Since I’ve been doing a bit with the garden this year, I’ve decided to document it to remember, especially the dye flowers.
This time I’ve edited a teeny bit, unlike my last garden photo session. And I had a “helper” who thought it was a great service that I’d lie down on the lawn to relax together.
Elderflower cordial.
The shops were all out of organic lemons, so I also made a batch with oranges and one with mint! A bit of an experiment, but I’m happy to report that it tastes really great.
It’s been a couple of years since last, so I thought it was time, we have a lot of elders right now, they spread like weeds. I’ll wait for autumn and make a batch with the berries too, it’s really good in winter, hot with lemon, ginger and honey if you have a cold, don’t want one or just need heating up. And then I’ll cut some of them down, because, well, there’ll be more. If I don’t keep them in check we’ll be known as Elderberry Jungle Farm.
I’ve been making other stuff too – stay tuned. I’ve finally had time and “presence” to start painting a bit again this week! But not much, still have that hedge to cut.
Det var et par år siden sidst, så jeg fik lige lyst til at lave lidt saft, siden vi har rigtig mange hyld for tiden, de breder sig som ukrudt.
Butikkerne var helt udgåede for usprøjtede citroner, så jeg lavede også en portion med appelsiner og en med mynte. Det blev virkelig godt! Til efteråret skal jeg lige have lavet lidt bærsaft også, det er rigtig godt varmt med citron, ingefær og honning. Og så ryger nogen af planterne altså, inden vi helt drukner i dem.
The section of lawn that I killed off last year is all filled out, although not just with dye plants. In fact, the dye project seems to go not all that well. Plants are growing (in case of the japanese indigo, not growing, but surviving), but no flowers. The weld most likely won’t be useful until next year, but I did hope to finally harvest a lot of coreopsis. The marigold also aren’t looking very willing. I didn’t sow new Dyer’s Chamomile, there is still some in the abandonded veggie garden along with woad.
I took the opportunity of clear soil to bury a few old potatoes, replant my strawberry plants and some asparagus. Lettuces and spinach, kale, and this little experiment: The wilted stub of a used supermarket celery, now look what it’s doing after I planted it! Hopefully some radishes on the way too.
It’s still stormy and autumn like temperatures here (13 C yesterday), so I don’t spend much time outside actually. We’re putting up a temporary fence where the hedge died, so we have a corner of shade and quiet, vainly hoping we’ll actually get to use it. I think I’ve had 4 days’ use of our garden furniture this year! I believe it’s the third summer in a row that’s acting this ghastly, and I really, really dislike strong wind. We’ve also had snow 3 winters in a row now, very unusual.
Well, at least I have an excuse for knitting more sweaters since they’re now all year gear! I’m going to step up my needle sizes to be able to finish sooner…
A friend of mine taught me this recipe for a natural energy drink and I thought I’d share. (no, this still isn’t a cooking blog)
The base is:
You can vary it by adding whatever herbs need trimming in your garden. Mint, lemon balm, black currant leaves. Or a basil/oregano/tomato juice variety?
Both nettles and ground elder contain lots of minerals and vitamins. Marigold petals are good for connective tissue. I’ve also used fresh ginger, chopped up and made tea which I then strained and added to the rest.
Linseed oil is also good for you.
IMPORTANT: Do not use actual elder leaves, as in from the tree. They are poisonous.
EnergidrikFlere i vennekredsen er gået amok i denne naturdrik og jeg synes den er så god at jeg ville dele den med flere.
Basen består af brændenældeblade og skvalderkål, 50/50 eller hvad man nu har. Tilsæt en hel usprøjtet citron, skal og det hele, samt lige dele grøn te og æblejuice. Evt. lidt honning eller vanillesukker hvis det bliver for bittert. Kan holde sig i køleskab 2 dage.
Og ellers kan man tilføje hvad der lige trænger til at studses i krydderbedet, mynte, citronmelisse, solbærblade, morgenfrue. Et skvæt hørfrøolie er heller ikke af vejen! Jeg har også brugt ingefær, det er godt.
Lad mig høre hvis I finder på flere varianter!
I’m not intending for this to become a cooking blog, but I thought I’d share a few recipes I’ve stumbled across lately, to show my appreciation that other people blog about delicious food and well, to share with those of you who like food.
Also, it’s a way for me to remember the links and not lose them among my bookmarks 😉
Almond meal glutenfree crackers
My absolute favourite for old bananas – it’s in Danish but perhaps you can do a Google translate thingy on it? Add cinnamon or cocoa, oatmeal (they get a bit soggy the day after), glutenfree flour, lots of things work. They may end up a little flatter, but the spicyness of the brown sugar (muscovado?) is awesome.
Kale and strawberries. Now, this sounds lovely, but when are the two ever in season together??!
I’ve managed to grow a few things in the garden this year, this time I’m starting out slow with a few things instead of trying to plant a whole field of clay at once. So I may in fact become more cooking oriented as time passes. I’d love to study herblore, both for food and medicinal purposes. But that will be in another lifetime or my head will explode.
And finally, I got a lovely recipe for paleo bread at a family gathering on Sunday:
Grind nuts as finely or coarsely as you like, perhaps roast them first. Add the rest, bake in bread mold for one hour at 160° C. Tastes good fresh or toasted. And I bet you can add herbs or other spices too. Nigella on top perhaps?
