 It’s coming to the end of harvest time but everywhere you look there are gluts of produce to be turned into something delicious. Some to be eaten now,some to be saved for the winter months. Gardens and hedgerows are filled with bounty and will continue to provide opportunities to harvest interesting things until late October. You might have your own fruit trees providing you with an abundance of apples,pears,plums or damsons,too many beans,courgettes or unripe tomatoes. Maybe a neighbour has a surfeit they need to share. There’s sure to be produce by peoples gates either [...] Continue reading Gluts of all types  “Ahhhhh…” came the voice from beyond the fence,“it isn’t a proper British summer without crab sandwiches,it really isn’t….I do declare that crab sandwiches are the epitome of the British seaside”. We sniggered quietly,picturing the lady next door lying on her sun lounger eating crab sandwiches and extolling their virtues loudly to no one in particular. And although amusing she had a point,proper sandwiches made with good brown bread,some lemony mayonnaise and fresh fresh crab really are rather lovely,and very British. Of course there is nothing to beat the British coastline in August for [...] Continue reading A British seaside summer…  At last the English fruit season has arrived. The gooseberries and strawberries are in full flow and the raspberries,cherries and currants (black,red and white) are all just starting to come into their prime. For all these fruits when the season starts and end is inevitably affected by the weather and where you are in the country,some have much longer natural seasons than others and making the best of each while you can is what its all about. I like them fresh of course,or cooked in compotes,sauces and pies and some preserved to bring a little [...] Continue reading Mostly berries,some cherries and currants  I just looked up E17 on wikipedia…..where it tells me that it can refer to: A European road route that runs from Antwerp to Beaune,via a whole bunch of places including Arras and Reims A British pop band,originally called East 17 A version of the window stacking software Englightenment A postcode in the E area of London (E = east) A Japanese visual sci-fi novel called Ever17 A type of Edison screw on light bulbs witha diameter of 17mm And a British submarine of WW1 Well I never and I just thought it was the postal district adjacent [...] Continue reading E17,the food,the place,but mostly not the band  Its very nearly the end of the the elderflowers for this year,in fact in some parts of the country I’m sure they are already gone gone gone. But in a few places there are still some good ones to be found so if you are quick you might be able to grab a few flower heads and make cordial,champagne or…guess what……yes flavoured vodka. Somehow I seem to have gathered a reputation for all things flavoured voddy and a few people have asked for the method for doing an elderflower one. So here it is: 6-8 good size [...] Continue reading Elderflower rush  It’s late spring (well it was when I wrote and it was published,we’ve now just edged into summer) and a time many of us associate with lamb,in fact,it’s common to think of lamb as a traditional dish for Easter. A moment to pause and think about this should make us wonder why? Easter can be as early as 22 March and as late as 25 April;and we mostly all know that spring is when lambs are born so how are these lambs old enough to be ready to eat by Easter? Well they aren’t. The lamb [...] Continue reading Mutton dressed as lamb,why not go the whole hogget  I love asparagus. Really love it. I could eat it everyday for the duration of its short season and not get bored. In fact I would probably have it nearly the same way each time,nice and simple with good butter or oil. I might steam it,roast it or chargrill but I’d still dress it simply. I might have it with some cured ham or hard tangy cheese. But in the main I’d let the asparagus do all the talking. And once the season was over that would be it. No more asparagus for a whole year. Because even [...] Continue reading Asparagus Rolls | | |
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