Elderflower and Lemongrass Cordial

Me and Scrap picked a little bunch of elderflowers on our walk in the woods yesterday and thought we'd have a try at some home-made pop. There are tons of recipes, all roughly the same, showing how to make your own cordial but I followed this friendly version and just added a couple of bruised lemongrass stalks.

We made enough to fill 8 bottles, so that's one for him, one for me, one for his teacher Mr Gray, and the rest for the school summer fair. Don't think there's much chance of us waiting a month before we drink it though.....Scrap's already got the fizzy water ready and I'm thinking about a little splash in the bottom of a cool glass of Prosecco.

PYO

Never could resist a forage me: mushroom hunting, nut gathering, or nipping the tender shoots from samphire growing in the salt marshes on Mersea Island. We were there today for lunch at The Company Shed and before leaving stopped off at The East Mersea Nurseries and Pick Your Own. I know it's not quite foraging but there is something really enjoyable about snipping food straight from the plant. Anyway, it was a bit disappointing - even though we're well into strawberry season, most of the berries were still green, and the majority of runners still small - just the lack of sunshine I suppose. Still, we picked carefully and came back with berries, beans, flowers and some wet garlic, potatoes and tomatoes from the shop. I think they taste better than any supermarket produce but I might just be imagining it.

Runner Beans With Chilli-Herb Butter
Very nice with roast chicken and potoatoes. Make the butter first: in a small food processor, whizz together a small garlic clove, grated rind of 1 orange, 1 chopped and seeded red chilli and a handful of parsley leaves until finely chopped. Beat in 100g room temperature butter and a handful of snipped chives and some ground black pepper. Chill. Cut the runner beans into 12cm lengths then slice lengthways. Cook in lightly salted boiling water for 3 - 6 mins depending on how you like them. Drain and toss with some of the chilli herb butter.

Fruits of the Forage

Jenny gave me a bag of walnuts and hazelnuts the other day that she’d gathered herself in the Malvern Hills. I can’t tell you how lovely they are. Moist and sweet with not a trace of the bitterness you often get from the skins. Robert said they were the best nuts he’d ever had. It made us both want to go into the woods and forage but actually I think the season is pretty well over now. I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier, epsecially as we've been filling our pockets with conkers for weeks. Next autumn, we’ll be quicker off the mark. Can't wait to make hazlenut ice cream. With chocolate sauce.