The Bridge Cottage Kitchen - The Bridge Cottage

Cooking with Wild Garlic. Recipes and Tips

March 7, 2021/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Kitchen/by Sue Reed

Wild Garlic. Foraging & Cooking Food for Free

The smell of wild garlic takes me back to the day we moved to Bridge Cottage. As we drove along with a car full of boxes, marvelling at the beauty of the Northumberland countryside, a pungent pong wafted through the car window. Wild garlic. It was growing in abundance along the roadside. Imagine our delight when we discovered it growing along the banks of the burn that runs through the garden. Food for free, and delicious at that.

Here in Northumberland, it is the beginning of March when the wild garlic is poking up, ready to pick. It may well be February if you are in warmer climes. The fresh young leaves can be picked and added to a salad. We planted some salad leaves in the greenhouse in the autumn, and are reaping the benefits now.

Not only is it tasty, but wild garlic is also good for you, proven to reduce blood pressure. Wild garlic has all manner of health benefits too.

Why wild garlic is good for you

I need to check the freezer. We made lots of wild garlic pesto last year. There may well be some packs lurking in the back. I’ll pop some recipes below, and add them to the Bridge Cottage Kitchen page.

wild garlic and nettles

By far the favourite recipe of last year was for wild garlic and blue cheese scones – delicious with a bowl of soup. – you can also add nettles to many of these recipes, but be careful to pick with gloves and take note that nettles will still sting until wilted or cooked. Don’t do what a friend of mine did, and use nettles in pesto without wilting first. She, unfortunately, tasted a spoon of nettle pesto and stung her mouth and throat. It could have been a lot nastier than it was. I’ll write more about nettles in a month or so, when they’re properly up.

Blue Cheese & Wild Garlic Scones

Blue cheese and wild garlic scones

Ingredients

225g plain or spelt flour

3 tsp baking powder

Pinch salt, half tsp English mustard powder

50g cold butter

125g blue cheese (or any strong cheese)

2 tbsp washed & chopped wild garlic (nettle tops and chives work well too)

60ml cold milk

1 beaten egg

Method

Scones are best handled as little as possible. I use a food processor, but mixing by hand is fine

Sift flour, baking powder, salt & mustard. Grate in the butter, cheese, & mix with wild garlic and nettles. Mix in egg & milk with a clawed hand, adjusting the amount of liquid to give a soft, slightly sticky dough. (Scones are better on the wet side rather than dry).

Tip onto a floured worktop and handling as little as possible, knead gently then press down into a flat shape about 3cm thick. Cut into shapes, top with a little cheese or egg & milk from the jug you used.

Bake at 220 deg (200 deg fan) Gas 7 for 12 minutes.

Serve with butter. Delicious with some wild garlic and nettle soup.

Pesto

Add a couple of good handfuls of wild garlic to about 200ml of olive oil, a handful of nuts (eg walnuts, cashew or pine nuts), 50g grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, and blitz in a food processor.

Add your pesto to pasta for a simple but tasty lunch or rub onto chicken. Wild garlic and chicken go very well together.

I like to make several batches and freeze them in small bags. There is nothing better in the depths of winter than to go foraging in the freezer and finding little bags of spring wild garlic pesto to use for lunches.

Salads

Wild garlic leaves can be added whole to salads or chopped according to taste. Use instead of spring onions for a mild, oniony taste, but with the added zing of garlic. They make an interesting addition to a cheese sandwich married with a touch of mayonnaise.

Salad dressing can also be made more interesting with finely chopped wild garlic leaves or add to mayonnaise or butter.

Tomatoes

In his iconic foraging guide, Food for Free, written many moons ago, Richard Mabey tells us that wild garlic goes handsomely with tomatoes

Richard tells us to take advantage of their size and lay them criss-cross over sliced beefsteak tomatoes’. I like to chop them finely and add to chopped tinned tomatoes for a quick and tasty tomato sauce that can go with pasta, or as an accompaniment to fish cakes.

Alternatively, make simple tomato salsa, by chopping fresh tomatoes with finely chopped wild garlic, and fresh deseeded chilli, and a squeeze of lemon or lime juice.

wild garlic and nettle soup

Wild garlic can be used with young nettle tops for a healthy, delicious soup, or for the meat-eaters amongst us, simply add to chicken stock and blitz for a delicious wild garlic soup.

