It's elderflower time! November 16th 2013

I suddenly realised last week that the elder flowers might already be flowering. It has been such a wet winter and spring that I thought everything might have been a bit behind but when I started looking in my secret places along an old railway line discovered that the elder flowers were in full bloom. So after work one day last week, I set off with secateurs and shopping bag to collect as many as I could. 

Some of the flowers were to go into making a sparkling elderflower drink for hot summer days and the rest were for making cordial syrup. I wrote a blog about this last year and mentioned that recipes for these were on Sally Wise's website but when I went to look for them, I could only find the sparkling drink recipe! After hunting all over the web, I didn't find one that had the elements of Sally's quick and easy version. I was very frustrated as I wanted to make the cordial while the flowers were fresh. I was sure I had written the recipe down but couldn't find it in all my folders of loose pieces of paper. I looked in her book A Year in a Bottle but only found the sparkling recipe in the index then had the thought to look inside the front cover....of course that is where I had put it! So, in case I look here on the blog next year when I want the recipe I thought I would publish it for my own reference as well as any blog visitors.

Elderflower Syrup

1.5kg sugar ( this can probably be reduced a bit if you intend to freeze the syrup in PET bottles as I do)

4 cups boiling water

Add 1 tablespoon tartaric acid

Juice and rind of 1 lemon

14 elder flowers

Dissolve the sugar in the water then add the remaining ingredients. Leave until cool then strain and bottle.

Sparkling Elderfower.   Make it in a food safe bucket or container

3 cups sugar

4 cups of boiling water

Dissolve the sugar in the water

Add 14 cups cold water

4-6 elderflower heads

1 chopped lemon

2 Tablespoons vinegar

Cover and sit for 48 hours. Strain and bottle. Ready to drink in 2 weeks

What's the difference between Cotswold and Double Gloucester? November 12 2013

Not much is the answer. I discovered the other day when looking for a new cheese to make that the only difference between the two is just a sprinkling of dried onion and chives. This made it possible to make both at the same time since they required exactly the same steps right through the process including pressing. So there I was one very windy wet Sunday literally going stir crazy with a spoon in each hand. 

A few days later when they were dry enough I decided, instead of waxing, I would vacuum seal and put in the cheese cave to mature for a couple of months at least. Maybe we might open them up at Christmas just to try a little.

Testing out my new toy...... 27 October 2013

After much deliberation and some recent issues with waxed cheeses I decided to treat myself to a new toy- a vacuum sealing machine! I noticed recently a cheddar cheese I had been carefully ageing for more than 12 months had some mould under the wax.  I have had the problem from time to time but persisted with wax, removing the wax, scraping off the mould and rewaxing. However this time, for some reason half of the cheese felt spongy and so I decided to throw it out. Also when cutting open a new wheel, I have to rewax all the bits we are not likely to eat in the near future. Sometimes the cut surface of a cheese is not so smooth so waxing takes many dips to get all the little holes covered again. So after researching a bit online and finding a Sunbeam Foodsaver at Target for almost half the price of the same at Harvey Norman, I was convinced.

First job.....time to cut open the Caerphilly and Wensleydale with Mustard seeds which I had made in recent months. After a little tasting session, it was into the purpose made bags, out with the air and sealed up.

I had also read on a bushwalking forum site that vacuum sealing was great for hiking food too so that made it doubly appealing. Of course I had to try it out so did a test run with some of my kiwi fruit leather and dehydrated hummus. The machine could come in very handy when preparing meals in advance of a multi day hike.

"Cleaning out the freezer" Jam. October 21 2013

Two days of lovely sunshine after all this incessant we have had in the past few months and suddenly the garden has burst into life. The raspberries have all sprouted leaves ready for another productive season. Time to check what is left in the freezer from last summer and do something with it.

Yesterday out came a couple of bags of frozen raspberries and into the pot they went with some sugar. A little while later, 9 pots of jam. Ideal for Christmas presents!

