Friday Foraging Fun (well almost)

Today we went foraging. It was a delightful sunny day and we had finished our chores so we decided to take advantage of the weather and head outdoors. We wanted to go foraging as September is a prime time for free foods. The main aim was to collect as many dandelions as possible to make a batch of dandelion liquor that would be ready for Christmas.

As the weather was so nice it was just lovely to be outside and we weren’t expecting to find much.

We were pleasantly surprised. We enjoyed a good few hours in the open air and returned with dandelions (heads and leaves), clovers (the flowers are amazing and very sweet), crab apples, blackcurrants and mushrooms (which we decided to compost instead of eating to be on the safe side).

Overall it was an invigorating experience that made us feel like children hunting for hidden treasure.

This afternoon was spent making the base for the dandelion liquor with honey and lemon juice. As well as cleaning our prizes ready for use tomorrow.

We have found a few recipes for crab apple jelly and lemon aid that we want to test although this may involve a second trip at some point to collect more fruit now we know where it can be found. The site I will be using for my base recipes is :http://www.sallywise.com.au/blog/crabapples-the-not-so-humble-fruit/

I still have some leftover apples that I picked whilst at home and the blackcurrants picked today which will be cooked into either a preserve or a desert.

If you have any suggestions for things to do with foraged ingredients or want to share your own experiences please leave a comment.

 

I hope you are enjoying a pleasant September and reaping the benefits of what is available locally.

I hope you will come back again.

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Dandelions revisited

In june I made a batch of dandelion liquer which I then proceeded to forget about and left to ferment. on getting back to uni we all decided to try it. it was a delicious very fruity liquer with a slight after taste for the alchohol.  I have been implored by my test subjects to make this again and will probably be giving away strained versions of the drink as gifts next year, a few of myfriends have suggested it had a mellow taste similiar to a sweet mead. however i have not tried mead so can’t compare the two.

I got the initial recipe from http://vallenuova.blogspot.it/2012/05/foraging-dandelion-liqueur.html

however the idea came from http://wildcraftvita.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/things-to-do-with-dandelions.html

the initial recipe You need:
100 dandelion flowers (collected when fully in bloom)
A syrup made with 250 g of water and 300 gr of sugar
2 whole lemons cut in pieces
Juice of 2 lemons
750 g of water
750 g of 95º alcohol
(you can use Vodka and reduce the amount of water accordingly)

English: Two dandelions side-by-side in some grass. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Make a syrup with 250 g of water and 300 g of sugar and let cool.

In a glass jar that you can close tightly put the flowers, lemons, lemon juice and syrup.
Close, store in a warm place and let rest for 1 week.
Add the 750g water and the alcohol and leave for about 3 months.
Filter and enjoy!

 

the adjustments i made was using honey instead of sugar and vodka instead of alcohol. only a tiny amount of vodka is needed however less than a teaspoon. the only other significant thing to note as i found with one of my earlier batches once open the mixture if not drunk within 3 or 4 days starts to go off. it would definitely be best to make this in smaller portions to avoid waste or invite friends round to help test each batch.

 

Related articles

• Dandelion Tea Recipe (frugal.answers.com)
• Dandelion 2 (davelaberge.me)
• Warm Dandelion Greens Salad with Poached Eggs (salixisme.wordpress.com)
• Dandelion Nails (blondeslovecupcakes.wordpress.com)
• dandelions (dcardiff.wordpress.com)

welcome autumn

its the end of the summer. tomorrow i will be traveling back to wales and hopefully continuing my blog with all the adventures i get up to with my friends. Already a few plans are forming of things we would like to try and people we want to try to reconnect with. after all it is so easy to lose touch with friends when away from the hub of university life despite all the advances in technology.

English: Fallen Autumn Leaves at an Arboretum in the UK (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sometimes it’s easier and nicer to get back to basics and do things for yourself. pick up the phone or send a letter.

A few days ago i went blackberry picking and today was rewarded with some homemade jam. I am very much looking forward to tasting it knowing i will appreciate it more because i picked the fruit myself.

Blackberry (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today I decided that a new university year means a new start its back to the books and also trying to stay fit. I often find hat trying to balance study exercise and pleasure is difficult to achieve. it is easy to see friends by arranging to study together however it is more difficult to fit in exercise around studying and find the motivation to undertake it after spending the day working hard.

I am going to be testing an app for  the Iphone and android phones called zombie run in the hope it will motivate me to get a bit fitter in between my library sessions. ( I will let you know how i get on later in the month). if you want to check out my progress it will be available at https://www.zombiesrungame.com/Hiddencat12/

Once again thanks for reading.