Hazelnut Chocolate Kamikaze

I thought it was about time that I got around to doing something with all the hazelnuts that we have accumulated over the last month…

10Kgs of Hazelnuts, Should Be Enough To See Us Through Winter
Last Year We Had Lots Of Walnuts

Making the Hazelnut-Chocolate-Spread, something I had promised the children I would do, seemed like an obvious place to start. I guessed that it might be a good idea to do it quickly, when they were not at home and then get the kids to clean the kitchen utensils using their tongues when they got back.

Get Shelling

I shelled the requisite amount of hazelnuts, I had the recipe, the ingredients and all the equipment lined up, everything was going according to plan.

Yum!

Then suddenly, the Head Chef’s kitchen blender started making a dreadful rattling noise and stopped spinning/blending. Closer inspection revealed the problem was that all the driving cog's teeth had sheared away. In my defence, they did look quite brittle beforehand.

I'm Sure That's Not Meant To Happen...
The Head Chef is Going to Kill Me!

Fortunately, the poor old blender had done just about enough work before it went into its Kamikaze tail spin of self-destruction. Although the finished spread was a little stiff – it tasted just how it should and went down a storm with the kids.

Blackberry Ban Battered!

In a bizzare case of, I fought the law and there was none, the city council have stated that there are in fact no laws banning the picking of fruit by families and friends on Southampton Common.

Hurrah!

In fact, it turns out that the very designation as Common Land (the clue was in the name), allows locals to use it for fuel, clay and taking berries and other wild natural food. Hopefully this will put the argument to bed and everyone can Keep Calm and Carry On, enjoying the wonderful green breathing spaces that Southampton is rightly famous for, in a respectful and appropriate way.

Saturday's Sun Newspaper
(Click Image to Download Shaun Aquilina's Wave FM Report)

According to an article in Thursdays’s Daily Echo a new code of conduct is to be drawn up to clarify proper behaviour regarding the Common and the Urbane Forager is to be invited to contribute to it.  Rest assured, I will press for the inclusion of a clause stipulating that family berry, nut and fruit picking should be allowed; although I would personally object to boar (or even squirrel) hunting, brick making (currently allowed apparently) or damaging woodland in the pursuit of fuel.

Front Page of the Telegraph Friday 7th Oct 2011
We Know Which News is The Most Important

I would like to stress that I have never had any personal issues with the City Council, the Hawthorns Urban Wildlife Centre or the maintenance staff that do such a lovely job of keeping our wonderful parks and common so beautiful, I simply wanted clarification of the bye laws.

I would especially like to thank Matt Smith and Sally Churchward of the Echo for their support and Shaun Aquilina of Wave 105 FM. Of course, everyone who supported the the campaign, visited the blog or told people, played their part and I thank you all. It seems that the article went "Viral" and spread, rather like blackberry jam.

Here is where our story has been so far...

Daily Echo

Daily Telegraph including Saturday's front page!

The Daily Mail

BBC News including South Today on BBC1 TV

This is Hampshire

IT News Post (possibly a mistake?)

Chestnut Stuffing

Halloween is on the horizon and Sweet Chestnuts are ready for gathering. I’m sure that last year the kids and I were wrapped up in scarfs and gloves for this activity but this year things are different.

Can't Touch This!

You can easily spot the places where they fall because of the spiny cases and crushed nuts on the pavements. The best way to avoid the prickles is to trap the cases using the edges of your shoes and squeeze downward until the nut pops out. Having said this, somebody always gets spiked on this kind of expedition – just the same as when you pick blackberries.

The Tell Tale Signs

I tell the children to only collect the very biggest nuts; otherwise you end up with far too many and end up composting some. We normally have a bit of a contest to see who can find the largest chestnut or draw the most blood.

This Could Hurt But It's Worth It

It’s always best to cook your chestnuts as soon as you can after collecting them as they don’t tend to keep too well, although you can freeze them. I like to roast them on a barbeque of burning twigs and let the flames actually burn the cases and skin, which makes them far easier to remove. They do not take very long under these conditions and generally as soon as they start hissing and bubbling (or exploding if you are unlucky) they are done enough. You can also bake them in a hot oven or by an open fire.

Always cut or pierce your nuts before cooking them or they will explode in a spectacular and possibly dangerous way. This cutting also helps to ease the removal of the pith (the bitter tasting skin between the shell and the nut).

A Small Amount of Big Brown Beauties

You can bake all kinds of things using chestnuts; on the continent they are used for making flour and chestnut stuffing is common in the UK. For many people the preparation required and the time this takes is prohibitive but chestnuts roasted on a fire are always a winner on a cold night.

Quick, Get The BBQ Burning.
Hang on, There's a Hazelnut in there too.

The quintessential autumnal feast, involves, cold air, steamy breath, rosy cheeks stuffed with roast chestnuts, possibly backed up with potatoes or apples baked in hot ashes of the fire on Guy Fawkes Night; all washed down with homemade mulled cider (mulled apple juice for the children).

Then it’s time to break out the sparklers before bedtime.

Conkers Bonkers

During a recent conversation with the Hawthorns centre on Southampton Common, it came to light that, the activity of picking blackberries (or anything else) on our Common, is not permitted. This came as a shock to me as I had always assumed that this was exactly the kind of healthy outdoors activity that should be encouraged.

I decided that something ought to be done and set about finding out more about the bye laws, easier said than done... However, during my search I came across the Southampton Court Leet, a unique opportunity for locals to air their grievances in front of a Jury of Aldermen and by a lucky chance this was due to take place the following week.