Unfortunately with the gale force winds we have had recently, one on my Japanese plum trees, a Santa Rosa was blown over. We staked it up the first time with 5 plastic cables holding it in place and it looked like it might survive at least one summer. It was laden with tiny fruit so worth a try. Unfortunately while we were away last weekend, we had even stronger winds which blew it over again, snapping 4 of the plastic cables! This time there was no hope of survival.   I will have to get another next winter as it is a cross pollinator for my favourite Satsuma Japanese blood plum but at least this years crop for that tree is already fertilised!

Artichoke time. September 30, 2013

Despite all the rain saturating the soil making it impossible to dig, at least the artichokes are starting to produce beautiful tender artichokes in increasing numbers. On the weekend I marinated my first jar for the season using my tried and true recipe. I think I have posted about this before but no harm in repeating it. 

Prepare the artichokes by stripping off the outer leaves, cutting about 1/3 of the top, cutting in half and removing the choke if there is any. Quickly put the prepared artichoke into  some water acidulated with a bit of lemonjuice. This will stop it browning while you prepare the rest. Mix white wine and white wine vinegar in a half half mix with a few peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves.

Bring to the boil then throw in the artichokes. Bring back to the boil and cook for a few minutes until the artichokes are tender but not overlooked.

Place in a sterilised jar and cover with olive oil. That's it. Ready to eat immediately or else you can store in a cupboard successfully for many months or even a couple of years judging by some in my cupboard.

Another nice recipe for using artichokes is an artichoke risotto recipe in Jamie Oliver Does Spain, Italy, Morocco, Sweden, France. Simply make a basic Risotto Bianco and then add a mix of sautéed artichokes, garlic, thyme and lemon juice. Top with some freshly grated Parmesan to make a delicious meal.

And now for 15 minutes of fame - a podcast interview with Little Green Cheese September 17th 2013

Last night I did a Skype interview with Gavin Webber of Greening of Gavin fame. He also has a great cheesemaking blog called Little Green Cheese to which there is a link on this page. I have been a student of Little Green Cheese from time to time and have used some of his recipes in my own cheesemaking. Especially if you are a beginner cheesemaker, his video tutorials are great at demystifying the process and showing how simple it is to do in your own kitchen.  The Wensleydale recipe is a real winner and I think I am currently up to about my 5th or 6th batch of it. Here is the link to the podcast. Enjoy my 15 minutes of fame!
http://www.littlegreencheese.com/2013/09/lgc-podcast-episode-11-interview-with.html

Caerphilly cheese and preserving fruit juice in the microwave. Friday September 1 2013

Last weekend I got busy on restocking the cheese cave. For the first time I am attempting Caerphilly cheese, harking back to my Welsh heritage perhaps, or just because it wasn't too complicated. I wanted to make some Camembert at the same time so I needed a recipe that wasn't to complicated prior to pressing. Caerphilly fitted the bill as after cutting the curds it just needed some slow heating up to 104 degrees F.( Most recipes come out of American books so handy to have a thermometer which shows both Celcius and Fahrenheit). After that some stirring for 20 minutes or so then into the press it went. It has been drying on a board in the kitchen since then and should be ready to wax by the weekend. Too soon and whey continues to seep out and you end up with liquid sloshing around inside the wax. This cheese should only take a few weeks to mature.

Another thing I experimented with last weekend was using the microwave to bottle some apple juice. I recently borrowed a book from the library about bottling fruit in the microwave using recycled jars with metal lids. I was always under the impression that metal and microwaves don't mix and I was feeling a bit precious about my microwave which is only a few months old. So it was with some trepidation that I put a jar in and hit the start button but thankfully there were no sparks or alarming noises. Apparently it all depends on the ratio of metal to what is in the jar. It took a bit of experimenting to get the right temperature without the liquid starting to boil and to get a lid that sealed properly.In the end I got 3 jars of fresh apple juice to seal with the lids making that lovely sound of a vacuum sucking in the lid .

And finally for Fathers Day, we decided to cut open the Wensleydale with cranberries....and the verdict? Not bad at all. No fermenting of the cranberries. So after cutting a wedge to eat this week, the rest was re-waxed to mature a bit longer.