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... :)

Yay!

Yesterday I walked by my favourite berry-picking hedge. This blossom looks like one from the prunus family, perhaps cherry plum (I know there are some along that route). The Blackthorn is about to burst into bloom too. Spring is finally here!



And to acknowledge British Summertime, I'm going to the allotment *later* :)

Broadening my blogging horizons...*

A selection of work from my "leafminers" series is currently on display at Cornerstone, the funky new arts centre in Didcot (Oxfordshire, UK). It's part of an exhibition called "Flora and Fauna" which runs until 18th April. If you're in the area I recommend a visit - even if only to sample the yummy cakes! ;)


(clicking the link will take you to Flickr where you can view the full set)



*I've decided to include my "artistic endeavours" in this blog, in an attempt to streamline my life! Or something.

Weeks 9, 10 and 11

Week 9: Yarrow

Yarrow tea - it's a bit odd. It doesn't have a particularly strong flavour. Some say it tastes of Rosemary but I'm not sure. Supposedly, it has psychotropic properties and makes you see in "pure colour". I do remember that the first time I tried it, some years ago, I suddely noticed that my friend's top was actually brown and not black as I had previously assumed. That's the best I managed though!


(This is an archive photo from a few years ago)


Week 10: Gorse

I made Gorse flower and small beetle tea! :)





I took a handful of fresh flowers and infused them in boiled water for about 10 minutes. The resulting brew smelled awful, but tasted rather nice! It didn't need sweetening at all (but I rarely sweeten tea anyway). It was similar to the Pine tea I made on week 2, but less sickly. Best one so far (apart from the beetles)!


Week 11: Garlic mustard

I'm going to be lazy with this one and point you to an old entry :)

Weeks 6, 7 and 8

Week 6: Hairy Bittercress grows all over the place and at most times of the year. It tastes cress-like (surprise!) but if anything a bit stronger and hotter than the type I grow on my windowsill. It'd be great in egg sandwiches!



Week 7: Alexanders.
This photo was taken in October. The plants are much more grown-up now. I gathered a handful of the thick fleshy leaf stems and steamed them in a tinfoil parcel with a lovely fresh Pollack fillet. Both foods were from Worthing seaside :)

Week 8: Wild Chives are surprisingly common. These are growing in a cemetery in the centre of Reading. I'm sure you already know what they taste like and what to do with them...

Week 4 and week 5!

On week 4 I chose lovely lemony tangy Common Sorrel - one of my favourite wild greens. You can eat it raw in salads or cook it as a vegetable. It goes well with fish, and makes a particularly yummy soup. I decided to try something new for the purpose of this blog. These are Sorrel tarts, a la Ray Mears:



The recipe (from the TV series "Wild Food") is fairly vague, but basically you cook the sorrel in a pan until it turns to a sort-of sludge, then add sour cream and sugar to taste, and dollop the mixture into pre-cooked pastry cases. I think I used too much cream, but they were still nice!

On week 5 I opted to try Cleavers. I've known this plant for ever (when I was little we called it Goosegrass) but never eaten it before. The taste is quite pleasant but I found that the rough texture didn't disappear on cooking so it was difficult to eat. Beggars can't be choosers though - there really isn't much else around after all the snow and ice we've had! Next week is gonna be tricky... ideas appreciated!