Elderflower Cordial

This delicious drink is simplicity itself to make and tastes all the better when drunk in the sunshine, mixed with fizzy water, ice cubes, a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint.

20 Elderflower heads
3 Lemons
1 kg Sugar
1 litre Water

Heat the water to near boiling and dissolve the sugar. Meanwhile put the lemon peel in a large bowl with the elderflowers and pour in the juices from the fruit. Add the sugar solution and leave to infuse overnight, covered with a clean cloth. Strain and heat again before pouring into clean bottles and sealing tightly. Ready to drink immediately, but should keep for several weeks - store in a fridge once opened. Dilute to taste with fizzy or still water - or add a small dash to white wine and soda to create an unusual spritzer.

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Wild Food

Our ancestors relied on wild food from the fields and woods, great great grandfathers were transported for helping themselves, while Mabey, Mears and Fearnley-Whittingstall have introduced a new generation to its charms. So what free delicacies are available now?

Alexanders
Birch Sap Wine
Chanterelles
Chestnut
Cockles
Elderberries
Hairy Bittercress
Hogweed
Hops (March 2010)
Morel
Pennywort
Ramsoms (May 2010)
Red-legged partridge
Silver Birch
Sloe
St Georges (April 2010)
Stinging Nettles
Wild strawberries

Wildlife Profile

Britain is blessed with a rich and varied fauna - what seasonal highlights are visible now?

Badger
Barn Owl
Bats
Brown Hare
Butterflies
Fieldfares
Frog
Garden Warbler
Great spotted woodpecker
Hedgehogs
Jay
Kingfisher
Mistle Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Moths (July 2010)
Nightjar
Nuthatch (June 2010)
Partridge
Redstart
Roe Deer
Spiders
Tawny Owl

Recipes

Just as we Britons have lost any mushroom lore we might once have possessed, so most of us are at a loss when we finally venture into the kitchen with our haul. In reality, however, mushrooms are one of the easiest things to work with. They have such fantastic flavours, the general rule is to not to mask these with complicated recipes. Most should be cooked, particularly the first time, because they can be indigestible, but otherwise, simple is usually best . . .

Baked eggs and rocket with chilli and yoghurt (June 2010)
Chanterelle and Feta Quiche
Chanterelles a la forestiere
Chicken and Mushroom Pie
Chicken-of-the-Woods Satay
Elderflower Cordial
Grilled Cepes
Jew's Ear on Pasta
Morel Fondue
Morel Stroganoff (March 2010)
Parasol Tempura
Pearl Barley and Wild Mushroom Risotto
Shaggy Ink Cap Soup
St Georges Vol-au-Vents
Venison and Blewit Casserole
Wild Mushroom and Nut Pate
Wild mushroom soup

Latest

Mushroom Newsletter (29 July 2010)
Porcini are here! Usually I would expect to find this autumn mushroom from about September onwards, but this year they seem to be up a good six weeks early . . .. Mushroom_Newsletter_(Porcini_-_July_2010).PDF

Wildlife Profile

Moths (July 2010)
If one could rank insects by popularity, moths would be a long way from the top. Unlike their beautiful cousins, the butterflies, most are drab and nocturnal. Thus we are most likely to encounter them when a particularly large specimen begins to crash around the lamp by an open window in the dead of night . . .

Elderflower Cordial

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