duck and quince

Today was the first day where the temperature dropped below zero. Home projects have therefore become activated. To keep the body and mind sane. What is on our agenda? Homemade quince tincture! Michal even bought scales this year. The bastards are really hard to cut and have a shitload of seeds. But the effect is worth it. The fermentation processes will last at least a couple of weeks. Just in time for snowy evenings and visiting friends. We have enough spirit (98% pure alcohol) and quince fruit to make about 15 litres of liqueur with it. It is delicious and not at all strong (about 25% alcohol) once the whole process is completed. Michal’s dad is a master at it so he has been getting plenty of phone calls from his son who is not always sure of the proportions.

first you cut, then you remove the seeds, then you slice


then you weigh - 1 kilo quince : 1 kilo sugar


you then place sugar and quince slices and let it sit for a couple of days
before you pour the spirit in - the sugar reaction forces all the juices to flow!

And since we are on the topic of winter culinary delights, lucky we visited Michal’s cousins who live in the country the other day. They have plenty of farmyard animals including some 20 cows (they run a small dairy farm). Hospitable as all hell they gave us a freshly killed duck. City folk know bugger all about real healthy food out in their parts, hence the poultry present. We baked it on Sunday (we finally got an oven) and my was it delicious. Our first duck and such success!

now you see it waddle?


now you don't!


first you boil a kilo of fresh beetroot -
then you shred and stew with lemon and fresh cracked pepper and salt -
a must with any duck


and here are some animals we did not kill