The Next Pop-up will be....

A MIDDLE EASTERN MIDSUMMER FEAST

Lounge on silken cushions, in a pavilion decked with rugs and hangings – pause idly to snatch a delicacy from heaped bowls of food prepared with the finest spices, sip sherbert from exquisite glasses, while you gaze at the stars of the southern sky and your camels  – in Ramsgate???!!

Where: 15 Grove Road, CT11 9SH

When: Saturday 21^st June  from 7.30

How:  Book now, spaces are limited!  Bring your own sherbert, extra cushions, and (this is the desert at night we’re talking about) a cardigan.  ( And some cash, to pay for these exquisite pleasures).  Feel free to wear suitably Eastern dress!

Bubbles!

Yesterday - or was it Thursday? - I succumbed.  I mixed up a spoon of easiblend yeast with some warm water and sugar - and left it for a few minutes.  Then I added it.  I didn't stir in - because there was a little blob of yeast on the surface and I wanted to give it a chance.

This morning I had a look - there were large flaccid bubbles on the surface - the blob of yeast had grown - the flowers had all risen to the top.

We have fermentation!  And now we are going great guns.... so, all I need to know is whether I now count the 3 weeks from last Sunday or from Friday?  Or what.  Off to look at all the forums again I suppose.

Elderflowers - part 2

Yesterday I made the elderflower cordial - by adding a kilo of sugar to the strained juice, heating gently to dissolve it, and adding a generous teaspoon of citric acid. Today, having run some old sherry and port 0.5l bottles through the dishwasher I bottled the liquor.  Kirstie came over and we drank a lot, it was very delicious.  I hope it will keep - I think that's what the citric acid is for.  It tastes slightly wilder than the commercial ones, but it's also very sweet - perhaps too sweet.  I wonder if I should make more as Christmas presents - I'm thinking ahead of course. Will it keep that long?

A very frothy image above - positively bridal!

The champagne


I looked at the vat of champagne mix - disappointingly no sign of fermentation - despite my having picked the flowers on a hot sunny day - perhaps it was too early in the day (about midday) - which is meant to encourage plenty of wild yeast.   I decided, in the interests of "self-sufficiency" to add some of my own sourdough mix, rather than using commercial yeast, or going and buying brewer's yeast.  I mixed it in - then added another teaspoon or so and drizzled it over the heads.  A few bubbles started to rise - I was encouraged.   When I came back later it was all looking pretty inert again.   However, the very helpful forum on the River Cottage website (where I plucked these recipes) says sometimes you have to look for small brown patch on the surface, rather than bubbles, and this indicates fermentation is beginning.  I am now feeling rather impatient about fermentation, but then again, when I think how long it can take to get a sourdough starter going perhaps I'm being silly.

I've also discovered that the idea of bottling it after 6 days is crazy - it needs 3 weeks - but then again, I could probably bottle some on June 13th to take to my father's party - unless it is very very unready.  I am now wondering whether I need demi-johns and valves etc. Apparently it is perfectly OK to make it in large containers without lids - not sure about stirring though?  I did stir in all the sourdough mix eventually.

Frugality points
I think this scores a couple of frugality points - 1 for foraged foods, 1 for re-use of old bottles, 1 for using sourdough instead of commercially sourced yeast.  

Elderflowers

Every year I swear I am going to make elderflower cordial, but I am defeated because I cannot obtain citric acid.  Last year I got some from the wholefood place I use occasionally - and missed the season somehow. So this year I put it in the calendar.

We went to Pegwell Bay where there are plenty of the bushes, unfortunately a lot of them are ringed by tangles of brambles and nettles, long grass and alexanders - but eventually we picked enough for cordial, and for elderflower champagne.

Elderflower champagne - part 1

15 elderflowers heads, 700g sugar, 4 lits hot water, 2 lits cold water, zest and juice of 4 lemons, 2 tbsps of white wine vinegar.

Dissolve the sugar in the hot water, add the elderflowers, lemon juice and zest and the winegar, add a further 2 litres cold water. Stir to make sure everything is mixed in, cover with a muslin cloth, leave in a cool spot.

This is how far I have got.  Within 2 days I must see if the mixture is going frothy (fermenting) - if not, one adds a pinch of yeast (I do hope Doves's Farm easiblend is OK - it's all I've got - unless I add a spoon of the sulky sourdough!).  After a total of 6 days frothing one simply strains and bottles it.  Et voila!   Except that apparently, that is when the fun begins - but I shall deal with that in a future post.

