the green gal

How to make elderflower cordial

I'm becoming quite fond of making edible treats from my local hedgerows. In the autumn I make blackberry jam and blackberry vodka and I'm summoning up the courage to snip some nettles to make tea. This week I thought I'd give elderflower cordial a go. I used the recipe from July's Country Homes and Interiors magazine and although it stated that 850ml of cordial would be produced, I somehow ended up with more than a litre…

In my haste to make, I forgot to take any pics of the elderflower, you can find this image on flickr here

It's really very simple. All you need to do is boil 600ml water in a pan and add 900g caster sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Take it off the heat and leave it to cool for about ten minutes. In the meantime, grate the zest of one lemon and juice it. You will need to have cut ten elderflower heads, give them a thorough look over to pick out any little bugs who have come along for the ride. Add the elderflower heads, the lemon zest and juice and 45g of citric acid (bought from a chemist). Give it a good stir, cover and leave overnight.

Then, simply sieve and pour into sterilised bottles. It should keep for about a month, I'm storing mine in the fridge. It's pretty strong stuff so you only need a little added to water, soda or anything else you fancy flavouring.

This has instantly become my favourite soft summer drink and I think Pimm's is hard to beat as a sunshiney grown-up tipple. What's your favourite beverage on a hot summer's day?

PS I've just added a few new items to my etsy shop, check out the bunting bags when you get a mo…

Scrummy choccie chip cookies

Think they look tasty? They taste even better than they look. Try this Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe and find out for yourselves!

Handmade is heartmade…

…is my new mantra, so, fittingly, this…

… was given to me today by my dear friend Kirsty and sums up a lovely afternoon spent learning how to crochet this…

 

…small and imperfectly formed, but crochet none the less, and followed by…

 
…multi-coloured eggs from local chickens for my dinner!

Hope you all had an equally satisfying day.

Blackberry vodka

Nope, I've not opened a speakeasy, I'm making homemade blackberry vodka!

I found the recipe in October's Country Living magazine and it just seemed too simple to not try. Plus I had a surplus of blackberries and am partial to the odd vodka cocktail. We made sloe gin a couple of years ago so fancied having a go at another tipple.

The simple recipe:

• Fill a old clean wine bottle one third full with equal parts blackberries and sugar.
• Top up with cheap vodka (no need to splash out on expensive stuff when you're flavouring it).
• Give it a good shake to mix up the berries, sugar and vodka.
• For the next two months give it a shake every day or two.
• Then, sieve the mixture through a muslin cloth, pour into a clean bottle and enjoy!

I'll let you know how it tastes!

BTW, my post about how I made the cushion cover from old clothes is on daisygreenmagazine.co.uk now, check it out http://good.ly/du2yk and let me know what you think!

The finishing line

So, the store cupboard challenge is over!

We ate well, most of the time, not too weirdly and a bit more thoughtfully. I've discovered that we keep quite a substantial amount of non-perishable food and my trips to the food shops needn't be as frequent as they have been. With a bit of thought we've made use of what we already had in the cupboard and the freezer and have actually had a more varied diet for it. It's easy to get stuck in your ways and rely on a handful of familiar ideas and forget what lovely dishes you could have if you took the time to think about it. 

The hubbie, who is head chef in our household, says he's quite enjoyed the Ready Steady Cook Challenge, as he named it. I think he might have blanked out the memory of the choice words he came out with on Friday night when he discovered that sour cream is no replacement for double cream. Separated cream doesn't look the best but the potato boulangere still tasted delicious!

Yesterday was a bit of a cheat as we were out all day with friends so only had popcorn with a movie when we got home. (Don't bother watching Iron Man but do pop your own corn, kids and adults alike love the exploding sounds coming from the pan.)

And tonight could be considered a bit sneaky as we ate last week's leftover veggie bean chilli from the freezer. However, we freed up space in the freezer and the accompanying brown rice came from the cupboard!

All in all the week was a success and I think we'll make it a regular every few months. We saved money, we made some space in the kitchen and used our brains a bit more. I hope that everyone taking part at myzerowaste.com and frugal-life.spaces.live.com enjoyed it too!

The challenge continues

Day 4 of the store cupboard challenge and we're still eating remarkably well!

Tonight we dined on the British staple of sausages – veggie for me, organic pork for the hubbie – and mash with onion gravy. Not a compromise in sight!

Admittedly we are thinking a bit harder about meals than we used to. A wintery dish like this wouldn't usually be the natural choice in August but with the four seasons in one day weather (hum Crowded House quiety) – why not?!

The sausages were languishing in the freezer and the potatoes were a too-big bag I bought which were starting to go a bit green. So all in all a good store cupboard challenge day! And there are enough leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

Now, what Friday's dinner will be, who knows?

Store cupboard challenge

Inspired by Mrs Green at http://myzerowaste.com and Piper Terrett at http://frugal-life.spaces.live.com the hubbie and I have embarked on a store cupboard challenge!

The challenge is to make meals only from food we already have, for one week. Only fresh fruit and veg can be bought, all accompanying ingredients have to come from our home. Seeing as we only have two ripe tomatoes (but 47 green) so far, that limits us to the store cupboard.

Last night we had veggie fajitas.

Tonight it's pasta salad with stuffed peppers.

What will tomorrow's feast be I wonder?! If you've done anything similar or have any suggestions, let me know!

(PS You can still win a veggie-growing book if you comment on my post Gardening Lessons Learned!)