Mushroom Walk...

The other day we went for the most wonderful walk through the woods.  I've always loved woodland, I particularly enjoy walking through a pine forest.  I love the wonderful smell, the bouncy carpet of needles and the strange bubble of quiet you get in amongst the trees.

This wasn't a pine forest, but it was beautiful!  We spotted so many different types of mushroom nesting on the forest floor, and whilst I would never ever pick, eat or even recommend touching them, they certainly are fascinating.  I don't think I've ever seen so many!

Biscuit invented a new game; Musical Photographs.  It works along similar lines to Musical Statues, only without any, erm, actual music.  The rules are that you must be vigilant at all times and if you spot Mummy taking a photograph, you have to remain completely still.  Handy!!

Although we steered well clear of the mushrooms we did manage to snaffle a few sweet chestnuts, one of my favourite autumnal treats.  We also hunted for fairies, looked for elves and gnomes and Biscuit sang us a song about ants.  It was my favourite kind of day.  There's something so special about going for a walk all together, just us, our little family.  I treasure these memories.

 

 

I haven't edited, added filters or changed any of these photographs, they really are just that vivid.  This is how Wiggles and I look on pretty much every walk, we're still happily using our beautiful Sleepy Nico carrier, love the way she's blowing a kiss!

Have you spotted anything usual around you this year?  Everything seems to have been supercharged after such a beautiful summer!  

Treasure in the bushes...

There are so many beautiful things hiding out there in the bushes right now. I've been pacing myself and it's been killing me, but I think, finally, by the look of these sloes, they're about ready to pick, at last! Next weekend we're off for a forage! 

Anyone else planning jam? Gin? Syrup?? :)

Adventures in Foraging: Strawberry Vodka

Things have been busy at our little allotment lately, we have been blessed with basket after basket of delicious strawberries. Strawberries are epitome of summer fruit, right? But now they're starting to wind down, the fruit aren't as lovely as they were at the start of the season. But all is not lost!! You can still use those fruit for something wonderful! I would heartily suggest using them up by making Strawberry Vodka....

My recipe is wonderfully simple. Once you've picked your remaining fruit, check it and slice it in half. Discard any bruised or bad fruit. Place your berries into a clean, sterilised bottle or jar. Add sugar. If you like a sweet drink, add lots, if you prefer a sharper tipple then add less. I'd recommend erring on the side of caution, but this stage it really doesn't matter about specific quantities as you will taste your drink at a later stage and can always add more if you feel it necessary. As a guide I tend to half fill my jar with strawberries, then add sugar until its just under 3/4's full. Then pour in your vodka, until your bottle or jar is completely full. Vodka quality is not important, you can quite use a cheapy version (I'd recommend Aldi's own brand) as the finished product barely even tastes of vodka, just delicious strawberries. Finally give your bottle a good shake. 

Then store your fruity brew away in the back of a cool dark cupboard. If the glass is clear you may like to cover it as this helps keeps the colour nice and bright. Give it a swish every so often just to muddle it up a bit. Taste it and add more sugar if you feel it necessary.  

When it goes into your cupboard it should look a little something like this:

The very hardest part of this recipe is that you have to store your vodka away without drinking it for (at the very least) one month, but if you can bare to leave it for three or even six months all the better!

When it's ready, strain your mixture removing the fruit. Then put it through a muslin or coffee filter to remove any little bits, seeds it pips. This makes sure it's nice and clear.

Don't leave your fruit in the mixture for more than six months as it will spoil. It's quite natural for the alcohol to leach the colour from the fruit. Indeed, this is a very good sign!!

This drink is delicious on its own, as a base for cocktails and particularly in a hip flask for sharing with friends! It also makes a lovely gift if decanted into a pretty little bottle.

It's utterly delicious and so simple! I love strawberries and I love vodka. Mixing the two is pretty much my idea of heaven! So what are you waiting for?!! Give it a try! 

P.S I will be sure to post some pictures if the finished product in a few months time...

Adventures in Foraging: Elderflower Cordial...

I mentioned in a previous post that I had been out and about collecting elderflowers. I LOVE elderflower cordial, in a big way. I love it's delicate summery and lemony flavour, I just can't get enough of it. It's like my secret squash just for Mummy. Plus those who know me know that I love a good forage, it gives me great pleasure to make something lovely from anything fresh, local and free! 

So here is my elderflower cordial recipe. First of all, find a tree with lots of beautiful fresh elderflowers. Make sure it's away from any roads and try to pick your flowers on a nice warm day when the blossom is open. Give the blossom a little shake just to make sure there are no little bugs hanging around. 

You will need approximately twenty large heads, with no brown flowers. 

Once home remove the flowers from their stems with a fork. There is a very small amount of a  cyanide-like compound within the stems, so best to chuck those! The flowers come off easily. You should be left with a lovely big bowl full of flowers which look a little like this.  

The remaining stems look like this. You don't need to be horrendously accurate and remove every single flower. They smell amazing! 

In a large, deep, clean pan dissolve 1kg of big standard white sugar into 1.5 litres of boiling water. Swish it around until its all gone. Then add 55g of citric acid and dissolve that too. 

Add your elderflowers and four lemons all chopped up. Then cover and leave it alone for 48 hours. Yeeps!! The elderflowers will steep, the lemons will release their natural oils and your kitchen will smell fantastic.

After 48 hours have passed strain the mixture through a sterilised muslin. Then do it again to make sure you have a lovely pale yellow liquid. Pour into sterilised bottles and store it somewhere dark and cool. It should keep for about three months. 

Enjoy diluted as an alternative to squash, add to lemonade or sparking water. Try it in gin and tonic for an unusual and refreshing twist. You can also drizzle it onto cake, add to gooseberry fool or pour it onto fresh fruit salad to make it summery. You can make fantastic ice lollies with it or even try it hot. Apparently it's beneficial for treating colds and flu!

Personally I like to take bottles to summer BBQ's as a gift for the host. It makes a nice change from a bottle of plonk and if you've made it yourself you feel like it's a bit special!

Have you ever made elderflower cordial? Do you have any other uses for it? 

To me it's like summer in a bottle. I've got to go and have some now, I've worked up a hankering for it now I've been talking about it so much!! If you're in the UK there's still time to get out there and snaffle yourself some flowers!