Mistletoe & Wreaths

Sorted for Xmas Visitors!

As Christmas rears its frost encrusted and hopefully snow-smothered head, we like to make some seasonal Wreaths to give as gifts and hang on front doors to welcome in any passing carol  singers.

Happy Grinchmas!

They are easy and fun to make. Call me the Grinch if you will, but I prefer to see a holly and ivy wreath on a front door, as opposed to an inflatable Santa scrambling up the wall or animatronic reindeer grazing on the front lawn.

Hazel Hoops Bound with Vine

First we get Hazel sticks. We then carefully bend and twist them around into hoops. We then weave some vines round the hoops and these circlets actually look really nice on their own. The vine also binds the hoops together well and stops them from unwinding.

A Bag Full of Ivy

The next stage is to weave Holly and Ivy into the hoops. Ivy strands that hang down from trees tend to be more flexible that the stuff picked off fences. Don’t wind it too tight or it will snap. You can actually use any evergreen that you find, just poke it into the hazel and twist it into the circle. 

Autumnal Beauty and Holly with Berries

Some people do not like the smell of evergreen leaves, if this is the case, you can add some rosemary or other herbs into your design, either that or just hang it outside. If the leaves will not stay in place, bind it in with wool, you will not notice this much later on. 

Holly with Berries

If you have some Mistletoe, this always adds a nice touch and looks great hanging from the top or just woven in with everything else. You might want to hang your Mistletoe somewhere else, just use your imagination. Mistletoe is parasitic and it is found growing on deciduous trees but you will want to pick it before the Mistle Thrushes eat all the berries. It can be tricky to harvest safely, so do take care.

Getting There...

We always make lots of little bunches of Mistletoe, and tie them up with red ribbon. I have been trying to encourage the children's entrepreneurial spirit, by allowing them to sell some of these bunches. they can then use their earnings to purchase Christmas presents. The rest will be given to the school Xmas fayre.

Mistletoe Growing in a Tree

We normally top the wreaths off with a nice red ribbon and this can also be used as something to hang it from, alternatively a wire or string hoop will suffice. If you want to go for the full Magic & Sparkle, you can always add a little glitter or a light spray of silver / gold paint. 

Bags More Under the Table for the Winter Fayre!

My favourite part of the process, is going out to collect all of the ingredients. Building the wreaths in the shed can be cold, prickly and frustrating work, so it might be best to employ child labour!

Sloe Motion

These May Actually be Tiny Damsons but they are Related and Will Do

When the first frosts of November arrive, we all start digging out the warm clothing and Winter gloves. Around this time, my mind also turns to toward the bountiful Blackthorn bush. It has been a prodigious Autumnal harvest for most fruit and nuts this year and Sloes have been no exception; they seem to be everywhere you look.

These are Definitely Sloes

Blackthorn provides us with two chief pleasures; in Spring, it is one of the first trees to blossom, smothering the hedgerows with its pretty white bloom. It flowers along with its close relative, the plum and proclaims the seasonal change. Then, as Winter approaches, we benefit from its late fruit, Sloes.

Blue Black Bloom

Tradition has it that the Sloes should be picked after the first frost. I normally wear cycling gloves, to save my fingers from the prickly thorns and purple stains, as much as the chilly air. The most popular pastime with this fruit is to make Sloe Gin, a tasty, plummy nip for those cold Winter nights.

Sloe Wine Fermenting

I picked so many juicy beauties that I had enough to make a bonus gallon of Sloe wine, but Sloe Gin is always the blue/black jewel in November’s crown. This seasonal drink can make a delicious Christmas gift; in a small, decorative bottle. Alternatively a small glass can be the perfect companion to a platter of cheese and biscuits, maybe accompanied by tangy home-made chutney and a few slices of apple…

Sloe Gin Infusing

Someone turn the TV on and ring for the butler!

