a foraging i will go

[jillR]

I was having a look at my photo files to see what I took pickies of last year in july

and  found ....

 

this on the 17th ......

and this on the 31st ..

time to start looking for a good deal on some brandy perhaps.

[Hockham Admiral]

We've still not opened last year's wild plum vodka, Jill!  

[jillR]

ive just had a taste of the wild greengage brandy from last year and its

not half bad.

I just got back from waitrose and they have a deal on 1ltr Smirnoff vodka

and 1ltr gordons gin so a bought 1 of each ready for the season.

ive still got half of last years as I don't drink a lot as im

always driving.

I will have to give more to the postman and the girls.

I bet it will go well with the elderflower champaign john.

[jillR]

making a chocolate cake with dried cherries and desiccated coconut I

thought some cherry brandy would perhaps go well in it, then I decided

that sloe and elderberry gin would perhaps do as good a job.

I soaked the desiccated coconut in the sloe gin for a while before I

added it so it wouldent be to sloppy. it worked a treat.

[grendel]

we have just finished making 12 jars of wild plum jam (the yellow ones are called Mirabelle in France) from the hedgerow - just the other half to do this weekend now, plus the blackberries from the garden. we made 2 batches, one from the yellow, and a second from the red. (6 jars of each). the reds are just about ready down here in Kent, and the yellows just starting to get ripe now.

Grendel

[grendel]

in the past we have made bullace brandy (like larger sloes, not quite as dry) and we saved the fruit and added it to the Christmas cake mix over the next few years (the brandy was lovely too).

Grendel

[jillR]

hi Grendel,

things are about at the same stage here with the 1st red wild plums ready

and the yellow not far behind.

I managed to find a wild morello cherry tree and pick enough to try

cherry vodka to, so im looking forward to seeing how that goes.

ive never made jam and don't eat it often even though I do like

greengage jam.