Evans - Winter on the Farm: Heartwarming Food for Colder Months

Introduction

Winter. Just the word has a ring to it; a sense that, even if youre closer to the equator than I am, its a time of cold weather and mittens, beanies and long overcoats. Winter, by its very nature, seems to suggest steamy breath, frosty mornings and windows fogged up by slow cooking.

Winter is a season to be adored on the farm. A time of hibernation, with less work to do in the garden and more excuses to pull up the pouf, get out the granny rug for the legs and read a book. Trees are stripped bare, letting the low sun shine golden when it appears. On rainy mornings mist as thick as meringue clings to the top of hills surrounding the valley. The ground crackles underfoot after strikingly cold clear nights, when you have to break the ice in the cows water trough.

The start of winter is signified by the sound of chainsaws and splitters, as the last of the firewood is stacked and dried a job best started in summer, but always improved if the stack is large. We fire up a Rayburn woodfired cooker in the cooler months, the water jacket at the back heating our showers to scalding. In this cooker tougher meats are rendered to buttery softness overnight, the house filling with smells of lamb with wild fennel, beef in stout, or duck cooked in a little red wine. The aroma of slow-cooked beans or chickpeas with meats wafts up to my bedroom from below and my dreams are laced with grand meals.

Mid-winter and the vegetable garden is full of leafy greens ready for picking kale, cauliflower and broccoli, along with ox heart cabbages and the last of the carrots and beetroot. Nights are long and drinks warm. The thermometer offers an excuse to stay indoors for cups of tea with biscuits. It is an excuse always at hand and often used.

By the end of winter the asparagus has started to break the earth. Artichokes have begun to ball up ready to flower. Rhubarb, some at least, is on its march and the days are longer, if not exactly warmer. Garlic is in the ground, but not doing much. Broad beans are leafy, but a long way from producing a crop. The ewes are heavy with lamb and the chooks have started laying again. Snow can be seen on the caps of wild peaks in the distance, and the pigs are foraging longer into the evening. The wattle flowers across the valley and daffodils that have pushed their way through the soil in the yard release their cheery smiles. Spring is just around the corner, but theres still time for pork chops with mustard and beer, a white bean and sausage soup, and plenty more steamed marmalade pudding.

Sleep-in food

The nights are long, gloriously long and the days abbreviated by winter. Its easier, I find, to lie in when theres little light and the day outside is yet to shake off its frosty cover. This is the time for cooked food, for hot honeyed polenta with stewed apple or eggy French toast stuffed with the preserved fruits of autumn. Winter pancakes are laced with salted caramel pears and finished with rum. The corned beef from a couple of nights ago is turned into hash and topped with an egg. Tea is brought steaming into the bedroom and the coffee machine works overtime. Whatever else there is to do, its time to linger over brunch.

Recipes

The perfect date and banana porridge

(and it doesnt have to take hours to cook)

serves 2

Good hot porridge is better than a duck-down doona. Better than a hug from Mum or a hot bath and warm slippers. Yet, winters marvellous breakfast food seems to be filled with mystique. Some think it takes hours to cook. Some arent sure what the texture should be like (not soupy, but runny enough to pour most of it from the pan). For some reason we dont have the few minutes it takes to cook porridge, which is a shame, as the instant alternative tastes a lot like floor sweepings pretending to be oats. Good oats for porridge are soft. Ideally theyre rolled between stones (there are some out there), but most importantly the oats mustnt be hard or firm. The best oats for porridge have a soft, downy look to them when you peer through the bag. Ideally youd soak the oats in water overnight and cook them for an hour, but you dont have to. Always start with cold water, you can add boiling water later.

100 g (3 oz/1 cup) soft rolled (porridge) oats

a generous pinch of salt

4 big fleshy fresh dates, chopped (if using dried dates, add to the oats at the start of cooking)

1 ungassed ripe banana (see note), chopped

pouring (whipping) cream or milk, to serve

soft brown sugar, to taste

Put the oats in a saucepan with at least 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) cold water. Place over high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, then add about 375 ml (13 fl oz/1 cups) water (cold or boiling, depending on what kind of hurry youre in). Stir minimally and simmer very gently for about 5 minutes, or until the texture is creamy, but definitely not gluey (if youve pre-soaked the oats, they wont even take that long). Stirring them or using dodgy oats (such as instant porridge) will make it gluey. Tip in a little hot water if its too thick. Add the salt, dates and banana and cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in a little cream and brown sugar, then serve the porridge hot with more cream and sugar on the table.

Note

Organic bananas aren't gassed, so they ripen slower and taste better. Non-organic bananas can be used, too.

Mushrooms on toast

serves 4

Roasted mushrooms are heavenly on toast. Try to buy big mushrooms because they have a lot more flavour, and if you can chargrill your bread itll taste so much better. If you use small mushrooms be aware that they will cook more quickly.

1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) field mushrooms or Swiss brown mushrooms

2 bay leaves

2 thyme sprigs, torn into pieces

a goodly amount of extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves

8 generous slices sourdough bread, chargrilled or toasted, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/Gas 4).

Toss the mushrooms in a bowl with the bay leaves, thyme, olive oil and garlic. Arrange in a single layer on a baking tray and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the mushrooms have become tender, dark and wonderful.

Serve the mushrooms hot on chargrilled bread, or keep them for an antipasto platter.