Gathering and crafting...

In those early days of autumn when the leaves are just beginning to change colour and the morning air has the first hint of an icy blast, it's wise to start making plans for winter. For me this means hanging thick curtains, digging out my bike lights and thinking about Christmas presents. When you make your own gifts you really do have to plan ahead. Last year I spent the whole of October, November and December knitting, crocheting, jam- and liqueur-making...

A few weeks ago I collected sloes. I use vodka for most of my liqueurs but this year I've decided to make traditional Sloe Gin. I collected these before the frost because I was worried they'd all be gone if I waited!



In the depths of my kitchen cupboards I also have summery jars of Blackberry Vodka and August Liqueur, slowly mellowing and becoming more festive.

My next task is to think of something nice I can make for my non-alcoholic family members. Perhaps a jelly of some kind - crabapple, quince, rosehip...?

August-flavoured liqueur:

Victoria plums
Blackberries
Alpine strawberries
Greengages
Elderberries
Blackcurrants
Crabapples
Fuchsia fruits
Sugar
Vodka

General catch-up

I've just got back from a quick session on the allotment, and it's doing well. This year I haven't harvested as much as I usually do, but then I haven't put in as much work either! Notable successes so far include beetroot, blackcurrants, various herbs, a giant sunflower which was self-sown and my lovely little potted fig tree. My (once) wild burdock is looking good too - I'm quite excited about trying it. As usual, though, I'm struggling with carrots and rhubarb, and this year my beans have failed miserably too...

I was just thinking about my mulching system of old cardboard boxes covered with grass clippings, wondering whether it's really such a great idea. It provides a lovely damp home for slugs, and doesn't seem to deter the bindweed at all. But as I was tidying up a little frog hopped out, and just a bit further away a lizard scuttled over the warm dry cardboard. Then a cricket landed on my head. There is such a fantastic variety of wildlife on my plot, I really don't want to disturb things if I can help it. Even the slugs are interesting! As long as they're not too close to my salad plants.

I've done very little foraging this year. I always pick wild greens from my allotment, and I've had a few cherries and redcurrants from the hedgerow, but that's about all. Blackberries are just coming into season though, as are cherry plums, so perhaps it's about time I got my act together! I recently acquired an ice-cream maker, so now a whole new world of preserving has opened up to me...



Redcurrants growing in the hedgerow, click for larger image.

Christmas Part One

This year I managed to grow enough Blackcurrants to make a batch of jam. Hurrah! These little jars made ideal presents for my Dad and Nan. The alcoholics in my family got Greengage & Victoria Plum Vodka.



I also knitted scarfs (scarves?) but that's another story!

Another attempt at homebrewing...

Last weekend Matt and I collected 2.7kgs of Haws:



I'm attempting to turn most of them into wine, following the recipe in Roger Phillips' "Wild Food". Stage one was to cover them in boiling water, and leave for a week, stirring daily. Stage two was to strain them, add the liquid to a sugar syrup with oranges and lemons, then introduce the yeast. I did that this evening. Now I have to wait for 24 hours before transferring to a demijohn then fermenting for... however long. I'm not convinced it'll work (as I've already done lots of things wrong!) but I'll keep you posted on my progress :)

An urban forage...

This morning I gathered 3lb elderberries, 2lb plums (greengages and victoria), 8 apples and 1 grape (just testing it!) all within the space of about half an hour.

Then I tried to make elderberry vinegar, but the recipe I followed didn't seem to work out, so it's not really vinegar at all - more like ketchup. Or perhaps syrup with a kick. Sweet and sour. But very yummy all the same and I might just make some more!

I also started some greengage vodka. It's kind of experimental. I imagine it will be quite sweet, and hopefully it'll end up a nice golden colour...

The apples taste nice, although they are a bit grubby so need cutting up rather than blindly shovelling in to the mouth! They are windfalls from an overhanging garden tree. The Victoria plums were also from a garden tree. And so was the grape :)

It sort-of feels like Autumn already.

Nettle beer update...

The nettle beer I made last month is the fizziest brew EVER! It is now mostly all over my kitchen floor and all over my cardigan. Tastes pretty good though! :)

Nettle beer and broad beans (but not yet)

Oh dear, I'm not doing very well with my weekly wild food foraging. I have been noticing and nibbling things, but it seems I just don't have the time to blog about them!

One thing I have managed though, is to start a batch of nettle beer. My flat currently smells a bit yeasty! I'm bottling it tomorrow.



This picture is a bit old - it was made back in January for a group art project. The nettles are actually much better at this time of year!

Something else interesting to distract you from the fact that I haven't done my homework - yesterday I found wild (or feral) broad beans! They are definitely beans and not sweet peas or anything like that. I'll have to keep an eye on them to see what happens (and whether they get trampled).



Oh yeah - and I discovered a nearby National Cycle Network route that looks like it'll be great for hedgerow foraging later in the year... :)

Beech Leaf Noyau

These were both birthday presents. I have some left for myself as well :)

Alcoholic beverages...

Today I started making Beech Leaf Noyau - a kind of fancy liqueur that I'd never heard of until I got into this wild food lark. I collected young Beech leaves from the cemetery at lunchtime (there are some beautiful trees in there), and I've left them to steep in Gin for the next three weeks. Following that the liquid will be strained off and mixed with sugary syrup and a bit of Brandy. I'm really looking forward to tasting the results!

Yesterday I finally got around to starting a red wine kit that I've had at the back of my cupboard for ages. I'm not a very experienced wine maker and I accidentally overfilled the demijohn - bit of a mess this morning! :)

Saucy Haw Ketchup

I made this tasty ketchup from a recipe in the River Cottage Preserves book. It turned out a bit too runny, but at least it looks pretty!


Hawthorn


Haws


Saucy Haw Ketchup