Anyone who knows either Jane or I will appreciate our love of wine – and also our preference for quality over quantity! To that end, we have long collected corks from wines that we have enjoyed, and built up a sizeable collection. Given that when we build the house, we’re planning to include a cellar, we came up with an artwork to suit the room, and to display the corks.
We call it our ‘Mastercard’ art, because of the following breakdown:
· Safety glass front $0.00 (recycled)
· Backing board $3.00
· Fabric $16.00
· Rough sawn oak timber $38.00
· Filling… $Far too much!!!
It is good fun creating art though! Not sure if we will ever get it completely finished before the screw cap takes over, but we will give it a shot.
Whilst we are on booze (kind of), I have also extended my repertoire in other areas. I first started home brewing in New Zealand a looong time ago and only ever worked out of a kit. Since taking up the hobby again (no longer being prepared to pay the asking price for boutique beers), I progressed from a kit to a partial extract. That means that I still use a can, but also add grains and hops for extra flavour. Recently, I have gone the whole hog, and have created a ‘proper’ beer. I walked in with a bag of barley, and started from scratch. Jane asked why I had chicken feed in the house…
The process is surprisingly easy, and I particularly enjoy how it is possible to manipulate the finished product with an understanding of the process. My first beer is a Celtic style red ale, that has definite chocolate style undertones. Lovely!
I have also taken Jane’s Grandmother’s ginger beer recipe and had a crack at that too. It is certainly better than my two previous ginger beer efforts, and is really rather good. I might add a little more ginger to it next time to give it a bit more bite, but other than that am happy with the result.
Not to suggest that I have an unhealthy interest in intoxicating beverages, but I am also intrigued by the thought of making farmhouse cider or scrumpy when we eventually get to the farm (and trees grow…). I love the thought of having our own ‘scratter’ and cider press, and being able to experiment with what we grow. I may draw the line at growing great big mutton chop sideburns and walking around saying things like “oohar… This be top coyder”, and “Oi moight loike a wee spot o’ coider wif moi breakfast on dis foine mornin”… Actually, that last bit would probably make me sound a little more like a pirate than a Cornish cider-man, but I am sure you get the picture!
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