2020 an Interesting Year

It has so far been a year like no other but I'm glad to say that some things have remained constant.

We had an unseasonably hot spring which, along with my nettle beer, helped me through lockdown. Fruit-wise, the warm spring gave us a great crop of soft fruits, from which, my daughter created some truly spectacular deserts to cheer us all up.

The summer period contiued to be hot and dry for long periods and this seems to have hampered some fruit trees due to lack or water. Many apple trees had ripe fruit a month or two before they would normally.

As part of our frequent walks, we got out to gather Mulberries and make yet more delicious things, I have added some more recently to my cider - I successfully did this last year, as an experiment, to great effect.

I also gathered enough Elderberries to make a gallon of port/wine, so perhaps I will be able to test its alleged antiviral properties, in a highly un scientific manner.

At the moment, it looks like our normal, public Apple Day event at Mansbridge Community Orchard, will not be able to proceed due to government restrictions on gatherings but we been doing plenty of pressing, with Apples and Pears, at home in our garden.

Of course, more fruit means better cakes, provided you have some great cooks in the house. If you don't have great cooks, you can always learn some new skills yourself. In difficult times, it is important to adapt; change is normal, be agile, be creative, keep fit & healthy, build resilliance into your bodies and family systems...

Seasonal Stinging Nettle Beer

The whole world has changed significantly since my last post. I hope you and your families are all staying safe, well and ideally in your homes.

My allotment gets a wealth of Stinging Nettles around this time of year, which are used in many traditional recipes, they can even be made into twine or woven into fabric. However, I wanted to make something seasonal that would take a couple of weeks to mature, but also be something that we could enjoy, even if we had to stay home a lot.

I have always fancied making Stinging Nettle Beer; it is a very simple recipe and anyone with the basic equipment can try it. You can safely tinker with both the amounts and method, according to your equipment and requirments. I found making this very satisfying and enjoyed the process so much that I did it all twice, and may do it again soon.

Equipment

• Gloves!
• Large carrier bag or similar
• Bucket
• Demijon, barrel or brewing bucket
• Suitable pressure safe bottles
  

Ingredients

• 1kg Stinging Nettles - approximately one large carrier bag stuffed to bursting.
• 400g - 1kg Sugar - the strength of the beer will depend on the amount you use, you could mke it weaker still, like ginger beer for kids
• 1 x Lemon juiced
• 1 x gallon of water (I used a demijon)
• 25 g Cream of Tartar
• Yeast
  

Method

1. Pick the stinging nettles (using gloves), collect only the tips, or top 6" of the plants and stuff them into your big carrier bag. Pack them down well, it takes about 30 minutes.
2. Boil the water and gradually add the nettles, they will eventually boil down and should all fit in. I used a large preserving pan, but you can adapt the amounts according to your needs and available equipment.
3. Let the nettles simmer for 15 minutes, then strain the liquid off. I used a collander over a bucket to achieve this and it worked very well.
4. Add the sugar, Lemon juice and Cream of Tartar to the liquid and stir untill all disolved.
5. Leave the liquid to cool to body temperature and sprinkle the yeast on top.
6. At this point I added the liquid to my demijon but you could also leave it in a bucket covered with a muslin cloth / tea towel.
7. Leave to ferment for a week
8. Siphon into bottles and leave for a further week.
9. Drink!
   

   

   My Improvised Standing Work From Home Station

Stay Safe and Keep Healthy

Apocalyptic - Optimistic

It has been an interesting and very busy time since my last post. We have had serious floods in the UK and terrifying fires in Australia and the Amazon, all caused by climate change, brought on by human activity. 

Now we have plague, the new Coronavirus has taken our planet by storm. Next it seems we may be threatened with imminent economic collapse, in some areas, as a result.

However, I am an optimist, so let us look on the bright side, while we still can. Every cloud has a silver lining; NASA satellite images have detected a dramatic fall in nitrogen dioxide levels over China, since the shutdown caused by the virus. I also predict significant decreases in some of the most polluting luxury industries, aviation and cruise liners to name just two obvious ones.

No one really knows what the knock on effects of all these seemingly apocalyptic threats will be, but Spring  cirtainly seems to be coming around as normal, albeit somewhat wetter than normal. 

What staggers me, is the amount of fear and immediate action over the virus, compared to the inaction and disinterest, over the far more significant threat of climate change.  Sadly, I can only put this down to individual selfishness, and a complete lack of foresight.  

I'm still seeing and smelling the blossom on the trees and enjoying the daffodils on the roadsides. After this, I'll be looking forward to a break in the clouds, feeling the sun on my back, getting my shorts back on and getting out to gather some Elderflowers as Summer creeps around the corner.

Stay Safe, and Ware a Mask!