Yarrow - Challenge #1

So it's been a while... what with holidays, him upstairs' birthday, baby showers school holidays and the British weather living up to its damp name this summer I've barely had time to think, let alone write anything down.

However, thankful for a break in the weather I have been on my first forage for the ever elusive Yarrow, as part of the challenge I set myself earlier this month.  Getting Georgie on board was the easy bit.  Getting the slugs together we trundled up Blaen Brân in search of the little green plant.

Pickings were slim on the first leg of our journey, I am pretty sure that Georgie wiped the place clear of the stuff for her Yarrow antiseptic balm!  But we pressed on a  little further hit the jackpot!!!  The recipe stated 1 colander full.  This in itself was questionable.  How big is a colander?  You can get small ones and absolutely gigantic ones, so being true to myself, I guessed.

After harvesting the questionable 'colander' full, we continued to wander on up the mountain, crossing streams, walking through the forests.  I found myself asking why I don't come here more often.  I mean its practically on my doorstep.  The abundance of life, the greenery, the flora and fauna are all around, plus the children get to be in the 'great outdoors' running around pointing out various mushrooms that they shouldn't touch, climbing trees, getting throughly wet in streams and so on.

Please - if you don't have a go at the recipe, please take time out to visit this overlooked part of Wales and if you don't...do that take the time to visit the countryside, you may be surprised what you will find!

 So back at home I am on my first recipe from the book 'All Good Things Around Us' (published in 1982).  Yarrow Soup is the first.  Apparently, after reading the excerpt about Yarrow, a witch was tried in the 17th Century for using it in her 'incantations' for yarrow was thought to be under the influence of the devil!  And, among other superstitions yarrow could conjure the visions of a future sweetheart!

As this is the 21st century I think I'll stick with soup...

Yarrow Soup   Serves 4


1 colander yarrow leaves
1oz  butter
1 onion (chopped)
1 tbsp flour
1 pint of stock
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 pint of milk
nutmeg (optional - because nutmeg is rank)

Wash the yarrow leaves, place in a saucepan with just enough water to cover the bottom and cook gently for about 10 minutes (kind of like cooking cabbage or spinach) Drain and set aside.  Melt the butter and cook the chopped onions until soft.  Add the flour and make a roux with the onions and butter, gradually add the stock until thickened.  Add the yarrow leaves and seasoning and cook gently for 15 minutes.  Blitz with a hand processor of pass through a sieve.  Preheat the milk then add to the soup.  you can add the dreaded nutmeg just before serving, if that is your thing.

 To be honest, I had very low expectations of this soup being any good, especially as it was made with a bunch of weed leaves found growing on the side of the mountain.

The finished soup!

But lo and behold, it tasted really, really, really nice!!!!!  A triumph in fact!!!  So much so I will make it again very soon.  Can't really describe the taste, but a sort of cross between spinach and a very mild fennel flavour.  Bet it would make a good sauce with fish...

Onto the next recipe!  Love Melissa x

How to make a rocket with the kids - easy and fun!

Too exciting to stand still!

Hellooo my lovelies! It's been a while I know, but the summer holidays is in full swing and we have all been busy learning, socializing and playing. Last week was manic as the weather (for once) has been good here in sunny Wales and needless to say we just HAD to make the most of it - you never know when the sun will return here - it could be in another 10 months after all!

One of the highlights of the week has been a fab online live webinar by Aurora Lipper on Rocketry and Spaceflight. It was just brilliant seeing the girls so excited about science (mind you, who doesn't have a little thrill when making a rocket; if you don't, there's clearly something wrong with you ha ha).

Gripping stuff, rocketry :-)

Right so, here is what you will need to have some fun making your own rocket:

Materials

1 x goggles or sunglasses
1 x box of alka-seltza (or generic brand)
1 x bottle of water
1 x empty camera film cassette with lid (NOT the black ones, I'll explain later)
Optional - a toy car, masking tape

Method

First go outside - this won't be pretty on your computer or laptop!

1) Put your goggles on.
2) Pour a bit of water into the film canister.
3) Add the alka-seltza tablet to the container and quickly snap the lid on tightly.
4) Turn the pot upside down and stand back!

5) If you are quick enough you can get 2 or 3 goes out of each tablet.
6) Try taping the canister to a matchbox car and see what happens.
7) Or, tape 3 canisters together to make a rocket like the Delta IV Heavy Rocket!

The opportunities are endless...... I hope you have some fun, I know we definitely did. Of course, we got the wrong kind of canister initially, which caused a bit of an anti-climax as the only thing that happened was a slight hiss from the pot. Luckily for us darling hubby was around to come up with a plan so we ended up using a tin whistle wrapper/pot/thingy which worked just as well. In the webinar the girls were encouraged to find out if adding different amounts of water would change how high the rocket went which you could try too...

If you are interested in Aurora's science curriculum you can buy it at www.superchargedscience.com.

Let me know how you get on!

Georgie xx

Holiday and a new challenge

Freshwater East (View from Garden)

I've been busy... and lazy, there are the two main reasons I haven't written in a while.  Well, we did go on our Summer holiday to the glorious Pembroke for a week, so that's a really good excuse in my book.  My Aunt has a bungalow very near the lovely beach at Freshwater East and I've have to add, its my most favourite place in the whole world.  We didn't go to any theme parks, or castles, or parks.  We had a good old fashioned holiday.  Picnics on the beach, lots of walking, rock pooling and even campfire cook out.  The children have made memories, without spending a penny and I don't feel they missed out in any way, shape or form.

Lots of Bullaces!

Still, that is a distant memory, as holidays generally seem to be a week after coming home.  Since being home, I have sat in post-holiday blues, washed the same load of washing 3 times and decided to get my act together to write about something!  During the last two days,  I have made a successful batch of home-made bagels, knocked up a 7-a-day Curry for the slugs, picked some fennel from Bullaces (wild plums) and picked up the new kitten!
my allotment for tea, picked 2kg of

I think my 7-a-day Curry was a success with the slugs, and I completely made it up so here is the recipe:


7-a-day Curry

1 Sweet Potato
1 Onion
1 Carrot
1 Small Courgette
1/2 Pepper (any colour)
Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
Handful of Peas
Good Handful of spinach/some frozen Spinach
100ml or so of Coconut milk (optional)
1 tsp Curry Powder (or more if the slugs like it more spicy)
oil

Chop all the vegetables, except the spinach and peas, to approximately the same size, small cubes is

ideal.  Wop the lot in the pan with a drop of oil.  Fry for 5 or so minutes on  a low to medium heat.  Add the curry powder and cook for about a minute - stirring.  Chuck in the contents of the tinned tomatoes with about half a can full of water along with the coconut milk, if using.  Bring to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are tender.  Add the peas and spinach.  Serve with some plain boiled rice. 

I served the leftover curry in a bowl of tomato soup for the slugs the next day, Georgie's two weren't impressed, bits in soup seems to be sacrilege!  My two ate the lot, in fact Ava inhaled hers.

After our little Bullace foraging effort, I was given a book by my mum and dad called 'All the good things around us' and it is totally fantastic!  Its a collection of old recipes using over 90 wild plants and herbs.  I am not sure that this book is still in print, but Richard Mabey's book (here) is also excellent, especially for first time foragers...So I am going to challenge myself to try and have a go at the recipes in this book and hopefully learn something along the way!  Yarrow is the first chapter in the book, so watch this space!

So excited :)

Love Melissa x