Elderflower cordial - part 1

Take 25 Elderflower heads, clean, insect free, put into a large container, cover with the zest of one orange and two lemons, pour 1.5 litres of boiling water over it and leave for 24 hours or so.   The next stage involves industrial quantities of sugar (1 kg actually) and the citric acid, and some boiling - but again, this will be dealt with in a future post.

The essential ingredient, apart from the elderflowers is an enormous quantity of steriliised bottles.  Because I know the champagne is temperamental and explosive I shall be using old plastic bottles and giving the liquid plenty of space to expend.  I have a feeling that plastic milk flagons will be quite good for this.  We shall see.

More frugal food

This week we had roast lamb - a half shoulder, reduced price at Sainsbury's.  We had some leftover which I used today with onions, ras el hanout, apricots, pine nuts and left over peas in a lamb pilaf - 2 frugal points for that dish.  The ultra frugal rice pudding - re-using one of the bits of vanilla pod from the sugar pot, and a long strip of lemon peel.  Utterly delicious.

I couldn't easily cook this week, so Tuesday was sausages, mash and cauliflower cheese (40p cauli from the farm shop).   The rest of the cauliflower cheese, with some onion, lamb stock and left over swede, and a bit of elderly Danish blue, became soup for lunch.  Wednesday we had this really wonderful cheap dish - it requires an onion, a tin of borlotti or other beans, a carton of passata and some herbs and spices - top with a spoon of sour cream or creme fraiche and some tortilla chips.  It is terribly nice and comforting, and quite filling, although on this occasion I cheated and added some left over mince (I had made burgers, and had some left over - another frugal point, in the old days I would have used all the meat and eaten more burgers.)  Eating less is another way of being frugal.   Tonight we had the pilaf, and tomorrow we are either going to have red bean curry.  We have been spending a lot less at the supermarket - but then again, I am using the vouchers they send me to stock up for Christmas - we now have a good deal of gin, crackers, snacks, and the cellar still contains a lot of spirits - including, oh joy, some pineau de charentes... which I love.  We will need some cheap fizz and some cheap red for mulled wine and a few pleasant bottles to take to people's houses.  I also want to make a great deal of fudge and truffles to take around too.   I am hoping we will get out a bit. So far, we've had one party invite.

Saturday is going to be pizza.  We haven't had it for a few weeks...it's pretty frugal.

Wicked Tescos
They have sent us vouchers - £9 off if you spend £90 - decent, but I prefer the Sainsbury's offer which is a tenner off if you spend £60 - it's certainly more generous, this week it's £14 off if I spend £60 - so that's where I'm going.  I keep count as I put stuff in the trolley - but I do occasionally get lost... I spent £81 last week - when I thought I was around the £70 mark.  But the excuse was about £40 of Christmas stocking up - and catfood of course.  

Quinces hoary

Some time ago some friends of mine who were doing Virgil, reading a translation of the Georgics enjoyed this translation "quinces hoary" of a phrase in a list of things the humble rustic grew in his garden (I think).  They are tough little buggers quinces, I finally dealt with the last of them today.  I used some to make eau de vie - and some of the first batch I used for jelly, I used the pulp to make a really delicious chutney.  I am going to give tiny quantities of the eau de vie to my family for Christmas.  The grated quince is already steeping in brandy - I used a couple of quinces to cook some pork fillet with.  The last quinces have made a second tiny batch of jelly - which I think has a better flavour, suggesting that the quinces have continued to ripen.

Unfortunately I left the quince pulp hanging around, and it got mouldy, so I couldn't do a second batch of chutney.  

I am really excited about the quince eau de vie, and I so wish I had made some more blackberry gin - we had some at supper on 11th October, and it was quite delicious.

Supper!

Yes - I am finally having people around to supper again.  A motley crew - which has just acquired a couple of vegetarians.  I had this idea of entertaining - thought we might just be able to afford it - but am, of necessity, making it a very simple meal.

We will probably be eating:

Some sort of veggie nibbles - not sure what.

Caponata with focaccia.

Chicken & prunes, a veggie thing (some sort of twice baked souffle?), some extra starch (rice/bulgar), a nice veg. like zucchini scapece... lots of salad  (ME chopped salad probably with lots of herbs)

Tarte tatin (may have to do 2 as there will be 12 of us) - with home made ice cream or creme caramel?  Or perhaps a giant creme brulee - "the charter"

Cheese and bics and walnut bread?  Or buy a baguette...

Aubergines are very seasonal - so a point for that, home-made bread gets a point, or two, the main course is fairly economical - and the tarte tatin will use our own apples.  So, as long as we have a plentiful supply of wine - and I don't drink too much... all should be well.