Food & Drink

Food & Drink Cooking...

Hurry! Hurry! It’s Elderflower Time! Elderflower Cordial

Creamy elderflowers, like fragile hydrangea heads, festooning the hedgerows are the essence of early summer and happily, you can bottle it! As aromatic as fine Muscat grapes with extra honey and citrus notes, elderflowers make the most perfect summer cordial. The season is short: from late May to early June, so rush out and gather your elderflowers while you can! For best results, gather blossoms on a dry, sunny day, choosing large, fully open ‘ripe’ creamy and gorgeously scented heads, with absolutely no trace of browning petals. Use immediately. Snip behind the heads with sharp secateurs at the first joint: the tree isn’t harmed and even gets a bit of a pruning into the bargain. Avoid taking all the flowers: leave plenty to develop into elderberries and to benefit wildlife. Gather the flowers away from heavy traffic and fume polluted areas. Makes approximately 2 litres of concentrated cordial: dilute to taste 3 large juicy lemons, scrubbed, zest and juice Zest of 1 large orange, scrubbed 30-40 large elderflower heads 1½ -2 litres water, just boiled 1½ kg caster sugar (dissolves faster than granulated) Water to cover You will need 2 x squares of clean muslin and a funnel, plus 2 x 1 litre flip-top bottles or similar Grate the zest of the lemons and the orange into a large bowl. Squeeze the juice from the lemons and refrigerate. Remove any insects from the flowers by shaking very gently: don’t attempt to wash them, the petals and scent are too delicate. Strip the flowers from the stems with a fork – or snip the little stalks close to the flowers with kitchen scissors – straight into the bowl with the zest. Pour over enough of the justboiled water to cover; you probably won’t need all of it, the measurement is just a guide. Cover and steep overnight. The next day, strain through a muslin into a roomy saucepan. Add the sugar and lemon juice, and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Stir occasionally. Once the sugar is dissolved, skim away any scum and simmer gently for a couple of minutes. Strain again and pour into clean bottles (see below) using a funnel and the second muslin. Bottles and Storage Sterilised (sterilise with hot water or run through dishwasher) glass bottles look traditional: keep in the fridge and use within 2-4 weeks. Alternatively, freezing works well and means you can save some for Christmas: it’s always lovely to have some on hand at this time. Use plastic drinks bottles, well-washed and rinsed in hot water. For best results, drink within a year. Individual juice or smoothie bottles are excellent for freezing small amounts and defrost quickly. MrsSimkins.co.uk twitter.com/MrsSimkinsCooks email: info@MrsSimkins.co.uk

Mum’s Kitchen...

Apple and Oat Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce Serves 6

Ingredients: 3 or 4 apples, depending on size, peeled, cored and cut into rings 200g butter 200g light brown soft sugar 80g porridge oats 100g self-raising flour 1 tsp baking powder 75ml milk 2 eggs, beaten Method: Preheat the oven to 180c, fan 160c. Put the sliced apples into a baking dish measuring around 20cm diameter and 6cm deep (or a 17cm x 21cm rectangular dish. Put 70g butter and 70g sugar in a pan and heat gently to melt. Increase the heat and bubble for1-2 minutes until it becomes a sticky sauce. Pour over the apples and set aside. Save the empty pan too. Put 70g porridge oats in a food processor and whizz until coarsely ground. Add the flour and baking powder and pulse to combine. Put the remaining 130g butter and 130g sugar in the pan used earlier together with milk and melt and combine over a medium heat. Add to the processor with the eggs and whizz briefly to combine. Tip the oat sponge mixture over the apples, then scatter over the remaining 10g oats. Bake in the centre of the oven for 4050minutes. You may need to cover it after 30 minutes if it is browning too quickly. Test with a skewer just through the sponge. Serve with cream, clotted cream or ice-cream.

with Mrs Simkins

with Diana Holman

Food & Drink Apricots will have you feeling just peachy ENFORD contains vitamins C, A, folate, potassium, calcium, and FARM SHOP Home reared Lamb along with locally produced magnesium. Herby Apricot Tabbouleh meat, veg, fruit, deli and game. Follow us on Facebook (serves 2-4) 2 medium apricots for all of our latest deals and offers including weekly meat pack deals 70g quinoa, cooked to packet HALF PIG

Rebecca Vincent is a Wincanton nutritionist A few weeks ago, we started looking at herbs as sources of beneficial nutrients, and with the intermittent sunshine and showers (putting it mildly!) my herb plants instructions 25g fresh parsley 10g fresh mint leaves 2 spring onions 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp lemon juice APPROXIMATELY £100 (depending on weight) Open all day, everyday outside shop Fri, Sat Farm shop open 8.30am-5pm Also Arts disiplay Durweston, near Blandford. Apricot season is upon us, and have gone mad. This recipe will Salt and pepper 01258 450050 they are a welcome, bright, and take advantage of two herb Optional: 1 small garlic clovefruity addition to any meal, or a garden regulars currently growing (finely grated)delightful snack on their own! in abundance: mint, and parsley. Cut the apricots in half and and spring onions. Lastly Apricots are a good source of Mint, commonly used to help remove the stones, then dice. pour in the dressing, mixing vitamins C, A, potassium, iron, with digestive issues, also Remove any thick stems from the well. Set aside for a few and carotenes e.g. lycopene and contains small amounts of ends of the parsley, then finely minutes before serving. lutein, which give them their vitamins A, C, potassium, and chop the leaves and finer stems, Delicious served as a main vibrant colour. Different colours iron, as well as trace amounts of along with the mint leaves. Finely with spicy meat or fish and in our fruit and vegetables give us calcium and magnesium. slice the spring onions. salad, or as a light lunch with different nutrients, that’s why we Parsley is a particularly good Mix together the olive oil, lemon some grilled halloumi or hear so much about the source of vitamin K; 1 tablespoon juice and garlic, with a touch of tofu! importance of “eating the of fresh chopped parsley can salt and pepper. Rebecca Vincent BSc rainbow”. It means we can get a provide 70 per cent of the In the bowl you will be serving it BANT registered nutritionist greater variety of nutrients. recommended daily intake. It also in mix the quinoa, apricots, herbs, rebeccavincentnutrition.co.uk

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