I’m off to pick some wild garlic to use tonight with simple mayonnaise to have with our chips.

Happy foraging, but remember to forage responsibly – leave plenty for others and for wildlife.

Wild Garlic. Foraging & Cooking Food for Free

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, with the seasons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating.

February 7, 2021/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Garden, The Bridge Cottage Kitchen/by Sue Reed

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating

Do you grow leeks? Would you like to grow leeks? They are a hardy crop, standing with patience and fortitude in the ground, month in, month out, waiting to be plucked. Tolerant of the cold and ice, they are a welcome treat in the depths of winter or as tender young things in the summer. I thought I’d share some tips I’ve learnt along the way, plus some tried and tested family recipes.

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating

It is February and thoughts are turning to this year’s growing season. My granddaughter and I have been sowing leeks this week. One of the earliest crops to get underway. They will grow in pots indoors or a propagator and then go into the greenhouse to grow on during early Spring.

Sow your leeks early in the season, Feb – April. Then sow again later in the year, to allow for a succession of crops. Read more about planting in succession here:

Succession Planting for Vegetables All Year Round

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating

Start your leeks off in a deep pot – they like to send their roots deep down. This will help strong plants to grow. Just sprinkle on top of seed compost, and then cover with a fine layer. Pop somewhere fairly warm: a propagator, warm windowsill or sunny greenhouse once winter’s chill is over.

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating

Don’t be tempted to put too many in the seed tray, or you’ll end up with far too many and they’ll be all choked up. We’ve been a bit heavy-handed with our seed sprinkling – you might want to give them a bit more breathing room than we have here!

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating

Once your seedlings are large enough to handle – you need a good bit of growth at the top, tease them gently apart, and plant out in the veggie plot using a dibber or stick to make deep holes (about 15-20 cm deep). Don’t you just love that word, dibber. It instantly conjures up memories of helping my grandad in his garden. I have my lovely son to thank for making me my dibber. If you don’t have a dibber, find a stout stick! Pop your seedling in the hole and fill with water from a watering can. Plant with enough space so you can get a hoe in between rows to keep the weeds down later on That’s all there is to it!

You will be rewarded with delicious, nutritious leeks to feed yourselves and your families.

Here are some tried and tested recipes the family have loved here at Bridge Cottage. They all serve a family of four, so scale down for smaller portions. We are meat eaters, so have included bacon in the Leek and Bacon pudding, but feel free to leave it out.

Top tip – when washing leeks, slit the tops with a deep cross and hold upside down under running water, teasing out layer to get all the soil out. Nowt worse than a crunch of grit when you munch!

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating

Cheesy Leek Gratin

Ingredients

4 large leeks

25g butter

½ tbsp plain flour

Approx. 1 pt milk

100g cheddar cheese

2 handfuls breadcrumbs*

Fresh parsley, finely chopped (optional)

*(whizz up some stale crusts in a food processor – top tip: keep a bag in the freezer so you never have to throw away stale bread)

Method

Wash the leeks well, and chop into chunks. Sauté in the butter for a couple of mins until just tender. Stir in the flour, and then add milk a little at a time until you have the consistency of double cream. Add grated cheddar and season with salt and pepper. Pour into an overproof dish.

Mix the breadcrumbs with chopped parsley, season and place on top of the leeks. Bake in a medium over for 10 minutes, or until breadcrumbs brown.

Leek & Bacon Pudding

Ingredients

125g / 5 oz wholewheat flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

50g / 20z shredded suet

2 chopped leeks

3-4 rashers streaky bacon, chopped

1 tsp mixed fresh herbs or ½ tsp dried

I medium egg

Method

Mix together flour, baking powder, suet, leeks, bacon, herbs and season with salt and pepper.

Mix with egg, adding a little milk if necessary, to make a soft dropping consistency (so mixture drops off spoon when held aloft)

Grease a 600ml/1 pint pudding basin and put in a piece of greaseproof or parchment paper to just cover the bottom.

Put pudding mixture in basin. Cover with greaseproof paper and foil and tie with string.

Steam for 1 ½ hours. If you don’t have a steamer, place a saucer in the bottom of a large pan, and cover with boiling water. Place pudding on saucer and put lid on pan, topping up water when necessary.

Serve with parsley sauce.

