Elderflower Cordial

♥ Our annual batch of elderflower cordial.♥

We discovered Richard Mabey's book 'Food For Free' many years before this blog; it is the inspiration for a number of our seasonal forays that have become tradition, good times lived, good times to live. This 2012 edition, ISBN 978-0-00-743847-1, is filled with beautiful macro, micro moments of the countryside. We loved paging through this book in the gloom of winter in anticipation of the sap rising.

Prepping for Salad Days

A summer project we've planned for this year is to make provision for growing salads. We may have something cat and pigeon proof ready in time for a late salad crop. Prompted by a Fennel & Fern post on how to make chive blossom vinegar we remembered the bookmarks in our copy of 'Preserves' by Pam Corbin, a River Cottage Handbook, ISBN 978-0-7475-9532-8. This little book is the concise, complete reference that has taught us how to make jams, cordials, preserves and to scald our jam muslins.