scorzonera

The London Perambulator

philscorzonera — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:41:14 +0000

An addition to this earlier post

The London Perambulator website

Lights Out For The Territory by Iain Sinclair

London Orbital – Iain Sinclair’s walk around the M25

Bill Drummond’s account of what turned out to be the first annual 25 hour drive around the M25

Seasonal Food Week No. 7 – Samphire

philscorzonera — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 11:01:47 +0000

Samphire. Buy or pick it then, on the same day, steam or blanch for a few minutes, drain and serve with lemon juice, fresh ground black pepper and butter/margarine. That’s all you need to know.

There are other recipes which some would say mask the flavour of the samphire, it’s a question of taste. I’ve only ever eaten it boiled briefly over a camping stove.

samphire.org.uk is an excellent site, as simple and fresh as samphire itself – and with a recipe for pickled samphire.
As mentioned on that site, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has championed the use of samphire recently, and Jamie Oliver has published a recipe for pickled rock samphire
Rock samphire, which is widespread along the South and West coasts, is a different plant to the more common East Coast marsh samphire, being ready to pick earlier – May/June whereas marsh samphire season tends to be July/August – and growing on rocky outcrops, which in the past made picking commercially a dangerous occupation.

Best place to buy samphire? Frary’s seafood stall on the Wells-next-the-Sea quayside, without a doubt.

I’m using the phrase ‘seasonal food’ to indicate those foods which, generally, are only available in their growing season, so many are wild and all grow in the UK.

Seasonal Food Week N0. 6 – Fairy Ring Mushrooms

philscorzonera — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:27:34 +0000

For centuries, there have been many risks attributed to entering fairy rings or picking the fungi. If you really must try one of these recipes, but really are concerned for your safety, try carrying thyme with you, or spreading it across the ring before picking. This is said to confuse the fairies and remove the risk they might pose without any lasting harm.

One definite risk is mis-identification. Marasmius oreades, although by far the most common, is not the only fungus to grow in a ring formation. Notably, a couple of the clitocybes are toxic and must be avoided (clitocybes always sound to me like an alien race of murderous, rapacious females, probably in a David Cronenberg film). Until you are sure of what you’re looking for, always carry a good guide book, with photographs, not drawings.

Fairy Ring mushrooms are easily dried, after removing the woody, inedible stalks, and can be stored whole or powdered. In his Family Cook Book, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall says they pickle well. Haven’t tried it myself, but all edible fungi seem to be good for pickling. Just make sure you use a recipe which jars them in oil, not brine.

Fairy Ring Omelette
Three Fairy Ring Recipes
Pasta Sauce & Risotto Recipes

Seasonal Food Week No. 5 – Blackberries

philscorzonera — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:20:23 +0000

As a kid, blackberry picking up at Harwell woods was the only activity I remember enjoying en famille. Back then, the sixties, there were always other pickers about, but I find now that I pick alone, even though we’re lucky enough to have good brambles on waste ground in the heart of the village here.
A tip I picked up back then which I always use – pick along a bank of brambles then, when you reach the end, turn round and pick the same bushes in the opposite direction. There are always loads you will have missed.

Here are recipes for the classic blackberry jam and blackberry and apple crumble.
Blackberry wine
Two of my favourites are blackberry chutney, but be sure to keep stirring or it will catch on the bottom of the pan and spoil the flavour, and the delicious Georgian sauce makvali, which I only discovered last year. Makvali is basically a chilli sauce with blackberries as the base rather than tomatoes – goes well with anything, meat or vegetarian.

I’m using the phrase ‘seasonal food’ to indicate those foods which, generally, are only available in their growing season, so many are wild and all grow in the UK.

Strike – 24 hours

philscorzonera — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:08:30 +0000

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/jan/17/stop-sopa-or-web-will-go-dark

Seasonal Food Week No. 4 – Rhubarb

philscorzonera — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:48:16 +0000

I was tempted to say only ‘visit The Rhubarb Compendium‘ – an astonishing, sprawling, never to be finished site from the US.
Then I checked and found scant reference to The Rhubarb Triangle in West Yorkshire, home of forced Yorkshire rhubarb which was awarded PDO status two years ago.
Forcing rhubarb seems to be a tricky business, trade secrets being handed down through the family. Only last week, the rhubarb forcers were facing problems due to the lack of frost, but although I’m about 60 miles south of the triangle, I should think that problem’s over.
A man in a pub once told me that, when the conditions are just right, the rhubarb grows so fast that if you stand still in the sheds too long you come out wearing a rhubarb leaf hat.
Watch this video on Vimeo at fullscreen and take a look into the magical world of the forcing sheds.
Finally, an interesting page from The Poison Garden website.