The Court Leet - Sheriff Standing
Meanwhile the Urbane Forager Waits Nervously in the Foreground

I spoke to the Mayor's office and duly appeared at the Civic Centre to make my presentment; based on the idea that local children and families should be free to forage on Southampton Common - what could be more natural?

The Court Leet was also attended by a large group of very well behaved children from Mount Pleasant School, who I thought, were exactly the kind of people who would be most concerned about what I had to say. They might want to collect conkers for instance.

The Town Crier was in fine voice and soon it was my own turn to address the Sheriff and Jury. I was a bit nervous but did my best to express my feelings about the issue and I'm pretty sure that I caused the Sheriff to raise his eyebrows in concern at one point...

As I left the Guildhall, I felt confident that my campaign was in a pair of hands, almost as safe as those of Kelvin Davis. Hopefully our right to pick blackberries on Southampton Common will soon be confirmed - I hope so anyway.

There may be a small article in Thursday's Echo, in support of this cause.

Treehuggers

A great link/article from The Treehugger website.

Lots of other interesting stuff here too.

Thanks guys!

The Coincidence on St Catherine’s

 

A Small Walnut Tree Atop The Hill

We had heard reports of walnut trees on St Catherine’s Hill near Winchester and our nut gathering had been met with some serious competition from the local kids on the town trees. So, on an unseasonably hot October day, we set off to explore the ancient hill fort and see if we could find a new supply.

A Good Day For a Stroll In - Plague Pits Valley!

The first obstacle to our expedition was that the small car park by the river Itchen was full – I have heard rumours about plans by Sustrans (the cycle network) to reopen the Victorian viaduct for bikes. This would be a massively ambitious project but could create a fantastic cycle track down the old railway route.

The Steep Embankments Can Be Quite Challenging

In the event we managed to squeeze in via the tradesman’s entrance and walk up past the Donga’s traveller camp, which is next to the reservoirs at the back of the hill. Their tarpaulin/tent dwellings and old vans with wood-burning stoves are a window into a very different way of living; it does not look at all comfortable to me but they do have a very big garden, even if it is called Plague Pits Valley. I am pretty sure that they don’t have to pay council tax or have a mortgage to worry about though.

Crowning Glory of Beech

On a hot day the walk up St. Catherine’s can be hard work but all the effort is always well rewarded when you reach the summit.

Children Marching the Mysterious Mismaze

Once you get to the top of the hill, stunning views over Winchester open up. The brow of the hill is crowned with a circular clump of glorious beech trees. There is also an ancient turf labyrinthine pattern carved into the hilltop called the Mismaze.

I Spy Apple Pie!

While the children zoomed about the Mismaze – I scuttled off to examine a couple of suspiciously walnut-like trees I had seen. They were indeed walnuts but they had been picked dry, presumably by the travellers – no nuts, never mind!

One of the Large Walnut Trees on St Catherine's Hill

However, it didn't take long before my Fruit Radar picked up tasty looking red apples on a small briar covered tree; if only I had brought my fruit picker with me. I got stung and prickled a fair bit but managed to get a few apples into my bag and they were lovely to eat with the blackberries.

Ready to Run Downhill...

Then, in a weird moment of synchronicity (strange things often occur atop prehistoric hillforts), we chanced upon someone I had worked with by email but not met in person. Chris is a freelance designer who was employed on my latest martial art book project Wing Chun: the Works.

Cooling Our Jets In The Itchen River

On the way down the hill we crunched on the foraged apples and found several more large walnut trees, all of them with no trace of nuts but definitely worth remembering for visiting (earlier) next year. Finally we cooled our hot feet in the soothing waters of the river Itchen before grabbing a few hazelnuts on the way back to the Dongas.

Ooh! That's Better.

The Second Barrel

Apparently the Second Barrel is a term used in poker, it could also be a film by Guy Ritchie but at the Urbane Forager we do not approve of gambling nor criminal film making.

So, we are obviously talking about apple juice or Cider Pressing.



Cider Making - Fun For All The Family



As I fretted over breakfast, about how I could accomplish my aims, I realised that the first problem was composed of containers or more precisely, the lack of them. A lot of buckets are required for storing, washing, pulping, juicing into and fermenting and there didn’t seem to be enough receptacles. In the end, I worked backwards by emptying the first lot of fermenting cider into a barrel, then I set about washing and sterilising everything else including the apple press.



The Battering Ram in Action



Grandma had come over for lunch and to help with the garden – little did she suspect that she was about to be roped into the role of Chief Chopper and Guardian of the Very Sharp Knife. She was obviously very experienced and did a fantastic job, I hope her hands didn’t ache too much the next day.

Red Apples - From The Picknik

As my daughter was off to a birthday party, the boy was in charge of keeping Grandma topped up with washed apples, filling the press and turning the screw. Meanwhile, I was coordinating the chain of buckets, generally shouting encouragement and stirring my tired limbs into continued action with the battering ram, smashing fun. I did eventually resort to the use of power tools – otherwise I feared we would never get the job finished.

Maybe It Will Be A Rose

The lovely soft red apples from the Picknik were first through the mill and their red flesh gave a pink tinge to the juice as it flooded out of the press. Next came the big jucy apples from the common, they produce an essence, which the children have named the White Delight.

White Delight - Apples From Southampton Little Common

Finally, a mixed bucket of the leftovers from the apple store and the Woolston deep-red crunchers were added. By this time my daughter and the head Chef were back into the fray.

 

Guess What's In That Cup?

Eventually, after I hosed down all the equipment, the weekend of hard labour was over, we had reached my self-appointed objective (5 gallons of apple juice) and I for one - felt we truly deserved a delicious glass of cool, fresh, tasty Apple Juice!