Apocasolstice

Dear Readers, I know that you are all waiting until the threat of the Mayan Apocalypse has passed before you shower me with Xmas comments, home-made gifts and cards…

Fortunately, one person took the precaution of sending my gifts beforehand, just in case…

Eleanor Woodcock (even named after a bird), aged 11, is a keen watcher of wildlife and birds. She has a wonderful blog (Birding in the Garden) - I suggest you go and look at it.

Eleanor has written bags of brilliant bird poems on her blog; she knew that I was interested in trees and wrote some terrific tree poetry for me.

Eleanor also sent me a lovely jar of her Epic Plum, Blackberry & Spiced Apple Jam, which we will be testing shortly.

In the meantime, enjoy the Winter Solstice, light a Yule fire tonight and keep it burning till Christmas, enjoy Eleanor’s charming poems and drawings and pray that tomorrow does actually arrive, so that you can finally deliver my presents…

If I don’t have time to post again or cannot struggle out from under the mound of cards and gifts, have a lovely, super Cool Yule!

the Urbane Forager

XXX

Tasty Truffles

Last Sunday my daughter bought me some “truffles” as a Father’s Day gift. They were delicious but I found myself thinking that they tasted not unlike, our own homemade Hazelnut Chocolate Spread.

Yum! - Hazelnuts!

Last year we nearly destroyed our blender trying to create this stuff but it sure was tasty. A quick glance at the truffle ingredients confirmed that they were indeed made out of similar constituent parts. Experimentation was bound to follow…

Yum!  - Hazelnut Cocolate Spread!

We scooped out small amounts of the stiff spread and rolled them into balls. Then we trundled them about in a bowl of cocoa powder to prevent them from sticking to our fingers and each other. Next my daughter (the official tester) felt that she really ought to sample them. I was pretty sure what the result would be and yes, the outcome received a resounding thumbs up.

Yum! - the Urbane Forager's Truffles...

So that’s two recipes for the price of one; as well as a homemade gift idea!

Country Wines Continued

Vin de Noix and Cherry Plum Wine - Good To Go!
(lovely labels by the Head Chef.)

I had a lot of cooking apples that would not squeeze into my apple store and the Head Chef insisted that I had to make some more space in the house, so that we could fit the Christmas tree in. I thought that Apple Wine sounded entertaining and the recipe seemed very straightforward too. I chose to add some spice to the standard model in the form of a few cloves and a stick of cinnamon.

Batch 1. Chopped and Ready For Boiling

It required 6 Lbs of apples and 3 Lbs of sugar to each gallon of water - I decided that I had enough to make double this amount, mainly because I had two empty demijohns to fill. Masterchef was on TV and I find it dreadfully contrived; so I figured this was a good time to brew up some real home cuisine. I quickly realised that this process would have to be done in two hits as 12 Lbs of chopped apples takes up a lot of space, even with a big pan.

Strained With Spices Added

I presently had the first lot boiling away; they required 15 minutes, after which I scooped out the bulk of the partly stewed fruit with a sieve; before straining the liquid into a bucket over the sugar. By the time I had the second batch done the kitchen smelled like sweet apple sauce with a hint of cloves, not at all surprising really and very nice on a cold winter night.

Yeast Added

The directions stated that you should use the juice of a lemon and the zest from its skin. I didn’t have one so I used lemon juice from a dropper and found some crystallised fruit peal in the Head Chef’s cookery cupboard, so it will be part marmalade wine, I guess.

The Magic of Fermentation

I left the boiling bucketful over night to cool down. I then added yeast in the morning and it was soon politely fermenting away. I left it for a day and then poured it into the demijohns. According to the formula, I should leave it for four months, then add chopped raisins and leave it for six more to mature – we’ll see how we go...

Left to Right: Vin de Noix, Apple, Sloe and Ginger Wine

I'm really enjoying the process of making country wine; it's simple, quite magical and so far at least the results have been very pleasing. I optimistically assume that the flavours will improve over time as the wine matures, unless it is consumed before that point arrives. Either way, we won't be going short over the festive period.