Sue Reed writes for the Bridge Cottage Way

There are, of course, lots of other recipes for leeks – we love a leek risotto, or that old favourite, leek and potato soup.

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, with the seasons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Tim & Sue in the Bridge Cottage Way garden

Make Your Own Apple and Fennel Chutney & Fennel Tea

October 12, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Kitchen/by Sue Reed

Fennel seeds

The stems from the fennel are reaching for the sky, each upturned umbrella laden with seeds. It’s October and the fennel seeds are ready to be harvested, and although these can be left on the plant to dry, I do like to gather them before the birds strip them clean. I reckon there are enough for us to all share!

We’ve just opened the last jar of the apple and fennel chutney, made last year, so time to make some more, especially as we’re knee-deep in apples. What a bumper year it’s been for those!

This is top of the list of favourite chutneys here at Bridge Cottage, and when the ‘kids’ come home and raid the larder, this is one they all plump for, but one I try and hide and the back! It goes especially well with a strong cheddar and makes a great lunch with cheese on toast.

Here’s the recipe:

Apple and Fennel Chutney

Ingredients for apple and fennel chutney

Ingredients:

500g fennel bulbs

500g onions

1 kg cooking apples

2 tbsp fresh fennel seeds or 1 tbsp dried.

500ml apple cider vinegar

600g granulated or light soft brown sugar.

Method:

Finely chop the fennel bulbs and onion, or blitz in a food processor. Add to a deep preserving pan. Peel, core and chop the cooking apples into small chunks. Add fennel seeds, apple cider vinegar and sugar and bring to the boil.

Boil fairly rapidly, stirring often and reducing the temperature to a simmer at the end, to prevent sticking.

The chutney is cooked when it has darkened slightly and is thick and sticky, and a wooden spoon leaves the bottom of the pan momentarily clean when stirred across.

Apple and Fennel Chutney

Place into clean, warmed jars and cover.

Label and store.

Apple and Fennel Chutney

Best left a month before eating if you can bear it!

Fennel Tea

Fennel seeds also make a delicious tea, rich in vitamin A, great for the digestion and to reduce water retention.

Simply crush a teaspoon of dried fennel seeds lightly in a pestle and mortar, and then pour on boiling water in a small teapot. Leave to steep for five minutes before straining and drinking.

For more information about making your own herbal teas follow this link:

Fennel Seeds

Make Your Own Herbal Tea

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go out four times a year, with the seasons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Elderberry Tonic – Autumn Foraging

September 22, 2020/0 Comments/in Foraging for Free Food, The Bridge Cottage Kitchen/by Sue Reed

Elderberry Tonic

The autumn equinox is a time for gathering and preparing for the winter, and what better way is there than making some super healthy elderberry tonic to ward off winter colds and flu?

It’s easy to make and tastes delicious. Drink it neat in shot glasses, or hot with warm water added or cold in fizzy water.

Elderberries are high in vitamin C, and elderberry tonic is a staple in our house.

More info about the health benefits can be found here, – Health benefits of elderberries – but rather than buy commercial elderberry tonic, why not make your own with our simple recipe?

Elderberries

Elderberry Tonic Recipe:

Collect a bag of ripe elderberries, and then once home, wash and pop off the stalks with a fork, into a saucepan.

Add water until just covered.

Add a cinnamon stick, good chunk root ginger, chopped, and some cloves & star anise.

Bring to the boil & simmer for 20 mins.

Strain through muslin, or a clean tea towel inside a colander. Squeeze all the juice out.

Add a good dollop of honey to taste and bottle into clean containers.

I freeze some in plastic bottles for the depths of winter and keep a bottle in the fridge door for daily slurps.

Cheers! Keep Healthy and Stay Safe 🙂

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can subscribe to the Bridge Cottage Way on Substack to receive regular newsletters straight to your inbox.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, with the seasons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Tim & Sue in the Bridge Cottage Way garden

Tomatoes – Late Summer Seasonal Eating

September 8, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Kitchen/by Sue Reed

Tomatoes – late summer seasonal eating

It is September as I write, and the tomatoes will soon be gone for another year. Seasonal eating means that we embrace vegetables when the time comes, but then don’t eat them until the next season comes around. I wouldn’t thank you for a plastic tray of tomatoes, bought from a supermarket that has been grown in a plastic tent in miles from here. Once they’ve gone, we will wait until tomato season comes again for fresh tomatoes. We do, however, preserve our tomatoes in various ways, freezing passata, drying and pickling. I thought I’d share a few of our favourite recipes with you here. Feel free to add any more suggestions in the comments below.

homemade pizza

It has been a good year, with plenty of tomatoes in the greenhouse and growing outside along the south-facing wall of our conservatory. We grow a variety of tomatoes, some suited to specific purposes, like the San Marzano, which makes the best pizza sauce. If you’ve been following on social media, you’ll have heard about Tim’s fabulous pizza oven build, which was his lockdown project.

