Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness...

And with that mellow fruitfulness comes heaps of fruit and veg in the kitchen.
I've now made three batches of red tomato and red onion chutney, using ripe tomatoes either from our garden or from my friend's poly-tunnel at the smallholding 'next door'.
The red onions I've used were from our garden too! This is one I've been making for a good few years, and it really is my favourite breakfast thing, I love it with eggs and bacon.
However much I make, we always, always get through it really quickly. Originally a Women's Institute 'Preserves & Pickles' book recipe, I've made a couple of changes - namely using red onions instead of ordinary ones, and using a fabulously smoky sweet paprika, the best I can find.

We were given a bag of pears, which have become pear and ginger chutney after I tried some someone else had made and thought it was really nice. It was fab with some farmhouse pate, and my first taste of my batch is pretty similar, so that was a success.

You know there is an old wives tale about an abundant harvest in the hedgerows being a portent of a hard winter? Well before the papers were predicting snow for three months - we'd already been saying if the tale was true we were due for a cold winter.I've never seen anything like the fruit down the back lane here this year. We saw sloes and crab apples in the hedge there for the first time, and I've also made a batch of hedgerow jelly, which has sloes, crab apples, elderberries, blackberries, rosehips, and haws in!

Also I've made some mango chutney this morning, the mangos were reduced in Tesco! They are not as yet growing wild in West Wales! (But the red chilli I used was from the greenhouse here)
I couldn't find the recipe I used last year, and I'm pretty sure I used the fruit/sugar/vinegar from one recipe with the spice blend from another, so this year I made sure I've written down what I used!

I've also tried a batch of preserved lemons for the first time, made some lemon and lime marmelade, a large batch of bramble Jelly, and some bramble cheese, made from the fruit that was drained for the jelly and I've also got a small batch of crab apple and sloe jelly on the go at the moment, I must say I do like making jelly type preserves it's very satisfying when it sets

We've got a bottle of sloe vodka on the go, and a bottle of blackberry whiskey, both will be ready for Xmas. I've also made a couple of bottles of elder rob, an elderberry cordial, which is recommended for seeing a cold off. The second batch has been given an extra kick with some star anise, which is also supposed to be good for colds and flu.

My last thing to make will be some lemon curd. I've never tried to make it before, but I've always enjoyed homemade curd when I've bought it, much nicer than the shop stuff. I've got a few lemons left, and a few eggs from our chickens so I want to make some. Then I really must stop. I have nearly run out of jars, and of course all these preserves need to be stored, my cupboard is totally full, so if we DO get snowed in - LOL - we will have plenty of jam and pickle to keep us going until someone digs us out!

Kate

August has been a really busy month!

We've had lots of lovely people staying here this month and it's been incredibly busy at times, but everyone seems to have enjoyed staying here, and has loved the Cardigan area. Several guests have visited the small beach at Ceibwr, which is so unspoilt, it's on the Pembrokshire coastal path, which has just ranked No.3 in the world's best walks the path runs right across the beach, and the geology and wildlife here is amazing. The picture above was taken on one of my trips down there this month, someone had been busy balancing rocks down there, and left a collection of very Andy Goldsworthy sculptures!

I also discovered a 'new' wild flower (below) which we identified on our return as Sheeps Bit, it's such a pretty colour. I've discovered a small patch near the house too, strange how each year seems to bring a flush of new wildflowers.

I had my Mum here for a bit and we got a chance to go exploring ourselves, and we went to visit the gardens at Aberglasney (about an hour away). The garden was really lovely, and I've made a mental note to go back in the spring next year when I'm sure it will be really fabulous. I loved the 'Ninfarium' a ferny humid garden in the middle of the old house...and there were lots of unusual plants growing there too, that I'd like to have
a go at getting growing in the garden here. I loved the Japapese toad lilies, and a plant mum somehow managed to ID from a photo she took which is called Willow Gentian, a fabulous shade of deep blue.

View of the house from the Aberglasney Gardens

Toad Lilies

Willow Gentian


Kate

The picture I've been chasing....The Bumps!

I've been trying to capture the peaks of North Wales on camera since I arrived here! It's proven to be a very elusive shot, as often when they are as clear as anything with the naked eye, the camera just doesn't pick them up. The furthest point that you can see is actually over 40 miles away as the crow flies across the Irish Sea.

Locally, they say that if the 'islands' are visible then it's going to rain within two days. They really do come and go though, sometimes you don't see them for weeks, and suddenly one evening they are amazingly clear, evenings and late afternoons are a good time to spot them, the light must be right then. Oddly they were all very clear all day when it snowed! Guess they were lighter than the sky?

Only one of the 'bumps' is actually an island. Bardsey - the furthest to the left when they are visible (not in this picture). Then we have the various hills in the Lleyn Peninsular, then the peaks of the Snowdonia Range, which are seen a lot less often. On a really clear day you can see the whole sweep of the bay right up from here, round past Aberaeron, Aberystwyth and all the way round to Bardsey. This picture shows some of the Lleyn, and Snowdonia, with Snowdon itself far right, with the sort of triple peak at the top.

