Damson Delights

We headed to Hertfordshire a few weeks back to visit family. Walking into the local town we found that almost every path way was lined with damson trees, dropping their fruit all over the place. The forager in me could not be contained and I had to pick a few. Then a few more... then about 12lb later we stopped. Most of the fruits were red but below is a mixture of the colours we picked. They were about the size of a massive supermarket "best" cherry. So what to go with our glut?

The first thing I did was to make a cake with the initial pavement pickings. I simply cut some damsons in half and lay them at the bottom of a cake tin. I then made a basic Victoria sponge mix and poured it on top. Turned over the result was delicious. A simple way to take any fruit and make a easy and impressive cake! The final few from the first forage Laura made into jam. We added a couple of unripe damsons and these would contain more pectin and help it set.

The main 12lb horde was bagged and boxed and brought back home to Sheffield. The first thing I did was to make some damson gin. Just by chance I had half a bottle of Gordon's finest sitting in the drinks cabinet. So in went some sugar, say enough to fill half and inch at the bottom of the bottle, and the damsons. Now normally you should prick the damsons and let them infuse the gin, that's what all my books say. I wanted to use the existing bottle so I cut them in half so they could fit and the results look good. Recent checks in the quality of taste has proved positive ;) This is going to be a great tipple in the winter.

Next is Rumtopf. We love rum and we love soft fruits. So it is very important to combine the both and make trifle for Christmas with it. It tastes great and gets you rather drunk if you are not careful. So we cleaned out our one of our good old ceramic Rumtopf jars and poured a whole bottle of rum in. Then damsons - lots - but not too much so any fruit pokes above the liquid. Finally a good sprinkle of sugar.

We of course need to eat some damsons there and then. You can't store them all. So Laura made a sticky-crusty crumble to keep me happy. The way to a man's heart...

Next chutney. Why pay for chutney in my cheese sandwiches over the next year when I can make it. Onions are needed as a base for my recipe and these home-grown organic winter onions are perfect.

The recipe: 1.4kg (3lb) damsons, 675g (1.5lb) apples, 450g (1lb) onions, 450g (1lb) sultanas, 38g (1oz) salt, 225g (0.5lb) white sugar, 1.15l (2 pints) white vinegar, 1 teaspoon all spice, 0.5 teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon ginger, 0.25 teaspoon cayenne, 0.25 teaspoon mace. Yield 5lbs.

I found this recipe had an excess of liquid and a pint or so had to be taken out as the chutney was very ready. Not sure why? Maybe some very juicy fruits.

Finally we ended up with many jars of chutney. Here are a few pictured with some of Laura's freshly baked bread. Yum!

Walking Weekend

Just had a fantastic weekend with a couple of friends. We went on two brilliant walks. With my inspired "wild food" head, out looking for some good finds.

The first walk on Saturday was around a local reservoir. We found a few hawthorn trees on the main route around, but surprisingly the blossom did not smell or taste that nice. In fact it had a slightly burnt taste. Half way around the reservoir we decided to extend the walk by heading into the woods. We found a little apple tree that may need another visit in the future. An enjoyable day but only 1/10 on the wild food Richter scale.

Now our Sunday walk was a different story. We headed to the moors and came across lots of bilberry bushes. There are acres around but these are the nearest to my house I have found yet, a good find. As we headed away from the open moorland and down towards a reservoir we found a hawthorn tree. Now this hawthorn was very different - strong, rich almond fragrances. In fact I have never smelt such a nice blossom. We collected some and they have gone to some good use... I will talk about that later this week.

The next stage of our walk was an eye-opener. We found the most amazing forest. The whole floor was covered in bluebells. I found loads of wild garlic, which made me very happy. And the biggest beech trees I have ever seen. Over 4m in circumference! I want to try and harvest these come autumn. I also found Yellow Archangel, part of the dead nettle family, which can be put in salads or stir-fried. I must remember to get a photo next time.

Heading home we found an area that looked like it was once an orchard. Two surviving apple trees may yield some nice fruit one day. I also spotted a tree I could not identify. I now know it is a Wych Elm. Several healthy specimens, a wonderful sight to see. What a great weekend.

Wild Food Forage

Today we went on a guided wild food forage around Sheffield thanks to maxsalad. It was a fantastic day and we found many different edible plants and herbs. I have made notes on all the information we were given and have taken photos, all of which I will post in the near future. Here is some wild garlic to get your tastebuds going. A bit late on in the season now for the leaves, but the lower part of the flower stems where tender and flavoursome.

We also managed to get the plants we bought on Saturday in the ground. I have put the garden mint plant in a pot, in the ground, to keep those roots in tow. Mint does love to take over a herb patch if you are not careful, so planting it in a pot makes it easier to manage. In fact to show how strong willed mint can be I was amazed to find growing, really well in an old pot that had been outside all winter, a lemon mint I bought two years ago. I completely forgot about it. The roots where jam-packed and there was plenty of dead stems pointing between the few leaves. I was brutal and ripped them off and took away some of the excess roots. We shall see if it can survive that.

Outdoor Living

So, everyone knows that food tastes better outdoors - from fish and chips on the end of the pier, to a humbug on a long walk, to posh picnics with Pimms - so why do we so routinely sit in dull dining rooms?

We had a lovely lunch today with friends in the garden - with three baby led weaning (BLW) babies aged just 7 months, eating outside is not only lovely, but also practical. BLW is messy. L was having a bad day teething so stuck sensibly to cool slices of cucmber. F discovered quiche was quite scoffable. And Tomas nommed his current favorite - sweet potato wedges and whatever he could steal from nearby plates. Tomas just loves being outdoors - there is always something new to look at.

Dinner was just me and James - sitting on the steps, candles & cider and discussing plans for the weekend. We hope to go to a local plant sale, sort out all our window boxes, go to SolDay in the lovely Mayfield Valley and join some others on a food foraging guided tour of some select parks in Sheffield.

Here's to lots more meals outdoors...