Portuguese tomatoes

These big plump tomatoes came from Portugal, where we were on holiday a couple of years ago. We’d stayed in an Air BnB in a village a few miles inland from the coast of the Algarve, and bought our veg from a lady in the local market. Her tomatoes were delicious. She told us she sold them, and her husband grew them on their smallholding. We spread some of the tomato seeds on a piece of kitchen roll and brought them home, dried. We may have been breaking import laws, I have no idea.

They’ve grown amazingly well up here in Northumberland, and have been great for making stuffed tomato recipes, of which I’ll now give you two: Evoke holiday memories of a Greek taverna with Greek Stuffed tomatoes and Lentil & Chorizo Stuffed Tomatoes.

Greek Rice-Stuffed Tomatoes (serves two as a main dish, or 4 as a starter)

Taken from Sainsbury’s Magazine

Greek Rice-Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients

4 Beef Tomatoes

3 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped,

150g long grain rice

1 tsp tomato pureé

2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tbsp chopped dill

2 tbsp chopped mint leaves

Finely grated zest 1 lemon.

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Cut the tops off the tomatoes and, using a teaspoon, carefully scoop out the soft pulp and seeds and transfer to a bowl. Put the tomato shells into a baking dish. Set aside the tops until ready to bake.
Heat 2 tbsps of the olive oil in a frying pan set over a low heat. Add the onion and fry for 10 minutes until softened, without allowing it to brown. Roughly chop any large pieces of tomato then add to the pan with the rice, tomato pureé and 100ml just-boiled water. Season with salt and pepper
Bring the mixture to the boil and continue to cook for 12 minutes, stirring often, until the rice is cooked, but still al dente. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped flat-leaf parsley, dill, mint and grated lemon zest.
Fill the prepared tomato shells with the rice mixture and return the tops.
Drizzle with the remaining oil, cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, until the rice is tender. Serve warm from the oven.

Chorizo and Lentil Stuffed Tomatoes (serves two as a main dish, or 4 as a starter)

Vegans leave off the mozzarella at the end, and omit the chorizo

Lentil and Chorizo Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients

4 Beef Tomatoes

3 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped,

75g chorizo, finely chopped,

125g puy, brown or green lentils, cooked and drained.

2tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped,

2 tbsp oregano, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Cut the tops off the tomatoes and, using a teaspoon, carefully scoop out the soft pulp and seeds and transfer to a bowl. Put the tomato shells into a baking dish.
Heat 2 tbsps of the olive oil in a frying pan set over low heat. Add the onion and fry for 5 minutes then add the chorizo and fry for another 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, chopping any large lumps, lentils and herbs. Season with salt and pepper and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Place tomato shells in an ovenproof dish and load the shells with the lentil stuffing.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the shells are soft with optional mozzarella on the top. If not using mozzarella, place the tops of the tomatoes cutaway in stage 1 to keep the moisture in.
Serve warm from the oven.

Homemade Passata

Chopped tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and oregano

A simple way of making bags of tomato sauce to freeze and use for pasta sauces, pizzas, or soups.

Simply cut tomatoes in half and place in a baking tray with cloves of garlic, seasonal herbs such as basil or oregano and give a good slug of olive oil . Mix everything with your hands, then bake in a moderate oven, around 180°C 350°F, gas mark 4 for around 20 mins, or until the edges of the skins are turning brown.

Cooked Tomatoes for Passata

Cool slightly then tip in a large jug or heatproof bowl and blend using a hand blender, taking care not to burn yourself.

If you want a totally smooth passata, without pips, then pass through a sieve, but we just blend everything to a fine pulp.

Once totally cool, bag up, and freeze. I find 4 ladlefuls is about the right amount in each bag. You’ll be so glad you went to the effort when winter comes, and it’s another thing less to have to buy from the supermarkets.

