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!

Pre-Peared for Winter

As any busy parent will testify, you cannot always find the time to do the things you enjoy, even at the weekend. However, after a big storm, my son's midday football match was cancelled due to pitch flooding and his bedroom had only just been re-plastered, so we could not paint that. So, we decided to get out for a short wet, chilly walk in the New Forest.

I was on the lookout for Sloes, which seem to be in short supply this year but we ended up yomping about in boggy heath-land. So I simply enjoyed photographing the astonishing pallet of colour and texture present in the  sodden landscape.

We also managed to get up to our allotment, which has been a little neglected recently. My son planted his own Apple pip in a pot about 7 years ago. This seed germinated, grew steadily from a tiny twig into a small stick and then, in 2013 we finally transferred it to our allotment, where it continued to develop, until it out grew my own 6' height. 

A Brilliant Bowl Barrow

Every time an Apple pip is planted and allowed to grow into a tree, it creates a completely novel variety, with a unique fruit. This Spring we were delighted when it flowered for the first time and, when it finally bore fruit, it was crisp and sweet. There was only a few apples but what a great reward for his enduring patience.

On our return home we were treated to a roast dinner followed by Pear Tart Tatin, freshly baked from our stash of delicious Pears, which do need consuming.

Earlier in the week I had utilised a load more by knocking up a double batch of Pear and Walnut chutney in readiness for those cold Winter nights. It took ages to reduce and the house smelled of vinegar for a while but I'm sure it will be worth it.

Pear and Walnut Chutney

Not the "Supermoon" - Pear Tarte Tartin

We had a surfeit of foraged Walnuts and Pears clogging up my shed and the kitchen. I was aware the Walnuts would keep but knew that the Pears would need to be used up quite soon and, no matter how delicious it is, there's only so much Chocolate Pear Upside-Down Cake, Pear Tarte Tartin & Pear and Mulberry Crumble that can be consumed before bringing on fear of a heart attack! 

Chocolate Pear Upside-Down Cake

I made a winning Chunky Pear and Walnut Chutney back in 2011, but it was a bit too chunky for sandwiches. This time I chopped everything a bit finer and made twice the amount. It looks quite different and spreads nicely and importantly it actually does taste just as good my original attempt.

Peeled Apples, Pears and Onions

Ingredients.

• 1.2 Kg. Pears
• 225g Cooking Apples
• 400g Sugar
• 450ml Cider Vinegar
• 225g Onions
• 120g Walnuts, Chopped
• 1 Orange
• 275g Sultanas
• 1.5 tsp. Cinnamon (ground)

Walnuts

Method

1. Peel and core the pears and apples. Cut them and the onions into small chunks. Put the fruit and the vinegar together into a large preserving pan and stir. Slowly bring the mixture to the boil and then reduce the heat to simmer gently for 30 - 40 mins, stirring it occasionally to prevent any sticking.
2. Meanwhile, thinly grate the zest off the outside of the orange and set this aside. Also, gently toast the walnuts in a non-stick pan over a low heat, until they become slightly paler. 
3. Place the sultanas in a bowl and the squeeze all the juice of the orange over the sultanas and leave to soak. 
4. After the fruit and vinegar has reduced, add the sugar, sultanas, orange juice, and zest into the preserving pan and heat gently while stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Finally, add the toasted walnuts and the cinnamon to the chutney.
5. Simmer gently for a further 30 - 40 mins stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
6. Spoon the chutney into pre-sterilised jars, seal and store in a cool dark place. 

Zesty!

This delicious chutney should be properly ready in about a month and should keep for a year. It will make a uniquely zesty, home-made, Xmas gift and will undoubtedly add a little spice to your food during the Winter months.

Plentiful Plums

Our Plum Picknik was an outstanding success, I can confidently say that we all enjoyed ourselves and everyone took home plenty of scrumptious fruit! This is just as well because soon the whole area, including this lovely spot and the cricket pitch, is due to be "developed." The last vestiges of our valuable green space are steadily being destroyed and we all need to fight against this!

At the Picknik, we had a lovely time, the weather was fantastic, several families and individuals turned up with various implements and containers.

We set about gathering as many of the multi-coloured wild plums as we could and buckets and boxes were soon swelling with bright fruit.

We deployed young hands, children on shoulders, apple pickers, picnic blankets and some local kids even joined in by booting footballs into the trees.

There was so much abundance within easy reach that the buckets were quickly getting too heavy for the youngest children to carry.

The Plums were sweet to eat, straight off the trees, but people were also planning a vast hoard of scrumptious puddings, pies and cakes; there was enough to last a long time and still plenty left on the trees for later. If you want some, get down there soon, they might not be there next year!

By Sunday evening day my wife was making jars of delicious plum jam and by Tuesday, I was simmering a pot of gorgeous Spicy Yellow Plum Chutney over the stove with the remaining fruit.

I'm looking forward to our next event, and seeing everyone's photos of this one, even the ones where I get pelted with overripe plums, by the children...

Loads at the Allotment

When the Summer sun is shining, there’s nowhere better to be than deep in the UK countryside, and we were lucky to have a fantastic fortnight in Devon. After returning from our holiday we knew we had to get back up to our allotment, to see how the weeds were growing.

We were a tad concerned that no one had been available to water our vegetable plot during all that scorching hot weather. However, on arriving, we found to our delight, a burgeoning crop of Super veg; well we thought it was super (not too bad for our first year) but it wouldn't win any agricultural show prizes.

