Yuletide Traditions

Another Yuletide is looming fast and the stormy weather has been perfectly suitable. We have been busy with all the normal preparations and arrangements. We cut our own Christmas tree from a local quagmire (nursery) and this has been a fun, and inevitably muddy, tradition in our family for years. Then we spent about 2 days in the loft hunting for the lights, which were actually buried, deep in my son's bedroom.

Venus has been shining brightly in the East each morning. I'm far from superstitious, but I'm sure that this will be bringing love into our homes. Although, just in case, we did also pop out and harvest a big carrier bagful of mistletoe, to hang around the house. This also always makes a welcome gift to friend and neighbours.

I have also been siphoning & bottling this season's cider, and I'm pleased to report that it is tasting mighty fine already, and will only improve with time.  We are looking forward to adding some spices and mulling several bottles, to take to parties.

We also have 2 gallons of fine rose wine to bottle, this is the produce of our grape growing escapades this year. Obviously, this needs more time to mature but all the signs are good and I have high hopes for it being drinkable!

Christmas is Coming, Apparently!

Christmas is coming, apparently. I'm sure nobody had noticed, so, hopefully this post will be a timely reminder... Don't forget to make a note on the 25th (December) on your calendar. You might, for instance, want to consider some kind of preparation in advance.

I have been busy creating Sloe Gin; Sloes seemed thin on the ground this year but fortunately I stashed a load in the freezer earlier on. With gin, it occurs to me that we gathered the Juniper Berries during the Summer, so no one can accuse me of not planning in advance.

I harvested some Green Walnuts in June and this was the beginning of my Vin de Noix, which is now bottled and ready for those cold Winter nights. I added some spices this year to make it even more seasonal.

During July my son and I gathered a bucket-load of Elderberries and then kickstarted my Elderberry wine. This is the perfect archaic, alchemical brew for spicing up into Mulled wine for friends and festive gatherings. Mulled Cider also always goes down well at parties, and this has all now been safely bottled and stored.

My favourite Chunky Pear & Walnut Chutney makes a nice home-made gift and my wife has now added a batch of Sweet Chilli Jam to our cupboard bound cannon.

All that remains now is to forage some Mistletoe and create some Xmas door wreaths. Hopefully the family will be kept so busy making and distributing things that they won't even notice that their are no presents under the tree yet... Actually, that reminds me, we need a Christmas tree!

Finally, while we are talking about presents, don't forget that the Urbane Forager book is the perfect gift to buy for virtually everyone!

A Pocket full of Hazelnuts

I have been collecting Juniper berries - not for gin, as you may be thinking - but for an exciting Autumnal Ale. This - soon to be brewed - interesting innovation is being created by Southampton based, Unity Brewing Co, continuing their Saison range.

Last Friday, I stuffed my pockets with Hazelnuts, I then packed my lunch-box to bursting point. When I got home from work, in a stroke of genius I told the kids that we were going to nip out to our favourite spot because the nuts were dropping. We returned in time for dinner with a big bag, filled to bursting.

It was raining on Sunday afternoon and so I decided to use our remaining nice Pears and the last of the previous years Walnut stock to cook up my, ever popular, Chunky Pear & Walnut Chutney. This is always hard work and takes a couple of hours but it is immensely satisfying when you finally finish.

Fortunately my son was also kicking his heels at home, so he was recruited as chief kitchen helper and we set about peeling, chopping, grating, squeezing, roasting and boiling the ingredients as dictated by the recipe.

We were making a double amount, because I always use loads throughout the year and we tend to run out, especially if we give some away at Christmas. Eventually, after filling the house with the smell of vinegar, we tightened the lids on the jars just in time to cook dinner. A job well done and time very well invested.

Important Diary Dates

• I will be giving a talk to Highfield Women's Institute, about the Urbane Forager project on Monday September 25th.
• 2017 Apple Day at Mansbridge Community Orchard is initially programmed for Sunday 1st October. Keep an eye on this blog or on our social media for updates/changes. Dates can be subject to change at short notice, according to local weather conditions.

Don't forget to put the Urbane Forager book on your Xmas present lists!

Wandering about in Winter

Long Shadows

Hopefully, you have all had a pleasant and peaceful time over the Christmas/New Year period. 

Frosty

I had a good rest despite having to build a couple of wardrobes and a book case. Actually, to be fair, my son did a lot of the work; he's very good with instructions and apparently, I am not!

Crab Apple Warfare

I even managed to purchase a small Apricot tree, which I will soon plant in our allotment.

the remains of the Naked Man

We did get outdoors quite a bit during the holiday and enjoyed walking with friends in the New Forest and Micheldever Woods. Micheldever wood is a nice place to wander, especially when the bluebells are out but it is a bit too close to the M3 motorway for my liking and the constant rumble in the background can be distracting. 

Difficult to Navigate on Foot

The last walk in the New Forest was an old favourite of ours that takes in beautiful open heath, what's left of the Naked Man (where, in ancient days, highwaymen were hung in a gibbet), some lovely woodland, a disused train station that has been turned into a tea shop and a walk down the Avon water.

Assistance from the Children

However, after a fairly heavy rainfall the last section alongside Avon Water was extremely boggy. This did not bother the children who were well equipped with Wellington boots but our walking boots and shoes could have done with being a few inches higher to help us through the quagmire.

