Spinach and a few new potatoes from the garden. Couple of handfuls of spinach Onion Garlic (or if in may use wild garlic with the spinach) 1pt vegetable or chicken stock 1 potato or sweet potato Melt some butter and slowly sweat the onion for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and potato chopped into small chunks. Cook for a couple of minutes then add the stock. (you could add celery and anything else you fancy really). Bring to the boiler then turn down the heat and simmer until the potato is cooked then add the spinach, bring back to boil then simmer for a couple of minutes. Then blitz and serve, could add a dollop of fresh cream........ Enjoy! it was delicious. |
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Today I've been learning a little about the history and the properties of hawthorn, also known as Maythorn because it flowers in May, or Bread and Cheese as the leaves are very filling and good at lowering cholesterol, so I think I am going to start using them from today in salads and in my sandwiches.
I am also going to collect the berries later in the year to make Hawthorn Jelly, the berries are rich in vitamin C. You can make tea from the flowers, just pinch a couple of flowing tops and step them, I didn't really find the flavour to be much of anything so I would definitely mix with a taste I like, perhaps a mint leaf or Lemon balm. Actually I bought a Chocolate mint at the weekend and this would be lovely added to the pot. There is also an older hawthorn, crataegus laevigate, English or midland hawthorn, the leaves are a slightly different shape and the English Hawthorn is said to have a "putrid" smell. Fortunately our hedgerow is definitely Crataegus Monogyna. It is said hawthorn is good for the heart, improves high blood pressure. In one of the books I have, it says when Hawthorn is grown together with ash and oak, the place is steeped in fairy lore, because of the thorns it is considered protective and it certainly protects our property. The shape of the flowers with five petals are said to make a pentagram, a magical sign. The smell of the blossom is believed to enable you to access the "other world" and this goes hand in hand with Beltane. Today I was introduced to Peppermint and Lemon Balm tea and it was lovely, I had not thought of making my own herbal tea until today, so I have been out and bought myself the lovely tea pot and am writing this blog drinking my second cup of the day.
Infusion: Lemon Balm is used for anxiety, depression, nervous tension and related digestive disorders.. Peppermint is used for nausea, indigestion and flatulence. Cuppa of the day is Nettle and Cleavers, picked growing together along the side of The Drock.
I grew up with the name sticky willies for cleavers and still have great fun picking them and throwing them at peoples backs when out walking...... Detox Infusion: Nettles nourish the blood and cease the body through increased "peeing" Cleavers help reduce fluid retention in the skin and improve the complexion. A fabulous day yesterday learning about Wild Garlic, we went foraging and then took our harvest back to The Studio to make Pesto. The pesto was made with the leaves of the wild garlic and the buds, but not the flowers.
The flowers are edible and are quite peppery, they would be great in a salad. Mum and Brian were over from France and popped in, so they tried the pesto with pasta and thoroughly enjoyed it. Potato and Wild Garlic Soup: Today I made potato and wild garlic soup, basically I chopped and fried an onion, softened it for about 5 minutes then added 4 medium peeled potatoes, chopped quite small, which I warmed through and then added some stock (about 1.5 pints) and cooked for about 10 - 15 minutes, until soft. The potato soaked up quite a bit of the stock so I just kept adding more liquid. When the potato was soft I added the chopped Garlic Leaves, a large handful. After a few minutes of cooking I seasoned and then it was ready to eat. You could blend it but I like the chunks of potato. ********** Wild Garlic Pesto: With the remaining leaves that I had picked I decided to make more pesto but I changed the recipe a little. *100g of pine nuts and 100g walnuts - cook in the oven for about 5 minutes: *150g parmesan cheese: *x1 Lemon, zested and juiced: *300g Chopped Wild Garlic Leaves: *300ml Olive Oil: In the blender add the parmesan cheese, cut into blocks and then blend, add in the pine nuts and walnuts and blitz, then add the zest and juice of the lemon and chopped leaves. Put the blender onto blitz and slowly add the olive oil until you have reached the right consistency. Season to taste. I absolutely love the taste of this peso and the above ingredients filled x4 glass pesto jars. I have given a couple to neighbours to try and will munch my way through the other two in the next couple of days. |
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