This picture was taken from one of the farm camp sites near us, and they are at a slightly different angle to Cardigan Bay than the back lane where we usually see the 'bumps' as we call them. at about 8.30pm the sky was light just behind the peaks, so for once the camera has captured them!

Strawberry Jam!

For the first time ever, we've had enough strawberries to make strawberry jam with our own fruit! A few times last year we picked quite a few, but they all got eaten pretty much straight away. This year they've come through in small batches, and not been quite so 'perfect' probably because of the dry spell, so it didn't feel quite so sacrilegious to make jam. I've kind of given up with using small jars to pot up jams and chutney, so tend to use these bigger kilner jars now, I find them easier to wash up and store in the store cupboard and then in the fridge when they've been opened. I usually do a smaller spare jar too when I sterilise for any 'overflow' and if I fill both of those I stick the rest in a ramekin or another unsterilised jar and we use it straight away.

First batch (on the left) I made the 'traditional' way, and threw in the 15 gooseberries that had set the bushes this year - it's the first year they have fruited so wasn't expecting much of a crop, and I also put in the contents of a pink grapefruit, to help the set, you can't taste either in the finished product. It did set OK, strawberry jam can be tricky to get to reach setting point, but for the second batch, to make sure, I bought jam sugar, which has apple pectin added. I've never used it before, and was really surprised at the short processing time. Once the jam has come to the boil it gets just four minutes at a bubbling boil, and that's all. You must then pot it straight away.

It certainly keeps a fresh colour in the jam (jars on the right) but I thought the texture a little bit odd. It tastes very fresh and fruity though, but I am wondering if the short boiling will affect the keeping properties? Not that anything tasty lasts long in this house!

I only had blackberry and apple jam from last autumn to offer the guests as home-made, so it will be nice to have something else to offer, and as the growing season marches forward, I hope there will be some other fruit about to make jam with.

Kate

Can I canoe you up the river....

NEVER let it be said that I don't do my market research....Yesterday, I went out to play with cardiganbayactive .

I was asked by some people coming in August if there was any outdoor activities in the area, and after a quick look on the internet, I conacted CBA to ask if they had a daily programme running over the summer? Oh and by the way, as they outsourced accomodation, would they like some of my cards? They came straight back and invited me to an event (Monday) to try some of their activities myself. Object of the exercise was to build links with some of the local accomodation providers, and hopefully manage to exchange some business between us. After a cup of tea and chat, we decided that we would start the day with canoeing.

Canoeing up the Teifi from the wildlife centre was absolutely magical, we went across a small set of rapids, and continued upstream for a while to one of the deepest parts of the river, where the water was so still, the steep sides of the valley and trees were mirrored in the water. There are otters in the river, unfortunately we didn't see any yesterday, but we did see a magnificent pair of herons and four red kites circling overhead. Turning and coming down stream, was a lot faster ride and we shot through the rapids this time, before returning to Cardigan for lunch.

In the afternoon, the choice of activities were sea kayaking, or coasteering. I REALLY wasn't sure that I was up to coasteering, but was persuaded to give it a go, after being promised that they wouldn't make me jump off anything, or do anything I didn't feel comfortable with. We headed off to Ceibwr Bay, nr Moylgrove, which is just over the 'border' in Pembrokshire. I've never been there before and it is a fantasic place, with wonderful geology and wild flowers.

It was quite cool by then and the sea was a lot choppier than I would normally venture into, but suitably kitted out in a wetsuit, buoyancy aid and a helmet, and with bucket loads of bravado I set off into the waves after the very capable Fiona! It soon became apparent that I really HAD bitten off more than I could chew. To be honest after the mornings activities I was quite tired, and a couple of small attempted scrambles, and wave dunkings later I told her that I couldn't do any more. The sea kept knocking me off my feet, and I was slipping and sliding all over the place on the seaweed. I felt that if I'd gone on any further I would have been a complete liability to get safely back to dry land - as it was she ended up towing me to shore floating on my back, as I simply couldn't stand up! She took me back to the cars, and I sent her and the other novice coasteer back to carry on, while I dried off. I still LIKE the idea of pootling about the bottom of the cliffs in the sea, inspecting the normally inaccessible crevices and stuff...but unless it's a nice hot day and the sea is like a mill pond, I think I should leave it to the young and fit!

Anyway upshot of all this is that there WILL be a weekly program of events from cardiganbayactive all through the summer months, everything from family stuff to more challenging adult sessions, so if anyone comes to stay here, I should be able to advise them what is running, and give them a code to book on with that will give them a £5 per person discount. Simples.

Kate

Elderflower Cordial

The Elderflowers are a bit late this year...but not to worry! But I spotted the other day that the biggest Elder tree around here got there in the end, and I've started off the first batch of Elderflower Cordial. (That's it steeping in the a brewing bucket in the picture above)

It's so simple to make, and such a wonderful summer drink topped up with fizzy water. Being able to make stuff like this from foraged ingredients is one of the reasons we wanted to move out of London (Not that there is any shortage of Elder there!) I did go on some guided forage walks last year, which were most informative, but I've not had a lot of time to make use of some of the local 'wild harvest' yet.

