Thursday 18 April 2013

Slow food, slow growth.


This photograph was taken on the 25th April 2012. See the abundant muscari, with their cheerful miniature blue flowers. Notice the height of the mint in the planter in the foreground. And observe the lush growth of lovage at the side of the planter and standing quite tall at the very back of the photograph.


I took this photograph today. Notice the few stunted muscari, and the newly emerging lovage shoots.


And here the few brave mint shoots poking their heads above the parapet! How different from last year. I wonder what other implications the long cold winter and slow spring will have for us on the food front?

Following on from my foraging trip last post, I got very busy in the kitchen as wild garlic wilts very quickly, and I didn't want my haul to go to waste. I decided to make a variety of 'foodie' items loosely following the recipes in Simple Things, a magazine I occasionally buy; although pricey it has excellent articles and recipes, and is a 'keeper'.

I made wild garlic butter:



Wild garlic oil - this is stored in a dark place for 18 days then filtered and re-bottled. It will keep for 9 months in the fridge or 2 at room temperature.






And wild garlic pesto. This will keep for 3 weeks in the fridge. (I bet it will keep a bit longer, I have covered it well with olive oil) I've also frozen some.


The more you chop or crush herbs the more pungent they become; as a leaf wild garlic is quite mild, like a faintly garlicky chive, but once crushed - oh! My word. Talk about blow your socks off! Very peppery, much hotter than rocket or watercress. In fact I will have to let each spoonful down with more oil before use. I did however mix some with hummus for my lunch today, on homemade bread and it was delicious. You could also add it to cream cheese, which would be fabulous. I'm thinking...perhaps add a dollop to a tomatoey or creamy pasta sauce ....ooooh yes!

I just need to tell you a bit about wild garlic as some folks have been asking on Facebook.


Ramsons - common name.  Allium Ursinum - Latin name. Other common names are legion: Buckrams, wood garlic, Bear's garlic, broad-leaved garlic, and others.
Native to Central and western Europe. Thrives in woodland, moist, slightly acidic soils. Prolific spreader! Onion-like perennial, small white flowers which appear in May-June, by which time the leaves have become somewhat bitter.

Good for a plethora of ills: respiratory conditions, vasodilator and antiseptic. Reduces high blood pressure, is a good spring tonic for immune system, liver, gall bladder, stomach and intestine. Topical application useful for arthritic and rheumatic joints.

So there you are, go forth and forage!

My latest bread making was a bit of a visual disaster, as I was going for the 'slow food' approach and trying to let it rise long and slow, but I over-proved it and it collapsed in the oven. However, I can tell you, don't ever be dismayed if the same happens to you because it tasted wonderful!


And to continue the 'slow' theme, a quick look at some 'slow cloth' ... from the inside too!




Hope by the time next blog post is written this wind will have dropped - fed up with it now! At least the sun has been shining, and hopefully most of us will have a good weekend.

18 comments:

  1. Hi Lynne - jusst to say that if you pick Ramsons and put it straight in a ziplock bag in the fridge it will keep for days without wilting - I just tear it up and use in salads - which i eat everyday :-)
    cheers - Thelma

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    1. Hi Thelma, thanks I will try that; I'm hoping to go and pick some more tomorrow but won't have time to process it all,great idea thanks.Lx

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  2. I was glad to har it was good for me as I eat it every day while its growing - pick loads to keep in the fridge so that it will last after the slugs join in the feast - I had not noticed that it tastes bitter once flowering - incidentally I eat the flowers as well - your pot is growing nicely by the way and one of them is in bud already!

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    1. Oh great, thanks Thelma! I had no idea you can eat the flowers - oh! but of course, I use chive flowers in salads and bread all the time! Of course!Lx

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  3. Hi Lynne, mmmm Allium Ursinum .... have that in the garden !
    (I know I have been warned it spreads !!!) ;-) But what I didn't know
    was to use it in a recipe ;-) , sounds VERY góód ! Will try that !

