What is a medlar I hear you ask? Mespilus germanica is a small odd shaped fruit grown here since Roman times. A small sized roundish fruit with a rough mid brown skin a bit like a kiwi fruit in texture, but turn it to the base and it splits into a wide crack giving it’s…
Continue ReadingTag: recipe
Recipe: Crab Apple Jelly
I am a preserver, by that I mean I make use of as much produce, foraged, home grown and free as I can. From my plot (400m2), from friends as well as the local hedgerows and parks. This year I made crab apple jelly for the first time. I’ve never really thought about it before…
Continue Reading
Recipe : Gooseberry & Strawberry tart
Strawberries it seems go with everything, at the early end of it a friend introduced me to a Strawberry and rhubarb tart along with strawberry and rhubarb jam , both excellent combinations and this version with gooseberries instead of rhubarb is another new to me excellent combination. The heady sweetness of ripe Strawberries goes very…
Continue Reading
Recipe: Gooseberry and Elderflower fool
Gooseberries and elderflower are good companions, not least because they are out in the world at the same time. We have had a bumper crop of berries this year, slightly over 12kg so far, from 4 well established bushes and finding things to do with the berries other than freezing them has become the challenge…
Continue Reading
Recipe: Gooseberry crumble
This is first in a short series of gooseberry recipes. There’s a glut, pretty much every year and I sometimes need to be reminded of what to do with the additional fruit. If you have recipe favorites do share them in the comments below, I can never have too many ideas. My mother made this…
Continue ReadingGrowing Garlic this year?
On a whim at the end of last year I planted a bag of garlic that I purchased from the clearout tray at Homebase. Jamie Oliver‘s latest packaged item announced an extended season of garlic, what could be better? Growing a garlic crop is immensely satisfying and can be done with limited time or space…
Continue Reading