Recipe of the Week - Elderflower Cordial

 Recipe of the Week – Elderflower Cordial

Elderflowers are definitely at their best right now although this depends on which part of the country you live.

My daughter went out during the week and picked a bagful of them but, do leave some for the elderberry berries.

In some parts of the country, it is believed that the gypsies always said it was unlucky to pick any part of the elder tree !

Approx 20 good sized elderflower heads – [try to find flower heads which have not started to drop or are still in bloom, if the flower heads are small count 2 as 1 but don’t use too many over the amount as the flavour is quite strong.]

3 pints [1½ litres] water

3 lbs [1½ kg] sugar

2 oz [50g] citric acid – you can buy this from a pharmacy

2 – 3 lemons – cut up [use juice and zest]

Method

1.     *   Cut off the main stems from the flowers, remove any brown bits or debris and wash the flowers well.

2.     *   Rinse off well – best in a strainer to avoid losing too many of the flowers.

3.     *   Put the water into a large pan or preserving pan, add the sugar and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.

4.    *    Bring the water to the boil.

5.     *   Add the citric acid, the flowers and lemons. Stir round quickly then turn off the heat.

6.      *  Leave the flowers and other ingredients soaking for 24 hours.

7.      *  Strain the liquid through a fine sieve [discard the flower mixture] and bottle up in sterile, sealable bottles.

8.    *    Dilute to taste with water.

9.       * This cordial will keep for a week in the fridge or can be frozen – why not freeze in ice cube trays for individual portions.

Pests Galore - Asparagus Beetle and Black-fly

Pests Galore

It’s not all bad news – the sunshine and warmth today after the heavy rain are certainly making our crops grow as well, of course, as the weeds.

I picked my first broad beans today. They’re not huge yet but, are oh so sweet and tender. The bad news is that the plants are covered in black-fly. Surprisingly enough, it is my autumn sown beans which have been affected worst and I usually think they are fairly safe.

There is a variety of ploys you can try to deter them or prevent too much damage:

-        -  Some people swear by washing them off with soapy water;

-         - Pinch out the tender tops of the plants once the beans have set at the bottoms of the stems [although -I have noticed that the black-fly are crowded much of the way down the stems of some of the plants;

-       -   Sacrifice a couple of plants to keep the flies off the majority;

-        -  Use SB plant Invigorator – sprayed on – it is organic, a foliar feed really but also seems to keep bugs at bay [ this will be my choice ];

-        -  PY bug Killer – also organic and very effective.

With both of the last two you can pick the same day.

I have finished harvesting my asparagus now although I could get another couple of pickings from the plants. I will now allow the ferns to develop to feed the roots for next year’s crops. As my ferns usually grow quite high – a metre plus – I find it necessary to stake or put up support for the ferns otherwise they will blow over in a windy summer / autumn and break off at the roots causing damage to the roots.

I have noticed that there are loads of asparagus beetles on my plants [ more than I have seen for some years and it is still early,] with rows of little black eggs up the stems.

Do check your plants for these pests as their larvae can cause an amazing amount of damage to the ferns which will destroy your crops for next year.

You can doubtless, spray these little nasties with insecticide but I have found the most effective way is to check your plants each day you are at your plot and remove the beetles [put your hand under the beetles you are going to remove, they will see you coming and drop off or move round the plant! Really! Squash them. I always wear nitrile gloves for this job. If you can see the tiny eggs remove them also. As they hatch the larvae are very squashy, slimy little greenish brown worm-like creatures with large heads. I also squash them.

Asparagus beetle is not likely to be a problem if you are growing far away from anyone else who grows this crop but, on allotments it is definitely one of those pests you have to deal with.

Recipes of the Week - Rhubarb Jelly and Ginger Ice-cream

Recipes of the Week

Rhubarb Jelly

About 6 good sized stems of rhubarb [washed and trimmed] – enough to give about 1lb [½ Kg]

¼ pint [ 5fl oz. 150ml] water

1 good Tblsp sugar – or to taste [ as the season progresses the rhubarb becomes tougher and less sweet you may then wish to add a bit more sugar]

4 leaves of gelatine [ follow the instructions on the packet]

Method

·         Cut the washed rhubarb into pieces about 1inch [2cm] long.

·         Put in a saucepan with the water and cook gently until soft.

·         Put the rhubarb into a food processor and whizz until smooth [ or use a handheld blender].

·         To give a smoother jelly you may wish to put it through a sieve or to give a clear jelly use a little more fruit and strain it through a jelly bag [measure the amount of liquid and use the required amount of gelatine specified on the packet

·         Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.

·         Pour in the prepared gelatine and stir in well as you are pouring.

·         Put the mixture into serving dishes and put into the fridge to set.

·         Serve with cream or  ginger ice-cream.

If you are planning to serve this on its own you may wish to add a little crystallised ginger or some orange zest and juice to the rhubarb while it is cooking

Ginger Ice – Cream

4 large egg yolks

30g [1 oz] icing sugar

2 x ½ pint [ 10fl oz, 275ml ] tubs double cream [ or close to this quantity]

About half of a [150g] jar of stem ginger chunks in syrup – chunks and syrup.

Pinch salt

Method

·         Set your freezer onto its fast freeze setting.

·         Chop the ginger chunks into small pieces and put into the portion of syrup.

·         Whisk one of the tubs of cream until it is whisked but not too stiff.

·         Put the egg yolks, sugar and pinch of salt into a bowl and whisk until it is pale coloured and creamy.

·         Heat the other tub of cream in a saucepan but, do not allow it to boil.

·         Add the ginger, with the syrup into the egg mixture and place the bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and whish continuously as you pour the cream into it in a thin stream.

·         Continue to whisk over the hot water until the custard starts to thicken – this method will prevent the custard curdling or ‘splitting’.

·         Transfer the bowl to a cold bath and continue to whisk until the bowl and custard are cold.

·         Add the remaining cream and carefully mix in.

·         Put the custard into a suitable lidded container and put in the freezer.

·         Every hour or so, take the custard from the freezer and stir well then return to the freezer, until the ice-cream has set.