Good Landscape for Wellies

It was challenging at times but, as I like to say, nobody died!

Have a Cool Yule

The Dark Season Cometh

I hope everyone is prepared for the festive season. we have been wrapping gifts and posting cards. I think that the mythical white Christmas is highly unlikely as the weather has been unseasonably warm, misty and generally dreary.

I keep spotting leafless trees, still filled with apples but now we do not have the time to harvest them. Having said that, yesterday I managed to press another gallon of Apple juice out of some remaining fruit, while listening to the Saints play on the radio. 

The Apples and Pears had been laying about in my shed for a month or two and looked a little worse for wear but they were soon battered into submission. This  juice will be left to turn into cider, in order to replenish our four gallon stock that will no doubt be slightly diminished over the holiday.

We have also cracked into some of our frozen Mulberries; I wanted to make Mulberry gin and advised my daughter, who had a cold and nasty sore throat, to create a medicinal Mulberry cordial. When mixed with lemon juice and honey, this delicious tinctuer quickly soothed the pain and brought her smile back.

We have gathered Mistletoe to share with friends and neighbours and the kids have been building wreaths, one to decorate our front door and one for Grandma's. We gathered all the necessary foliage with a quick visit to Deepdene, our local wood. This consists of Hazel whips, to create the circular frame, Ivy to weave around and tie the hazel in, evergreen leaves woven in for texture and bulk and finally holly with berries for added colour.

We will be having a fire in our garden on the Winter Solstice, weather permitting. It would be fun to find a stone circle to visit. Stonehenge is quite close, as is Avebury but the thought of getting there for dawn and then going on to work, is enough to persuade me that a few extra hours in bed might be more beneficial. I'm mainly looking forward to a weeks worth of holiday, a smattering of parties and some nice walks with family and friends.

Super Solstice, Cool Yule & Natural New Year

Christmas is coming and thanks to our virtually Paleo diet (that bit is probably a lie), we hopefully won't get too fat.

We chopped down and decorated a small tree; the children gathered plenty of greenery and made a wreath for the front door.

We also harvested enough mistletoe to bring the love into our house during the Halcyon days and well into the New Year. We spread plenty around our neighbours and friends too.

I have been very industrious in my bottling of Sloe Gin, Taybury Gin, Mullberry Gin and Cherry Vodka. It all looks very stylish in neat square little bottles.

Meanwhile my wife was making mincemeat with the children and we soon had a tray filled with hot mince pies to add to the mix, this made the house smell very seasonal.

I made several bottles of Mulled Wine. This time I used 2013 Elderberry Port as a base and poured it over the Sloes that were left after bottling the Sloe Gin. I added some nutmeg, cinnamon, all spice and cloves and left it to soak for a couple of weeks. I then strained off the resultant potent brew and bottled it.

This archaic alchemical potion won't just warm the cockles of the heart, it will blow the bloody doors off it! Perfect with Mince Pies when visiting friends...

Have a Super Solstice a Cool Yule and a Happy New Year! x0x0

Now, That's a Christmas Tree!

Don't forget to put, the Urbane Forager book on your Christmas present list. 

Order your copy now!

You can buy this lovely book for your friends and family from all good book-stores or Amazon.

the Urbane Forager: Fruit and Nuts for Free

Author: Alan Gibson

ISBN: 978-1-78507-300-7

The best Urbane Forager images are now on Pinterest. Please follow & share.

Perfect Perry and Mulled Cider

the Mayors Pears

Christmas is coming (in case you hadn’t noticed) and I decided to turn our surplus Pears into scrumptious Perry! First I had to dig out the cider press, which I had not thought we would use again this year.

Looks Messy but Tastes Delicious 

Then we smashed them to tiny pieces in a bucket, using a branch of a tree and squeezed out all the precious juice. I gave the children a taste of the plain juice but they were not overly keen and preferring the gallons of apple juice that we have stashed away. So the obvious thing was to get it fermenting.

Pearly Pear Juice

Pear Juice ferments very vigorously, so I did it in a bucket and then transferred it to a demi-jon once it had calmed down a bit. A month or so later it finished bubbling, cleared beautifully and tasted remarkably drinkable, so I bottled it up.

Hubble Bubble

At the same time I decided to make some Mulled Cider and Wine, in readiness for the Xmas season. I always find that a simple recipe is best for these things. Here is what I use…

• Cider or Wine (home-made of course)
• 1 x Nutmeg
• 1 x Stick of Cinnamon
• 6 x Cloves
• 1 x Star Anise

The wine/cider is placed into a large saucepan with the spices and gently heated to simmering. Do not allow it to boil, unless you want to drive off the alcohol. By this time the whole house takes on a very Christmassy aroma.

Home Made Drink

After 20 mins turn down the heat and leave the mixture for an hour or so then re-heat and strain off the herbs and spices and bottle. The drink can then be heated up again prior to serving; you can add a few white almonds and raisins as an extra treat. 

Elderberry Port: 2011 a Good Vintage

I processed my Cider first and then reused the soggy spices on some of last year’s Elderberry Port. I stored the mulled alcohol in Kilner jars. The Cider proved very popular at our first festive get-together.

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!