Brewing My Own: Elderflower Cordial....and Elderflower Champagne

There are probably only a couple of days left of elderflower picking.  Certainly here in South Devon, the creamy-white blooms are starting to fade and turn brown and a little musty smelling - upcountry folks might have better luck.

 My basket of blooms - far more than was needed:

I decided to make a batch of cordial, which really is one of the simplest recipes in the world.  I used the River Cottage Preserves cookbook recipe (a similar recipe has been reproduced here on Nipitinthebud's great blog) which just involves lots of sugar, lemon juice and elderflowers.  Leave the cordial to infuse overnight and the next day it was ready to strain and use.  

It’s a joy to drink this with sparkling water and plenty of ice on a summer’s afternoon, and even more fun spiked with vodka, a sprig of mint and a handful of raspberries during the evening.  The cordial was a doddle and here it is - four bottles for immediate drinking and a further one litre in the freezer.

 I’m a little more concerned about the Champagne....I’ve toyed with Pastymuncher’s ideas but decided to use Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipe for this and there are MANY MANY worrying comments about Champagne explosions, glass being embedded in bookcases and C02 eruptions that have hit the ceiling.  Grazing Kate has been 'very brave' and made six litres of the stuff...Mix it all together, leave for about four days until it starts to ferment (very exciting – that happened today) - those white bloom areas that look like reflections are the signs either that it's working or that it's mouldy and it's all gone horribly wrong (I'm an optimist and bottled the stuff!):

 and then strain it into PLASTIC bottles.  Granted, the lovely swing top Grolsch style bottles look far more attractive than this (hmm, nice presentation in the Asda bottle)

But shards of exploded glass embedded in my furniture and skin? – Er, no way!  I’ve done a bit of research and plan to ‘burp’ the bottles every couple of days for a week or so (by gently loosening the screw cap and relieving the pressure) and then it should be ready to drink after a mere seven days.  Homemade brew – feels just a little bit naughty, but damn clever if it works.

Bagel and Beans - Great Budget Food in Central Amsterdam

I'm just back from a gloriously sunny and wine-sodden five days in Holland staying with our dear friends A, D and A.

We needed a bite to eat away from the touristy centre of Amsterdam where we'd enjoyed a visual feast of Vermeers and Franz Hals at the rijksmuseum, where incidentally, The Milkmaid was my favourite picture:

..... and we happened upon Bagels and Beans.  This is a small chain of Dutch cafes specialising in breakfasts and lunches.  We heartily enjoyed the 'Everything' juice that included pineapple, orange, strawberry and apple:

The bagels were fresh, packed full of fairly healthy ingredients with some good combos, and not just the average 'cheese and ham' that features heavily on Dutch menus.  I chose the smoked chicken, avocado, pesto and pinenut, with plenty of greenery too (particularly enjoyed the large helping of killer cucumbers):

The free pot of coffee bean shaped and flavoured chocolate beans were a great added bonus - they were on every table.

The juice was 3 Euros -  a tad high, but considering that's the same price as a Coke in a European pavement cafe, not too bad.  The bagel was 6 Euros which I thought was fair enough.  The waiter was so friendly and disarmingly asked me if I was 'well-known in Holland.'  I think he was asking whether I knew Holland well.  Free chocolate, smiley waiters, good food and free postcards from a stand for the children to take as souvenirs - a great respite from a frenetic European city centre and great for people on a budget.

Devon Book Review: A Taste of the Unexpected by Mark Diacono

Just a quick post to express how much pleasure I got from reading this wonderful book.  The experts on Gardener's Question Time on Radio 4 a few weeks ago were quick to dismiss people's desire to grow 'weird' vegetables - apparently white carrots are tasteless and some of the more extravagantly coloured vegetables often fail to thrive and are generally a waste of time.  So that's that, I thought, don't bother with all that fancy schmancy stuff in my veg patch.  Then...along comes this book by Mark Diacono.  He's one of Hugh's River Cottage experts, runs courses there and grows at Otter Farm near Honiton.

I unreservedly love this book because:

a) there aren't any pictures of the author posing artfully either with cleverly positioned 'mud' on knees or flour on cheek, or smiling winsomely at his prize veg with shabby chic decor in the background and old enamel mug

b) he actually took all the photos of the gardens and veg inside the book (repect!)

c) it also has recipes - some of which are a bit fancy, but some plain and easy

d) he really inspired me to experiment - hell, why not grow apricots, goji berries, szechuan pepper in our back gardens / window boxes

e) only one cute picture of child in a garden (I am really naffed off with cookery / lifestyle writers getting their kids involved in photoshoots)

f) loved his ethos of 'grow expensive/ unbuyable produce' rather than onions, potatoes, carrots type stuff

So, let's grow and eat day lilies - this was a fab bit of advice as I was sat outside next to my sprouting day lilies while I was reading this bit.  I reached over, snapped off a flower bud and it did indeed taste a bit like a French bean but with a slight chilli kick.  How naughty and lovely.  Eating flowers. Nasturtiums are budding so I shall be sprinkling them on my salads, deep frying  day lilies and planning how to fit an apricot into our full-the-brim garden.  And definitely some Egyptian Walking Onions (what a name!).  And possibly some Japanese wineberries just so I can make the delicious sounding Japanese Wineberry Trifle.