Oven-Dried Tomatoes

We’ve also attempted to make our own version of Sundried Tomatoes, and very delicious they are too! We simply laid halved cherry tomatoes on a wire rack and let them dry out slowly in a very cool oven overnight. Ours was the outdoor pizza oven after it had cooled right down. I guess if you were using a conventional oven, then you’d turn it on, heat it and then turn it off with the tomatoes still in – you’ll have to experiment!

Daisy helps Grandad make Cherry Tomato Bombs

Daisy has been helping Grandad to make ‘cherry tomato bombs’ (Rachel deThamples title, not mine – I’m a pacifist!!) – we got the book ‘Fermentation’ in the wonderful River Cottage series (you’ll hear me wax lyrical about this series on lots of occasions) and Tim has gone into overdrive on the fermentation front…..but I guess that’s a post for another time.

Saved tomato seed

Don’t forget to save your tomato seed for next year!

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, with the seasons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Nasturtium – 4 Delicious Ways to Use This Edible Flower

August 11, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Kitchen/by Sue Reed

Nasturtium: 4 Delicious Ways to Use This Edible Flower

Nasturtium

Do you grow nasturtium in your garden? It’s a quick-growing, easy plant, that will grow well in containers and hanging baskets as well as in the veggie patch or flower borders. It will creep and climb and loves a trellis or wall to cover with its colourful trumpet-shapes flowers and saucer-like leaves. Head down to the Bridge Cottage garden to read more about:

Growing Nasturtiums

In this post, we’ve come inside to the kitchen, and are going to look at three ways to use nasturtium as a free, nutritious food source. Nasturtiums, using both leaves and petals, are high in vitamin C, and will improve the immune system. They will help to treat sore throats, coughs and cold, and fight a bacterial or fungal infection. Studies have shown that the leaves have antibiotic properties and are most effective prior to flowering.

Nasturtium is used in traditional medicine, for a wide range of illnesses and is said to help with hair loss. I’d better do and make Tim a nasturtium cap for his lack of hair then! Maybe not, I’m rather fond of his bald head.

Come on in, let’s go into the kitchen:

Nasturtium in salad

Nasturtium in Salads

Nasturtium leaves have a mildly peppery taste and will add flavour and colour to your salads, used with the flowers. Choose young leaves, and open flowers, wash any creepy crawlies away or leave on a piece of paper, and the bugs will crawl off to find pastures new. Add to salad leaves such as rocket, lettuce, young spinach or beetroot leaves, and add fresh herbs for an interesting salad

If you are making salads, don’t forget about the floral vinegars we made back in the late spring. You might have some in the cupboard to use for salad dressing.

Nasturtium Pesto

Ingredients for nasturtium pesto

Nasturtium pesto favourite discovery this year and is inspired by the Garden Pesto by Pam Corbin from the wonderful book of Preserves in the River Cottage series. Being still in partial lockdown, I didn’t have all the ingredients to hand that Pam suggests but made a delicious pesto with these ingredients. We had a chicken, roasted in the outside oven, and a dollop of delicious nasturtium pesto was the perfect accompaniment.

Nasturtium pesto

Makes 2x 225 jars

50g nasturtium leaves

Handful of mint leaves

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

6 or so nasturtium pods

50 g pine nuts (I used cashews)

75g mature, hard cheese (I used a Northumberland equivalent of parmesan)

Juice ½ lemon (50ml)

150ml hemp, rapeseed or olive oil, plus extra to seal

Petals from 2 calendula (marigold) flowers

Salt to taste

Bung all the ingredients apart from the calendula petals & salt in a food processor and whizz until soft and well mixed. Remove and fold in the petals and salt.
Place in small, sterilised jars and pour a little oil over the surface to exclude any air and seal.

Either store in the fridge and use within four weeks or put into portions in small bags or an ice cube tray and freeze for use later in the year. You’ll be glad you did in January!

Nasturtium Seeds

Poor Man’s Capers

Again, I’ve used the recipe from Pam’s book – do get yourself a copy, it’s stuffed full of amazing recipes for preserves.

Makes 2 x 115g jars

15g salt

100g Nasturtium seed pods

A few peppercorns (optional)

Fresh herbs (eg dill or tarragon)

200ml white wine vinegar

Make a light brine by dissolving the salt in 300ml water. Put nasturtium seeds in a bowl and cover with cold brine. Leave for 24 hours.