I’m using the phrase ‘seasonal food’ to indicate those foods which, generally, are only available in their growing season, so many are wild and all grow in the UK.

Seasonal Food Week No. 3 – Chestnuts

philscorzonera — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:31:10 +0000

Like any perennial food plant, sweet chestnut trees have good and not so good years. And, frankly, most years in the UK are not so good. The imports from France, Italy, Corsica, etc are far superior.
Having said that, I spent loads of autumn Saturday afternoons crawling through the rhododendrons in Babworth Woods, or Lake Hill Wood, as a teenager, hunting down the chestnuts that had fallen from the trees. There’d be a few dads with kids around, chucking lumps of wood up at the trees trying to dislodge what was still on the branch (unripe), but we always came away with more.

Brussel Sprouts with Chestnuts in Red Wine
Chestnut Liquer
Making Chestnut Flour
Tuscan Chestnut Cake (castagnaccio)
Chestnut Cutter

I’m using the phrase ‘seasonal food’ to indicate those foods which, generally, are only available in their growing season, so many are wild and all grow in the UK.

Seasonal Food Week No. 2 – Elderflower

philscorzonera — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:35:39 +0000

First off – never use elder as fire wood. Very bad luck.

Elderflowers, roughly speaking, are on the tree from late May to late June or early July. They’re best picked very early afternoon on a sunny day. The scent increases over the hours when the sunlight is on them. Some elderflower drink recipes will tell you to remove the flowers from the stems. I never have and the results are lovely. Likewise, some cordial recipes will call for a massive amount of flowers, up to a gallon in volume, but there’s really no need. I think it was John Seymour who said a good cordial was made with a sparse amount of flowers.
[ I found the quote - The classic self-sufficient writer John Seymour claims the secret of good cordial is, 'never put too many in your brew' and 'harvest on a sunny day when the fragrance and nectar are at their height'. ]

John Seymour’s Elder Champagne
12 heads of elderflowers in full bloom and scent, picked on a hot day
1½ lbs|0.7kg sugar – white sugar is best
1 lemon
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
Put the blooms in a bowl with the juice of a lemon. Cut up the rind of the lemon and put that in (no pith). Add the sugar, vinegar, one gallon|4 litres water [cover with muslin] and leave for 24 hours. Strain liquid into bottles, cork, leave for a fortnight and drink the following week.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s recipe

Elderflower Cordial – this is pretty much the recipe I’ve used for several years, except I put in 4 lemons and no citric acid. I make sure I have quite a few ½ litre screw top water bottles ready, fill them to about ¾ level then chuck in the bottom of the freezer. Nothing like suddenly remembering you have some elderflower cordial in the middle of winter.

Elderflower fritters

I’m using the phrase ‘seasonal food’ to indicate those foods which, generally, are only available in their growing season, so many are wild and all grow in the UK.

Seasonal Food Week No. 1 – Shaggy Ink Cap

philscorzonera — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:53:13 +0000

Shaggy ink caps will never appear in the shops and very rarely, if at all, on the resaurant menu, as within a few hours of picking they quickly deliquesce, that is turn into a stinking black sludge. (But I recently read of someone who succesfully dries them in a dehydrator.)
Despite this they’re quite common in summer and early autumn, appearing everywhere from disturbed ground to punching up through the pavement. And they’re delicious.
There’s been speculation that they can make some people ill if taken with alcohol, but that seems to be due to confusion with the Common Ink Cap, which looks quite different.

Fried Shaggy Ink Cap with Eggs

Shaggy Ink Cap Soup

Shaggy Ink Cap Ketchup

I’m using the phrase ‘seasonal food’ to indicate those foods which, generally, are only available in their growing season, so many are wild and all grow in the UK.

Southern Comfort

philscorzonera — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:33:12 +0000

Southern Comfort A devastating and uplifting documentary from 2001, the last year in the life of Robert Eads
Steal it here and be unashamed.
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