Wednesday 25 May 2011

Food for the Soul

Things are connected. Yesterday I picked the first big strawberry from the walled garden. I cut it four ways and we all had a taste, Hubby made a face as he'd just had a sweet cereal but we three thought it tasted delicious. Truth was, it wasn't quite ripe but I'd noticed a small hole and a red ant gorging! I wasn't up for sharing.....

Then, as I drove to school I noticed the elderflower trees had opened their white blossoms. Ah ha, time for cordial making. The connection was made; clearly the time had arrived in the seasons where I need to use up last year's stocks from the freezers, to make room for this year's crops of strawberry, plum, damson and far, far, more.

I knew I had a turkey carcass in one of the freezers so I began my stock take by actually making some -stock. The garden is bursting into life so I used a couple of juicy onions, tons of coriander or cilantro and a bunch of parsley and thyme. I added salt and pepper, a little honey, last year's garlic, fresh ginger and chilli and turned on the slow cooker - very low, to cook for most of the day.

Today for lunch I strained the amber liquid into a saucepan, added a little more chilli and began to bring it to the boil. While it was heating I picked fresh baby cavolo de nero kale and shredded it finely and de-podded young broad beans and added them to the hot soup for two, three minutes tops.

It was amazing. Food miles = almost zero.

7 comments:

  1. I want to come for dinner. I'll take some of your freezer goods too. mmm

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  2. well done. So good of you to clean out the freezer once in a while.
    out elder is just beginning to bloom as well. If i dig deep, maybe I can find some of last years cordial too!

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  3. I'm coming to dinner - RIGHT NOW ! How are you btw xx

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  4. Drool.

    Drool.

    Drool.

    Inspired!

    Thank you :-)

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  5. Stole my first cherry today from the ice rink car park. Not ripe yet. Will have to see what tasty mysteries my new garden yields as planting things is beyond me. Hoping for a nice crop of bramleys. I just scavenge from others' toil. I may even have to break into my old garden if noone's bought it by the end of the summer to get my mits on all those blackberries and plums. Talking of food miles I had a very loud rant to anyone in earshot about NO English apples available in Tesco the other day. None in the Coop today either. I don't expect English bananas or coconuts but apples we DO!!!!!! I get all irate me about this stuff....

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  6. Yummy soup indeed!
    Loved your last post about bad parents...made me grin.

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The Archers at The Larches

Lou - Chicken whisperer....

Lou - Chicken whisperer....

Snowy and Moon

Snowy and Moon