Drain the seed pods and dry well. Pack them into small, sterilised jars (see p 29) with, if you like, a few peppercorns and some herbs. Leave room for 1cm vinegar at the top. Cover the seeds with vinegar and cover with vinegar proof lids. Store in a cool, dark place before eating and use within a year.

I’m making some of these for Christmas stocking fillers!

Pam recommends using these to make a tartare sauce, by mixing 100g mayonnaise with 2-3 finely chopped spring onions or the white part of a leek, I tbsp chopped nasturtium capers, I heaped tbsp finely chopped parsley, a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with white fish, fish and chips, hot or cold salmon or trout, or a salad of freshly cooked baby beetroot with young broad beans and rocket or other leaves.

Socially distanced cup of tea

Do you have any other suggestions for using nasturtium flowers and or leaves? I’ve just seen a recipe for Wild Hot Sauce over on Pinterest, and this is my fourth suggestion. I haven’t yet made it, but my friend, Ceri from Oakwood Soaperie, who came for a socially distanced cup of tea today in the Bridge Cottage Garden recommends it. I’ll make a Bridge Cottage version with our Ring of Fire Chillies and post this when it’s been tried and tested bu our youngest son John, who is the hot sauce expert. …….more about chillies coming up later.

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list below. This will go out four times a year, with the seasons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Sign up for Quarterly Substack Mailing List here.

Summer Herb Shortbread Cookies

August 7, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Kitchen/by Sue Reed

Calendula and Borage Shortbread

At last, we’ve felt it is safe to have a few friends round, one at a time, socially distant in the garden. What strange times we are living in during this Covid-19 pandemic. We’ve really missed our friends. I wanted something light and summery, yet indulgent and with the feeling of a treat to welcome them.

As is my way I looked around the garden to see what we had, and what I could make. Summer herbs are in abundance at the moment, and the calendula and borage particularly striking. They are grown primarily as companion plants, being good pals with squash, courgettes and beans, but have also been used for making herbal teas. I discovered that calendula is particularly beneficial for water retention, something I suffer with, with my swollen ankles, particularly in summer, and borage makes you brave! Boy, could we all do with a bit of bravery in these testing times?

I found the inspiration for making calendula and thyme shortbread from The Plant Path Folk, a mother and daughter duo from Glastonbury, whose feed I particularly enjoy. over on Instagram. I adapted this to make my own recipe, using what was available, and this was the result. Later, when another friend came for tea, I rang the changes and used borage in place of thyme. These shortbread cookies need a twist of citrus, with orange or lemon peel, but if you don’t have it in, don’t worry. These Covid-19 days are all about making do with what you have and not rushing out to the shops unnecessarily.

Here’s the recipe:

Calendula and Borage Shortbread Cookies

125g / 4oz butter

55g / 2oz caster sugar

180g / 6oz plain flour

grated zest half a lemon or orange

a small handful of fresh calendula & borage petals, lightly chopped

Pre-heat the oven to 190C / 375F / Gas mark 5
Grease a baking tray or line with parchment
Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth
Mix in the flour and petals.
Put in the fridge for 20 mins to firm up
Roll out gently with plenty of flour to prevent sticking to about 1/4 ” or 1/2 cm thick
Cut into rounds
Place on baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes until light golden brown
Cool on a wire rack

calendula and thyme shortbread

To make the calendula and thyme version, just substitute the borage for thyme. How about making some traditional lavender shortbread? You could serve this with homemade ice-cream if you want to be totally indulgent.

Lavender

Do let me know how you get on.

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

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You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

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Homemade Raspberry Jam from the Bridge Cottage Kitchen

August 5, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Kitchen/by Sue Reed

Before we go on, I may confess that this is not my own recipe for raspberry jam, but is taken from the excellent book ‘Preserves’ by Pam Corbin, and the second of the River Cottage Handbooks – a most excellent series of handy hardback for the kitchen.

growing raspberries

The recipe is Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s, and it is low in sugar, and a great recipe to start with if you are new to jam making, as it does not require you to test for the setting point.

Hugh recommends picking a mix of ripe and not so ripe raspberries on a hot, dry day. This is easier said than done in Northumberland, and if this July is anything to go by, you’ll be reaching in the freezer for frozen raspberries. That too is fine, though if you are able to use freshly picked, so much the better.

