Chutneys and Fairs

So i am right in the middle of chutney making and organizing for local Christmas fairs (or is it Fayres!!)
After getting the basic apple and sultana chutney right I moved on to an apple and apricot ( dried apricots work really well in chutneys and if you can get the darker organic ones its even better) also a sweeter Indian chutney although I didn't have any mango's to hand when I made mine I substituted them for more of the other fruit from my recipe bur the end result was great, and also a apple and pear chutney.
I tried my hand at a sweet cauliflower pickle if it works then I shall have a go at some other types of pickle.
And not forgetting the almost famous spaldwick pickle I seem to be making a batch of this a week at the moment and with a recent wine and cheese evening at the local gastro pub the sweet pickle is becoming more in demand.
We will be finishing the week off with a fair in sawtry  with 62 other stall holders we are just about ready with our chutneys hampers and traditional sweets.

Foraging Chef blog rejuevenated

I thought I would give the blog another go as it was something I had started but didn't really get into the full swing.
A lot has happened in my world since the last post, I have since given up working in comercial kitchens and have opened a village shop and deli with my wife and just recently started helping my father with an extension to his allotment.
So with all this in mind a blog on what I am foraging for, growing, cooking, preparing, selling might be worth investing my time in.

Sowing herbs in winter

The following 3 herbs can be sown mid-winter to enable a period of stratification.

Sweet woodruff (sow into module trays with compost)

Sweet Cicely (needs several months of cold winter to germinate)

Cowslip (gerninate the seeds in a cold green house for 4-6 weeks)

Sweet woodruff and cowslip produce flowers that can be used in salads while cicely has an edible root and edible leaves.

Red Onion Marmalade.

Crab apple jelly

-Cut the crab apples in half and put them in a pan.
-Just cover with water and add a stick of Cinnamon and a couple of cloves.
-cook out till apples are completely soft. Then pass through a muslin cloth.
-for every pint of strained juice add 1 lb of sugar.
-Put this back on the stove for between 8-12 mins at a rolling boil.
-remember to skim any foam.
- put in jars and enjoy with cheese or charcuterie

liquor 44 verdict

Tastes great!! The orange and coffee really comes through. And not as harsh as the Eau de vie alone. I shall be trying this again in the future maybe with a little less sugar. In the mean time I have just made my second batch of sloe gin recipe as follows:

SLOE GIN

1 ltr average quality gin
1 ltr sloe berries ( pricked with a thorn from the blackthorn bush, or a needle, or you can freeze them to split them)
300g sugar

mix the 3 ingredients together and give them a little shake every week.
after 3-4 months strain them. Sloe gin is best consumed 6 months to a year later.
So mine will be ready next december.

Time to find some storage space.

for all things sloe

I have chanced on these forums were you can join a small community that talk about all things sloe. http://www.sloe.biz/pip/ And as their motto suggests `Theres no biz like sloe biz` they might be a bit mad too.