Tree Planting

Swale FoE is planting trees donated by the Woodland Trust for the Kent Wildlife Trust as part of the Wilderness Downs Project – at Bowls Wood, near Stalisfield, on Saturday November 10th. This will complete the project we began in March. The work will not be heavy but there are a lot of saplings to plant so the more volunteers the better: partners, offspring, siblings and friends will be welcome. Healthy exercise in beautiful countryside and good company – and for a worthwhile cause: what better way to celebrate the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness?

If you mean to join us please email me and let me know whether you will need or can provide transport to the site – we’ll try to minimise car use.  For independent travellers the rendezvous is opposite the Plough Inn at Stalisfield Green ME13 0HY at 10.00am.  There is a grassed area outside the village hall, where we could assemble prior to going to the work site (at grid ref. TQ 955515 in case you miss the rendezvous).  Wear stout, warm and waterproof clothing and footwear, bring a garden spade (or two if you have them) some lunch and a hot drink.

A Morning with the Elders

Early June is the best time to collect Elderflowers to make a delightfully English beverage: Elderflower Cordial.

Elderflowers with their distinctive clusters of tiny creamy- white flowers line the hedgerows of country lanes and churchyards  alike in the month of June. They are best picked on a sunny day in the morning, and never when wet from rain. Sniff the blooms first to see if they are freshly and sweetly perfumed and remove any creepy-crawlies. If the blooms are marvellous, pick 20-25 heads to make the following recipe for 2 Litres of Cordial (courtesy of the River Cottage archives).

Ingredients

• About 20-25 elderflower heads
• Finely grated zest of 3 unwaxed lemons and 1 orange, plus their juice (about 150ml in total)
• 1kg sugar
• 1 heaped tsp citric acid (optional, if you want the Cordial to keep for longer than a few weeks – Citric Acid can be found in brewing shops or in Wilkinson’s)

Place the flower heads in a large bowl together with the orange and lemon zest. Bring 1.5 litres water to the boil and pour over the elderflowers and citrus zest. Cover and leave overnight to infuse.

Strain the liquid through a piece of muslin and pour into a saucepan. Add the sugar, the lemon and orange juice and the citric acid (if using).

Heat gently to dissolve the sugar, then bring to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes.

Use a funnel to pour the hot syrup into sterilised bottles. Seal the bottles

Serve the cordial, diluted with ice-cold water or lemonade, as a summer refresher, or mix with sparkling wine or Champagne for a tipple.

Free Edible Treasure

If you like the idea of living off the land, knowing the countryside and its edibility, taking joy in your surroundings, or just sneaky free food, you may be interested in foraging.

Foraging is the act of searching for food in the natural world. As people have become more and more interested in eating local and organic food, and in being thrifty, foraging has risen in popularity. It is now rather en vogue and foraging days with an ‘expert’ are sometimes priced at over £100. However some local groups like The Friends of Kings Wood run 2-3 hour informative foraging walks for just a few pounds.

In the spring/summer months the following plants are quite common amongst the undergrowth: Ramsons, Chervil, Marjoram, Common Nettles, Dead White Nettles, Hops, Plantain, Jack by the Hedge, Sea Mint, Lady’s Smock, Chickweed, Hawthorn, among many others. But be careful some deadly plants, such as Hemlock and Mercury, look rather worryingly similar to some edible plants! It’s always a good idea to consult an identification book or an expert, and if in doubt steer clear!

But if you have the time and the inclination, with just a little knowledge it is fairly easy to forage for some commonly found edible plants. There really is something quite exciting about finding something growing in the middle of nowhere, planted by nature, grown with no human tendering, which you can pick and eat, there and then.

Here’s a delicious recipe using a foraged food you are all familiar with (you might want to use some gloves to harvest this treasure!):

Nettle and Ricotta Gnocchi

¾ of a carrier bag of Nettle Tops (the first 8-10 cm of the Nettle stem and leaves from the top). Avoid fields that get sprayed, roadsides or other contamination.

50g Butter (melted) and extra for serving

200g Ricotta Cheese

100g Plain Flour, extra for dusting

3 Egg yolks

½ teaspoon of ground Nutmeg

150g Parmesan Cheese

• Wash the Nettles well with water, transfer them to a pan with the water still clinging to them and wilt over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
• Leave the Nettles to cool and then squeeze them dry.
• Chop them finely and put them in a bowl. Add 50g of melted Butter.
• In another large bowl, beat the Ricotta Cheese with a fork and sift in the Flour.
• Add the Egg Yolks, Nutmeg, Parmesan Cheese and Nettles to the Ricotta Cheese and Flour mix and mix well until they form a dough.
• Chill the dough for 1 hour.
• Mould the dough into 2cm balls.
• Bring a large pan of water to boil and then lower to a simmer. Gently place the Gnocchi balls into the pan of water and cook gently for 5 – 6 minutes. When they are ready they will float to the surface. Remove them and drain any excess water with kitchen towel (It is best to cook them in batches so there is only a single layer of them in the pan at one time).
• Toss in melted Butter and serve.

This year, the Friends of Kings Wood are running a ‘Woodland Herbs’ and a ‘Funny Fungi’ walks. You can find their event listings on their website: http://www.friendsofkingswood.org/