Spring Snow Storms

I know very little about the distance between stars, or the motives of Pepys, but I can always smell the Summertime at the latest by early Spring. 

We are currently bracing ourselves for a big snow-storm, this morning it was -8 when I got on my bike to commute to work. There will be plenty of cold and frost yet to come but the signs are all there, among the flora and fauna.

Plum blossom is beginning to bloom on the branches and this is always my personal first sign of the approaching Spring.

This Winter I have been enjoying the occasional medicinal glass of last year's  Elderberry Port or Vin de Noix to stave of  any colds or other ills. 

The Cider is going down well too, although the Perry still needs a month or so more to age. The Mulberry Gin seems to be vanishing into the ether, evaporating my wife might suggest!

The Pear and Walnut Chutney, a huge personal favourite is still making a regular appearance in the fridge. It goes so well with cheese and perks up my lunchtime sandwiches a treat.

We still have bucket-loads of Hazelnuts and Walnuts left, despite my best efforts to nibble through our hoard during the chilly, dark evenings. So, I think we need to spend some time shelling a whole big load, and then make lots of flapjack and chocolate brownies. It shouldn't be too difficult to persuade the kids to help with that job...

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!

Walnuts & Pears

The saying goes, Walnuts & Pears, you grow for your heirs. This being because both of these trees take a long time to grow before becoming productive. However, this year's Fruit and Nut season is already building momentum. My Elderberry Port is bubbling away nicely and has now been joined by two gallons of very vigorous Perry.

A friend wanted us to pick his Pears, so I popped over with the kids. It did not take too long, all of us armed with pickers, ladders and clambering over the shed roof to harvest 32 Kgs of rock hard fruit.

The next evening, my son and I smashed the pears to a pulp using baulks of timber and the evening after, once I had got home from work, we lugged the cider press out of the shed and processed the lot.

We produced about 3 Gallons of juice and got all the kit washed before sundown. I did save a few of the unbruised fruit to make Pear and Walnut Chutney, later on. Despite baking tons of Flapjack, we still have Walnuts left from last year, although the new season ones are starting to drop already.

I have also got a gallon of Vin De Noix brewing away; this smells wonderful - I have added suitable spices to create a fortified wine in time for cold Christmas/Winter nights in.

Tasty Testing

Delicious Poached Pears

The benefits of storing and preserving fruit can be still enjoyed when the fruit is not in season. We cracked open a jar of Poached Pears, as a tribute to the two recently lost trees. I’m pleased to report that they tasted fantastic, especially when warmed up and combined with a healthy dollop of ice-cream.  The Perry made from those pears tastes great too.



Even Better Heated-Up With Ice Cream



I’m not terribly good at leaving things to mature – especially if it’s something I am partial too.

Blackberry Wine, Pear &Walnut Chutney, Mansbridge Apples

When I was decanting the blackberry wine on a cold night recently, I thought – “I’d better just taste a small sample, just for research …”



Home Made Chutney



Considering it was nowhere near finished, it tasted surprisingly agreeable and looked even better. I syphoned off a whole glassful, just to be sure.

Perky Cherry Plum Country Wine

Then I thought, “Hmmmmm, what would go well with a lovely red tipple such as this?” Cheese, chutney and apple, of course!” I answered.

My Fully Stocked (Home-Made) Wine Rack

I cracked open a jar of the Chunky Pear and Walnut that we made during the summer, slathered a few Ryvita, sliced up a Mansbridge apple and a desolate cucumber end that I found lurking in the fridge, turned up the radiator and set about the important business of testing the produce.

That jar did not last long and we have since fully approved Delia’s Dowerhouse (I know what one is now) and the Green Tomato varieties which, on reflection may compliment a well-developed cheese, perhaps with an immature Elderberry Port,  a perky Plum Wine or better still a strapping glass of Vin de Noix…

Vin de Noix

May Contain Nuts!

People have asked about my Vin de Noix and how I made this muscular, exotic sounding potion. Traditionally Vin de Noix (fortified walnut wine) is made by steeping quartered green walnuts (available in June) in red wine and spirit for a few months. Then the debris is filtered off and the wine is left to mature at least until Christmas or the Winter months. Recipes vary of course, according to region.

This suits me too, I do like to experiment…

A Verdant Infusion

Back in 2010, I made some Walnut schnapps, which uses green walnuts steeped in vodka. Through a gradual process (you need to be patient for this one), the mixture turns into a very strong, singular liqueur; this can then be further diluted according to taste up to ten times.

I reasoned that if I blended some of my surplus Walnut schnapps, with some of my country red wine (Blackberry wine and Elderberry Port was available this year), it would amount to the same thing and I could produce a distinctive Urbane Forager’s Vin de Noix.

Elderberries

I bottled some of the resultant tonic in decorative china stoppered carafes to give to family members, as Christmas gifts. I kept the rest of this precious infusion for the cold winter nights. It has a rich mahogany colour and an unfathomable spicy flavour, worth slowly savouring over a good book or maybe a Sunday night BBC edition of Sherlock Holmes…

Nice Bottle!

Oh look, guess what’s on TV tonight!

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.