we were blessed with not so many ripe grapes but a great many "almost ripe" grapes with the odd green grape at different parts of the cluster.

My knowledgeable friend (and home winemaker) Sammy arrived just in time as having picked most of the ripe grapes we need a bit of guidance for the rest and it was left to her to decide which bunches and clusters should be added to the baskets.

In the end we managed to fill up 8 crates and then loaded them into the trailer (which I'd handily brought down- with the car- near the vines, shortly before everyone arrived!)

Then we trundled them all up to the front yard near to where they'd be ultimately crushed (front porch). At that point it was time for a tea break and we all enjoyed our 'cuppa' - some of us with a piece of banana raisin cake- and some not (I am sorry I only had time to bake the one cake this morning, I really had high hopes to finish up an apple one as well -as they are very simple to make- but sadly, I just ran out of morning!)

Diana arrived and we moved to the front yard with chairs and end tables to prop the baskets on as we now were in phase two, or removing the grapes from the stems. The time passed merrily and much quicker than expected with all the great stories shared amongst us. [Of particular interest, to whom it may concern, was a book by Tania Aebi called Maiden Voyage. It sounded like a "keeper" to all of us. (Thank you, Tony...)]

Sadly for us, Angie, Katie and Mick had to go and honor their commitments- 80 year old parent coming for a Sunday lunch... we were glad for all their wonderful help. I am sure the wine will reflect their good will! We were then blessed with the "changing of the neighborhood guard" as Alan and Lynn arrived to take their places!

At that point it seemed we realised it was lunch time! As Sammy, in order to make it on time for the grape picking had skipped breakfast, she was starting to become a bit "wobbly". So in order not to lose our "chief of wine making knowledge", it seemed like a good time to break out the vegetable beef soup I'd prepared this morning before everyone came. I made a large vat and boy am I glad I did! It went over very well and I have about one good bowlful left for dinner!

~~~

ON another note: we also had a visitor (Dear Andrew) appear who did not participate in the grape picking or squishing as he is someone we found through the message board at the British Store, who is a dab hand with satellite television and something called a DreamBox. He was quite a pleasant young man and answered all my questions correctly! Luckily he turned up as most of our winemaking crew were VERY interested in his dreambox and would like to see it working. So he set it up, but will return later this week with the additional boosters for the wireless connection as it also needs to connect to the adsl line to function (and my dsl line is too far away from the television- sigh, it's always something.) He was quite charming and left everything connected on "spec" so we can see if we want to buy it or not! (So I fed him lunch too).

~~~

Finally the grapes were all sorted and plucked free of the stem bits. Now it was time for the great squishing.

On with the wino pink jelly wellies! First I took my turn, and carefully squished into the big blue tub of grapes. Thankful that we had managed to cleverly have JUST exactly the right amount of grapes to NOT go into the tops of my wellies as I carefully stomped away.

At the point wherein it suddenly stopped being a strange effort to not leave the wellies IN the tub with the grapes, but became more liquid and easier to move the feet up and down, Lynn expressed a enormous curiosity to try it out. With many many grapes left to stomp to bits, I gracefully ceded my spot in the tub (feeling a bit like Tom Sawyer turning the picket fence over to the onlookers!)

Fortunately Tony pulled my wellies off from my feet, as even with socks I managed to be stuck in them! Lynne put them on and happily stomped away. Sammy assisted her by telling her which grapes to step on!

So finally the grapes were picked AND squished! Victory for today!

Tomorrow I must take a jar of the juice into Andreas (my wine god), who will judge how much (if any!) sugar will be needed to add to the grape juice and also how many camden tablets (for the potential mold etc) will be needed. For now the grape juice is content to sit in the blue tub and rest covered by netting so that wasps and other curious bugs can't find their way in, while at the same time letting me get into it to stir three times a day!

We measured how much juice was officially squished! (well Sammy measured, with a 2 liter pitcher except she filled it with bit more so we scientifically could figure each pitcher was about 2.3 liters, and she poured 17 of them to fill the other blue tub to the exact same level as the squished grapes.)

Grand total is 39 liters of grape juice and grape sludge! YAY us!

Everyone helped with the clean up and we were all finished around 4:30 in the afternoon. All in all a really great day! And I think we only had one wasp bite for all the picking and plucking! (sorry Mick!)

The story will continue, as Wednesday (probably around lunch time) we'll have to put it through the wine press for phase two!

Stay tuned...


~~~