As this recipe is low in sugar, quick to make, and makes a great topping on plain yoghurt or porridge for breakfast. Pair it up with clotted cream, on scones, but I’ll leave you to decide whether the jam should go on before the cream, or vice versa. Personally, I’m a jam first person. Pam Corbin writes that it is also excellent in trifles, cakes and stirred into creamy rice pudding. Tim would not thank you for rice pudding – it reminds him of school dinners.

Find out how to make your own yoghurt

Recipe for Raspberry Jam

Makes 6 x 340g jars

1.5 kg raspberries

750g sugar with added pectin

Pick over raspberries carefully to remove any stalks or leaves.

Put half fruit in a preserving pan and bash with a potato masher to crush it.

Add remaining fruit and sugar.

Stir over a low heat to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for exactly 5 minutes. If you prefer a firmer jam, cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir to disperse any scum.

Leave for 5-6 minutes to prevent all the little raspberry pips dashing to the top of the jar, but pour into clean, warmed, sterilised jars as soon as possible.

This will keep in the store cupboard for months, but once opened, keep in the fridge – hence the name!

This also works well with strawberries, although the blackbirds have beaten us to them again this year!

Head over to the Bridge Cottage Kitchen for the basics of Jam and Jelly Making.

Raspberry Jam

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, around the Summer and Winter Solstices, and the Spring and Autumn Equinox. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Homemade Summer Fruit Ice-Cream

August 5, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Kitchen/by Sue Reed

Homemade summer ice-cream

The taste of homemade summer ice-cream is amazing, and a firm favourite with our family. Making your own ice-cream is a great way to use your crops of soft fruit. There are no artificial additives, and you’ll be reducing your plastic consumption, and transport miles by making your own in a reusable tub.

We’ve pinched our daughter’s ice-cream maker and are hoping she won’t ask for it back. It’s a wonderful gadget, and once you get the hang of making your own ice-cream, using fresh fruit from the garden, there is no going back to the supermarket. There are plenty of recipes for ‘no-churn’ ice creams out there on the internet, so have a look down the Google tube if you don’t have an ice cream maker, or use this one from the people at Good Food, who suggest using condensed milk if you don’t have an ice-cream maker.

No Churn Vanilla Ice-Cream

The method we use here at Bridge Cottage is to make a basic vanilla ice-cream (see below), then pop it in the fridge overnight, along with a fruit purée, which can be strained through a sieve or not, depending on whether you want lumps or pips. In the morning, when both are chilly, take your ice-cream churn out of the freezer (I keep mine in there permanently, as it is so frustrating to go to make ice-cream and find the churning bowl is not frozen)

Vanilla Ice-Cream

284ml double cream

300ml whole milk

3 egg yolks

115g caster sugar

Bring the milk and cream just to the boil, then set aside.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light in colour and fluffy.

Add a couple of tablespoons of the hot milk and cream to the egg mix to loosen, then pour it all back in the saucepan. Bring gently to the boil, stirring with a wooden spoon until it thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Take care not to over cook or your mixture will split.

If you are in a rush, cool rapidly by placing in a plastic jug, in a bowl of ice-cubes, but I prefer to put a plate over the top and pop it in the fridge overnight once cooled. You are then ready to add any flavourings or eat it just as it is. How about topping it with some Raspberry Fridge Jam?

Blackcurrant Swirl Ice-Cream

In the morning, or when you are ready to make your fruity ice-creams, churn the vanilla custard until thick, and then either pour in the fruit purée and let it all mix in, or swirl it once the vanilla ice cream is in the freezer container to make a ripple.

Freeze until solid, but the longest you leave it, you’ll find you may need to take it out of the freezer for ten mins before serving.

I’ll give specific recipes for three summer ice creams over on the recipes page:

Gooseberry and Elderflower Ice Cream

Raspberry Ice Cream

Blackcurrant Swirl Ice Cream

Homemade is definitely best, enjoy!