    O my, you look great in your Molly-jacket ! (still workind on it while
    the fiddle is in it's case ?)
    Still working on my jacket : preparing some flower petals (with the
    machine) for the front ;-)

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    1. Hi Els, yes yes yes! Eat your Ramsons! Don't let them go to waste. Try the pesto it is absolutely fabulous! My jacket is turning into a REAL slow cloth - I should do a little every day but other things get in the way - cooking, playing music etc! Good job I have my Stitch and Bitch friends coming once a month, as on that day I sit down and just stitch. Oh, and eat cake!!

      Your jacket is much truer to real slow-cloth/Boro, keep us updated! Lx

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  4. I was interested in the ransoms, particularly the health benefits, until I saw that it boosted the immune system, and since mine has to be suppressed.... botheration. Loving that jacket.

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    1. I think you would probably have to eat a substantial amount to get those kinds of benefits, so you could have some snipped through a salad, or use the oil as a salad dressing; the pesto is somewhat more concentrated so perhaps not a good idea. It would be a very interesting piece of research - if one were sufficiently bothered to do it - looking into the amount needed to be consumed to effect an increase in immune system function.Lx

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  5. Have you tried lovage soup yet?

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    1. Hi Mrs GH - still not managed to see the whole of your website BTW! Yes, I use lovage A LOT! I love it, it goes into most of my soup and sauce bases, any Italian recipes I use it in place of celery when I don'y have any. Lovage soup on its own...no I haven't, I'm sure I'll have a recipe somewhere - though most of my soups are an ad hoc affair! Lx

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  6. Lynne, I love your garden and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it throughout the spring and summer! You are being very frugal and industrious, I'm VERY impressed! All that garlicky stuff, yum...I love garlic, I'm one of those weird people who doesn't actually mind the smell of garlic on others too! I wish I enjoyed cooking....but I don't! Maybe this year ill get into it....I'm not holding my breath though. Think it might be a long time before you ever get a cookery post from me, and yet I love good, healthy wholesome food....told you I was weird! Thanks for your lovely comments :) x

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    1. Ada, if it isn't your 'thing' don't worry about it, gardening isn't my thing AT ALL! but I do enjoy messing about with herbs - what I'm saying is, don't dismiss the whole gamut of 'cooking', you maybe just need to find a tiny area of the subject to have a go at and build on that. Or not! You could be the Queen of One Dish quite happy!

      Weird? Nah! Lx

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  7. Hi Lynne, hoping to pick some next week if it is still around. Took your advice on our walk this week and stopped off at the Brisley Bell. Wonderful meal and place.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the Brisley Bell, Dc, we 've had some great food there - and a brilliant session once as well.

      I'm popping up to Onion Corner later today to replenish my stocks while they are still nice to eat - though see what Thelma, above, says about that, and the fact you can of course use the flowers, when they arrive. Lx

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  8. Hello Lynne, this wild garlic is new to me . . . and Steve and I are very fond of garlic. It probably would not grow in our area. If it were not for irrigation nothing would grow here, except sagebrush, LOL.
    Hallelujah for irrigation :)
    Your lunch sounded delicious.
    Have a marvelous weekend, I hope it is filled with friends, fun and music :)
    Your blogging sister, Connie

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    1. Hi Connie, I think you won't find it naturally in the States, it is native to central and western Europe, but you must have chives, and perhaps garlic chives. It is just so wonderful to find such a wonderful harvest for free - one of my fiddle friends from the north of England has just posted on facebook that she has found a clump, picked, chopped and whizzed up to make wonderful wild garlic butter! I'm going viral!! Hope you too have a great weekend. Lx

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  9. The sight of that bread, and I can almost smell that pesto ... my mouth is watering! And I know just the place to gather some of that garlic myself ...

    Great post Lynne :)

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    1. You still up too? I was going to watch the music of Nick Drake but we've recorded it instead!

      It does get a bit strong when crushed, but OH! So gorgeous, we have been dolloping the pesto into everything! I picked more today(yesterday that is) and am going to try a different combination of ingredients - pine nuts and peanuts, and strong cheddar instead of parmesan. Such fun!

      Now I'm off to bed!! Night night! Lx

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