Plum Crazy

This year the plum tree in my garden has excelled itself—in comparison with previous years, it has produced more plums than I can use, have inspiration for, or care to deal with.

So far, I have only plucked about a third of the plums from the tree (about 7kg). Seeing the enormity of the process ahead of me, I also googled diverse possibilities of what to do with them. Apart from eating them fresh, I have made: 2 litres of plum vodka, 11 pots of jam, a couple of plum crumbles, some dehydrated plums: prunes and some fruit leather.

I'm pleased with the outcome, but exhausted by two days in the kitchen and daunted by the remaining two thirds, stlll attached to the tree! Then there's the wasps and a couple of Jays, who, although I'm not adverse to sharing, sample several plums each visit and then leave them to rot! All this fruit processing, reminds me of my childhood summers and my mother's jam making.

Luckily... I am able to call on friends, who's stocks of plum jam are dwindling and who are happy to help me pick the rest from the tree. *phew*
As I pick, I weigh, curious as to what the grand total will be, once the tree is bare again.


UPDATE:
As of today (09/08/2016), the tree has been relieved of it's load —20.5 kilos!
Friends have come and gone, taking with them bags filled with plums, destined for jam, cakes and to be eaten fresh. I thought it only fair, to leave about a kilo on the tree for the jays, wasps and any other fruit loving wildlife.
The tree really excelled itself this year —thank you tree!

© Alison Day 

Alison Day Design 

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Foody Top Nine

Here are the top nine, foody illustrations, according to my followers on Instagram, of my subject choice: #100daysfoodanddrink from the #100dayproject.
For a selection from the series and my second project, which is still has a few weeks left: #100daysflowersandplants, take a peek on my Instagram

© Alison Day 

Alison Day Design 

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Finish Line

Well here it is—after joining in with the #100dayproject on Instagram, my 100th food & drink illustration—Tadaah!

Three months of daily drawings, resulting in 100 completed illustrations. Quite a challenge and one I recommend. It helps with perseverance, personal style development, observation and colour play, plus there's a great online community to interact with and be inspired by.
For a selection from the series take a peek on my Instagram

And... as if you hadn't already had enough, the fun continues with another 30 days left of my second #100dayproject—this one is all about: #100daysflowersandplants

© Alison Day 

Alison Day Design 

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Summer Breeze

There's nothing better than the beach to relieve tension and clear the mind—wind in your hair, the sound of the waves, golden sand between your wriggling toes–an icecream in hand to complete the picture.

This and more foody illustrations can be found on my Instagram as part of the #100dayproject. Tag: #100daysfoodanddrink

© Alison Day 

Alison Day Design 

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Straw Hat

In the days that my mother was a stay at home mum with three young children, she enjoyed to cook. As a result, from an early age, we were used to eating international cuisine. 

She also made staples of homemade jam and bread and cookies and it was not until I was a teenager that our mother gave in started to buy bread, because she had taken on a full time job. The Straw Hat, a local bakery was pretty good and the staff were familiar faces. On the odd occasion cakes were bought there too. I enjoyed the enormous meringues, smooth and crisp on the outside, filled with oodles of fluffy whipped cream and topped off with a bright red glace cherry and a sprinkling of chopped (greener than they nature had intended) pistachios. Another favourite of mine were the sugar coated doughnuts. These were filled with a bright red strawberry jam that would ooze out if you bit into it hard enough. Sometimes we would play a game, to see who could eat their doughnut without licking the sugar off their lips. A challenge that was accepted, and won a couple of times, but after that I preferred not to play, because it took the enjoyment out of the sugary doughnut experience. 


These and more foody illustrations can be found on my Instagram as part of the #100dayproject. Tag: #100daysfoodanddrink

© Alison Day 

Alison Day Design 

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British Bikkies

Jammy Dodgers

Chocolate filled Bourbon biscuits

Iced Gems

British biscuits remembered from childhood. In the summers we would often swim at my brother's elementary school, the Dragon. On the cycle ride back home, ravenous with hunger, we would stop off at a local supermarket and buy bags of iced gems. A bag full of delightful little biscuits, each with a crisp biscuit base, about the size of a euro coin that was topped off with hard, brightly coloured, piped icing shape.

This and more foody illustrations can be found on my Instagram as part of the #100dayproject. Tag: #100daysfoodanddrink

© Alison Day 

Alison Day Design 

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Elderflower Magic

When I was a child, during often during the summer we would go to local farms and pick whatever fruits were in season. One for me, one for the basket, was the way my siblings and I passed the time. The visit would end with us, red-mouthed and feeling slightly sick. On other times we would forage in the hedgerows of the country lanes for: wild blackberries, sloes, elderflowers and their berries.
From all this produce, my mother would conjure up jams and jellies, pies, crumbles, puddings and elderflower champagne. Whilst in the basement, my father would wizard up bottles of elderflower wine and sloe gin.

Elderflower champagne was a family tradition and made by my mother. It was exciting to us kids, because it was fizzy, contained a small amount of alcohol and we were allowed to drink it! That coupled with the fact that once made, it had to be stored in sturdy, brown glass bottles with a screw top—because it might explode. Sometimes it did and the mess was extraordinary.
Within a couple of weeks, the elderflower champagne was ready to drink and often accompanied lunch in the garden. Served in dimpled half-pint beer tankards or long drink glasses.

This summer, from the elderflower tree in my garden, I have conjured up five bottles of the wonderful elixir and am sipping on a glassful as I write.

These and more foody illustrations can be found on my Instagram as part of the #100dayproject. Tag: #100daysfoodanddrink

© Alison Day 

Alison Day Design 

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