He's also got a really good blog.  I have a new foodie hero and, what's more, he's a Devon lad!

And this is our vege patch at the moment- not a gojiberry in sight.

And I had to include a picture of our Angelica (yes that green twiggy crystalline stuff that no-one has put on a cupcake even ironically since the 70s) which has turned into a beanstalk - it was 6ft tall until it keeled over in the wind.

Goose Eggs - Look at the Size of These

I bought some goose eggs at Tibbs, the greengrocers in Teignmouth.  Tibbs is a bit of an institution - a 'proper' greengrocers, none of that fancy organic stuff, just a family run business selling honest fruit and veg at good prices, local where possible.

So, after paying for my veg, I was surprised to be asked if I wanted some goose eggs.  They were enormous.  They were also hidden away behind the scales, and there seemed to be something almost 'under the counter' about the experience.  Oh, definitely yes, but decided to just take three rather than six.  £1.25 for three seems pretty good value as they are the equivalent to 3-4 normal sized hen eggs.  I shall use one in a Victoria Sandwich and the other two as giant fried eggs.  The egg from our chicken looks so teensy in comparison.

Freeze Garden Herbs Now!

It's time to freeze our green herbs - this is our tea tray covered in a veritable mountain of flat leaf parsley from the garden.  I consulted my herb book which says that green herbs such as parsley, chives, basil, dill and coriander can all be frozen directly in freezer bags without any preparation like blanching or chopping.  Ideal.

I'm aware that frosts are around the corner so these herbs have a death sentence on them at the moment.  So quick, if you have any lovely, lush green herbs in your window box / veg patch, get them in the freezer for use over the cooler months.

My book recommends to freeze them in small batches in freezer bags and then place them in a larger box to prevent crushing.  It'll be interesting to see how intact they are when I use them from frozen, or whether they go khaki and mushy.

Old-Fashioned (in a good way) Beach Cafe

Harbour Lights Cafe, Coverack in Cornwall is a lovely spot. Indoors there are pine tables that seat around 30, but you have to sit outside and gaze at the sea. This cafe has been freshly done up in simple seaside colours, white, pine, duck egg blue with 1960s mismatching crockery.

They provide simple cafe fare and a specials board - I've previously had the freshly picked crab sandwich and it was excellent. But today we were here for 'tea' so we had milkshakes and scones alongside a magic pot of tea. One of those amazing pots of tea that looks weeny but provides enough for three cupfuls.

The chocolate milkshake was garnished with a fresh strawberry and obviously had plenty of ice cream whizzed into it. The scone was homemade and served with decent raspberry jam.

The service was smiley and friendly - this is how a seaside cafe should be. It has a feeling of being a well-run family business that tries hard and charges modest prices and wants its customers to enjoy their brief sit in the salty sea air. Price: £7.40 for two teas, one milkshake and a scone with jam. Good, old-fashioned price too!

River Cottage Bread Making - Sheer Pleasure

These were my very own finished products - I kid you not. Perfectly imperfect - two loaves and a handful of bread rolls.

I borrowed this book from the library: Bread: River Cottage Handbook No. 3

and couldn't wait to get started.
This photo shows my basic dough after kneading it for a good 10 - 15 minutes.

The book does go into ALL the details for making a really good basic loaf - it recommends perfecting that before moving on to the trickier options - does anyone outside of bakeries actually make ciabatta? Must take 72 hours if you do it properly. This was after about an hour of letting it rise - certainly looks bigger....but now you have to deflate it (knock it back). Feels so good though - breadmaking is a really sensual experience - dough just feels so soft, warm and elastic and you know you're going to eat it too. 

Kippers!

I popped in to Marks and Spencer yesterday looking for something cheap, tasty and easy for dinner and spotted a pack of kippers for £1. Took them home, boiled them in the bag for 12 minutes (drained off most of the buttery sauce to save our arteries) and served them with wholegrain mustard mashed potatoes and a mixture of peas and chopped green beans.

According to Wiki:

"A kipper is a whole herring, a small, oily fish, that has been split from tail to head, gutted, salted or pickled, and cold smoked.
In the United Kingdom and North America they are often eaten grilled for breakfast. In the UK, kippers, along with other preserved fish such as the bloater and buckling, were also once commonly enjoyed as a high tea or supper treat; most popularly with inland and urban working-class populations before World War II."

Well there we go: kippers have a history of being working class food, frugal, but definitely not breakfast fare for me.

The mustard mashed potatoes were reheated potato from the night before mashed with some Extra Virgin Olive oil and French grainy mustard.

The result was surprisingly delicious. Kippers are smoked herrings (oily fish, so counteracts the butter they were smothered in) and served warm they have a melting, comforting taste that is reminiscent of childhood. I remembered that they used to stink our house out when Mum cooked them, but these ones were fine - perhaps as they'd been boiled in the bag rather than grilled.

Currently on a mission to use up the contents of my freezer and larder (merely to make room for fresher, newer ingredients). Spring clean for my kitchen! In Nov 2009 Nigel Slater wrote in The Guardian that he was using up all his half packs of old pulses and grains that are half spilling out in his cupboards. I'm doing the same thing and it feels re-assuringly frugal and creative. Something out of nothing.