One of the things I wanted to try making, was candied Alexanders, as I tried some last year and it was delicious. Having positively ID'd it with an expert, I now know there is a huge bank of it growing along the road out of Gwbert back into the village. Alexanders is the same family as Angelica, and Parsley...but is most commonly served as a vegetable. It was fantastic candied, like the most fragrant and aromatic Angelica ever.

A guided beach forage identified which of the seaweeds growing at Poppit Sands is Laver, and also that there is no poisionous seaweed in the UK, which is useful to know! However to make a pot of Laverbread, the traditional Welsh delicacy you'd need a huge amount, and it has to be boiled for hours to make it turn into the dark green goo that you can buy in Tesco off fresh the fish counter...So I guess mostly I'll be doing that. Penclwydd is in Gower, which is where the Laver is harvested, so it's a genuine Welsh product, even if it does come from Tesco. We tried several seaweeds on the forage, and someone had made some 'sushi' sheets from Laver (it's the same family as Nori) and cooked some winkles on the beach in several ways...tempura winkles were the best!

I'm offering guests that stay here for a few days a choice of breakfast, and the opportunity to try Laverbread if they want to. I make mine with oatmeal, mixing with the prepared seaweed into small cakes, which are then traditionally fried in bacon fat. I really like it, and of course it's packed with vitamins and trace elements, so incredibly good for you! (Apart from the being fried in bacon fat bit)

Other 'wild' foods we've used since we've been here are nettles, which made a fantastic bright green pesto (that was a James Wong Recipe) and Wild Garlic in a quiche. I'm trying to get some Wild Garlic growing in the garden here, so I have it to hand, and it's a pretty plant too. We've also made some salads with various wild additions, we have Wall Pennywort growing locally, and Jack-in-the-hedge or Garlic Mustard.



Recipe for Elderflower Cordial.

Makes a little over 2L of cordial to be diluted.

20 heads of Elderflowers, newly opened are best, and try to choose ones without insects.
3 Sliced lemons (used unwaxed or organic ones)
3lb granulated white sugar
2 1/2 oz citric acid (can be bought from homebrew suppliers)
2 1/2 pints of boiling water
1/2 campden tablet (Also from homebrew shops)


Place elderflowers in a large container (I usually make a triple batch of this in a brewing bucket) Add the sliced lemons, and sugar, and citric acid and pour over the boiling water and stir to dissolve the sugar. Cover and leave for five days, stirring morning and evening each day.

Strain into another large container, through a sieve lined with muslin and add another crushed campden tablet (this helps to preserve it and stop it fermenting) Bottle in clean bottles which have been sterilised with a brewing sterilising powder like VWP.

Wine bottles look nicest and can have arty handmade labels added, which makes them a nice gift, but plastic 2l fizzy drinks bottles are fine!

We have pictures!

I've got the pictures back from the framer and they are now hanging on the wall in the guest room, and I must say I'm very pleased with them.

There was lots of debate here about what was going on the wall in the guest room! Originally I wanted work by local artists...but at the ridiculous prices some 'originals' were going for that wasn't going to happen. Then there was the 'having your cake and eating it' rant from OH about limited edition 'prints' that were actually photographs of originals, and not 'prints' at all! (Ex art student *eye roll*)

Next we considered local photographs, and my mother, a keen wildlife photographer, had actually taken a fabulous picture of some seaweed on a rock down at Gwbert which would have made a stunning picture... I thought it would look fantastic on a texured 'canvas effect' box frame - OH vetoed 'canvas effect' and in the end I admitted defeat, as I wanted more than one picture, and frankly there wasn't another as good as Mum's seaweed in the amongst the other photo's we had!

Shortly before we opened, minus pictures, I put some stuff away in a cupboard and discovered a number of pictures we already HAD, that we'd brought with us when we moved and ran out of wall space for. With the addition of another I'd picked up recently in the Antiques Centre in Newcastle Emlyn, I though there were actually the makings of some nice pictures already in the house. Two of them WERE original etchings that Mum had bought us when our kids were small, One of some ducks in a farmyard, and another small picture of a hedgehog. There were two 'antique' book plates that had been hand coloured, of wallflowers and of a Buzzard, both things that we have here locally... So I kind of thought we had a bit of a theme going. Only problem was a couple of the frames were a bit dated, and all the mounting mats were different colours.

I mentioned that I was thinking of using the Ducks picture to Mum, and she send me a link to ANOTHER by the same artist up for sale on E-bay, of Badgers this time, VERY much a 'local' wildlife theme and close to my heart! Of course I put in a bid, which I 'won' at the original asking price, so that kind of settled the decision. Etchings are by Laura Boyd

I finally decided to have the whole lot framed to match, to be a bit more coherent, and I think they work really well with the colour scheme in the room, and we still have a British wildlife/rural 'theme' going on! The whole lot ended up costing me less than half what some of the 'limited edition' prints going locally were selling for (and I got more space in the cupboard!)

Kate