We rummaged through the undergrowth and found Squashes, Runner beans, Cucumbers, Potatoes, Beetroot, Onions and Courgettes, some of which had turned into massive Marrows. The fruit cage had a few raspberries available and there were masses of blackberries all over the place, not that we had propagated these.

One of the huge marrows was finally transformed by the Head Chef into six jars or scrummy Chilli and Courgette Chutney.

I also used the Raspberries and a couple of stray Blueberries to make another bottle of summer fruit liquor, which will be ready later on. So far I have tried Cherry Brandy, Sloe Gin, Mulberry Gin, Blackberry Vodka and Summer Fruit liquor. I’m not sure which will be my favourite but it should be good fun finding out…

What Shall We Do During Winter?

Autumn is now well established and Winter is always a lean time for foraging, we have had our first frost and cold weather is clearly on its way. I have been wondering what to write about; obviously I want to keep you, dear readers, amused, entertained and even enthralled. So I thought I would ask you what you would like to see?

A Muddy/Icy Walk/Ride in Wickam

As a family we still get out and about a lot during the cold season and I still take lots of lovely pictures. I could for instance show you how I built the supersonic pallet sledge.

The Pallet Sledge, Out Slides Anything On The Slopes

I can report back on the success or otherwise of our various chutneys and wines. We can celebrate the Winter Solstice in style. I’m certain we can have a go at making Xmas decorations and wreaths.

Making Decorations Last Year

I have a great plan for Xmas sweet treats, which could also make nice presents. We can organise some wassailing activities in the Lost Orchard of Mansbridge. I could write a book/manual on Urbane Foraging, and publish it in time for next spring. Or maybe you have something you would like to ask/suggest?

Actually, if my plan for a Community Orchard goes according to design, there will be plenty for us all to get excited about...

Green Tomato Chutney

The Head Chef decided to make Green Tomato Chutney with the unripe produce from the mini vegetable patch in our garden. Combined with apples we had picked, onions, raisins, a bunch of spices and the inevitable vinegar.

Ready, Steady, Chop!

After a mountain of pealing and chopping I got the opportunity to take some lovely, crisp, in-pot photos.

Sorted

Soon the whole house smelled of boiling vinegar.

Stirred Not Shaken

Then it’s into the sterilised jars.

Phew!

Finally the best label competition followed by waiting for a couple of months for the chutney to mature.

Oh, It's So Hard To Judge

Guess what all my family will be getting for presents this Xmas…

Yahoo Chutney,Thanks Santa...

Chunky Pear and Walnut Chutney

1.2 Kg. Pears

225g Cooking Apples

400g Sugar

450ml Cider Vinegar (We used Malt Vinegar because that was all we had)

225g Onions

120g Walnuts Roughly Chopped

1 Orange

275g Sultanas

1.5 tsp. Cinnamon (ground)

Itchen River Pears

Peel and core the pears and apples. Cut them and the onions into small chunks. Add the fruit and the vinegar together into a large preserving pan and stir. Slowly bring the mixture to the boil and then reduce the heat to simmer gently for 30 - 40 mins, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Windfall Apples - We Bought the Orange From a Shop

Meanwhile, thinly grate the zesty rind off the outside of the orange and set this aside. Place the sultanas in a bowl and the squeeze all the juice of the orange over the sultanas and leave this to soak. After the fruit and vinegar has reduced, add the sugar, sultanas, orange juice, and zest into the preserving pan and heat gently while stirring until all the sugar has dissolved.

Simmer gently for a further 30 - 40 mins stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Simmering Nicely

While waiting, gently toast the walnuts in a non-stick pan over a low heat, until they become slightly paler. I used the remainder of the walnuts that we collected last year. Add the toasted walnuts and the cinnamon to the chutney.

If You Want It Extra Chunky - Leave The Shells On!

Spoon the chutney into pre sterilised jars, seal and store in a cool dark place. This delicious chutney should be ready in about a month and should keep for a year.

Finished and in the Jars

I had the important job of dealing with the left-overs. It tasted tangy, sweet and delicious straight off the spoon – I had to stop myself in order to save some for my sandwiches in the morning. It looks fabulous in the jars too.

Good Enough To Be Eaten Off A Spoon!

Chunky Chutney

We finally got round to making some Chutney the other night. I tried to think of a witty headline but the only word that rhymed was Putney (do correct me if I'm mistaken) and that's not funny at all. We used Delia’s Stalwart recipe called Old Dowerhouse Chutney. I’m sure there’s a pub quiz expert out there that can tell me what a Dowerhouse is too, but here we are primarily concerned with food and its making.

Stoned Plums

This recipe is really easy - I stoned the wild plums and cut up an appropriate amount of unripe apples, which my mum had thinned from her tree. Then I left the rest to the head cook, simple! Sarah prepared the rest of the ingredients and cooked it for ages – the house reeked of vinegar, it probably helped to clean the inside of the windows too.



I Predict A Riot of Colour, Texture and Flavour



We wanted it quite chunky apparently; and I must say it looked fantastic in the big brass pan. Then we put it in old (but clean) jam-jars. Now we have to be patient for a couple of months as it cures/matures or something.

The Finishing Touches

The finishing touches were supplied by the children, they make the best and most imaginative labels, many of which are nigh-on indecipherable by time we get to eat the produce (actually, that's not fair at all) but the pictures do help a lot.



Now Just Be Patient!