Raspberry Ice-Cream

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other section of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what is seasonal and on topic:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list below. This will go our four times a year, around the Summer and Winter Solstices, and the Spring and Autumn Equinox. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

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Make Your Own Jam and Jelly

July 29, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Kitchen/by Sue Reed

Soft Fruit for Making Jam and Jellies

Both my Nans made their own jam and jellies. Nanny Gwen would buy punnets of fruit from the greengrocer and make tiny batches of jam in paste pots. She would serve little homemade drop scones with a paste pot of raspberry jam on plates with doilies and serve tea from a delicate rose bloom bone china tea set. My other Nan, Nanny Dora, grew her own fruit, and a loganberry will always make me think of her. She was more of a Woolworth’s girl, with serviceable seventies pottery and thick, heavy scones with raspberry jam and a tin of sterilised cream. I can see the packet of ready-cut greaseproof paper circles, elastic bands and cellophane tops that she bought and kept in the pantry.

Nanny Dora

My own kids, now grown up and left home, love to come back and raid the homemade jam cupboard. I had a look in the store cupboard the other day and saw we have plenty of chutney left, but no jam whatsoever. It is July, the fruit bushes are dripping and the jam-making is beginning in earnest. this year, from 25 July to 2 August, it is National Preserving Awareness Week, encouraging those who make their own preserves to help those who are new to the game. How great that jam making and preserving is having a revival. My Nans would be very pleased.

Preserving is yet another way to lead a more sustainable lifestyle – recycling jars, using homegrown produce, and reducing the need for transportation and factory-produced food. You will also know exactly what has gone into your jars, with sugar and vinegar being the only preservatives; no colourings or nasty additives. Once you have mastered a few basic skills, preserving is relatively easy and the rewards numerous. A well-stocked pantry cupboard is a delight and will see you through the colder months with reminders of summer.

Jam and Jelly Making Equipment

preserving pan for jam making

Jam Pan – you will need a good, solid bottomed jam pan – a heavy-bottomed saucepan will work, but if you are looking to drop hints for Christmas presents, a jam pan is a great investment. It allows the ‘rolling boil’ and stops the bottom getting burnt. It will also have a handle and some come with a handy pouring dint at the top.

Jam Jars – collect these all year round – don’t throw any jars away. If you are going to be living a sustainable lifestyle, making preserves, drying herbs, making herbal teas, then jam jars are invaluable. Go to the effort of soaking and scrubbing off the labels (we use a wire scrubber and some washing up liquid), and store, lids off, in a cupboard or box til needed.

Jam Thermometer – not vital, but very useful. The setting point of jams is 104.5°C and this can be done using a cold plate and your finger (see below), but a thermometer will save you the hassle. We have one with a probe that is used to test the temperature of all sorts of cooking.

Wooden Spoon – use a long handled wooden spoon – this will become stained and jammy over time. I’m fine with that, but you may want to keep one just for preserves.

jelly bag

Jelly bag and stand, or (muslin and string!) – you can buy jelly bags and stands from Lakeland or other shops, but I use a piece of muslin or double cheesecloth, or a clean tea towel, and hand it from a cupboard handle, letting the jelly drip over-night.

Kitchen Scales

Jam Setting Point

As long as you have got your proportions right, your jam or jelly should set once it is sufficiently cooked. Here are two methods, one without a thermometer and one with:

Crinkle Test – when you start your jam making, pop a small plate or saucer in the fridge and leave it there to chill. Once you think setting point is reached, pop a teaspoon in the plate. Give it a few seconds, then gently push your finger over the jam. If setting point has been reached, a skin will have formed which crinkles when you push your finger over.

Temperature Test – place a preserving thermometer or probe thermometer into the jam when it has reached a rolling boil. When it reads 104.5°C it is done. Pectin rich fruits will set a degree or two, lower.

fruit picking for jam making

That’s all you need, so let’s get fruit picking and jam making. I’ll start with an easy one, Raspberry Fridge Jam.

Preserves by Pam Corbin and River Cottage

One recommendation I do have is to get yourself a copy of Pam Corbin’s excellent book from The River Cottage Series, ‘Preserves’. It has lots of great recipes, some traditional and some fantastic ideas, such as making fruit leather for sweeties, or nasturtium pesto – who knew, this was a thing? Tim’s favourite is Pontak Sauce, made from elderberries, which takes seven years to fully mature.

I’m off out to pick some raspberries and will get recipes up on the website as and when I make them.

Happy jam and jelly making!

Homemade Jam and Jelly

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other section of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what is seasonal and on topic:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, around the Summer and Winter Solstices, and the Spring and Autumn Equinox. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Thanks for reading. Best wishes, Tim and Sue Reed