The Bridge Cottage Way - The Bridge Cottage

Rosebay Willowherb Tea. Late Summer Foraging.

August 27, 2020/0 Comments/in Foraging for Free Food/by Sue Reed

Rosebay Willowherb growing in Northumberland

Rosebay Willowherb is known as Fireweed in North America, after its tendency to spring up as an early pioneer on burnt land. In second World War Britain, it sprang up on bomb sites in London, and elsewhere, rising like the Phoenix from the ashes. In Clydebank in Scotland, it grew the bombed Singer Sewing machine site and was nicknamed Singerweed. Here in Northumberland it grows rampant along the roadsides and we even have a large patch alongside the burn in the Bridge Cottage garden.

Foraging for Rosebay Willowherb

You may need to go further afield, and if you do, always remember to forage responsibly. Take only as much as you need, leaving plenty behind for wildlife, and do not go where you are not supposed to go.

I’ve mentioned my youngest son before, a lad full of surprises. Imagine my delight when I got a What’s App message from him, with photos of leaves he’d picked and a link to how to make Ivan Chai, or fermented Rosebay Willowherb tea. I’d heard that the leaves of the Rosebay Willowherb made a great green tea but had not heard of Ivan Chai.

A spot of research later, and I discovered this tea is a traditional drink and domestic medicine in northern and Eastern Europe. In Russia, its fermented leaves are known as Koporye or Ivan tea, while in Alaska, the flowers are a valuable source of nectar for honey and are made into jellies and syrups. I already had some dried leaves but thought this fermentation process sounded interesting yet simple.

Consulting my book about hedgerow herbal remedies* I read that Rosebay Willowherb can be made into a syrup which is excellent for treating childhood diarrhoea or irritable bowel symptoms (see recipe below), and infusions of the leaves have also been used for heavy periods. Modern research into Rosebay Willowherb has focused on its role in treating BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia), inhibiting prostate cancer cell growth in animals and by inference, in humans.

To make Rosebay Willowherb tea:

Either dry the leaves and petals naturally (see post on drying herbs) or make your own fermented Rosebay Willow Herb tea, aka Ivan tea:

Rolling Rosebay Willowherb leaves to make Ivan Tea

Ivan Tea or Fermented Rosebay Willowherb Tea

Pick the leaves from the Rosebay Willowherb plant, near the top.
Leave to go limo overnight
Roll into balls (you can roll a few leaves together)
Put in a sealed container in a warm place for 24 hours. You can add rose petals for flavour
Dry in a cool dry place, or in an oven on the lowest setting til thoroughly dried out. (I like to keep the oven door open slightly to let the moisture out
Store in an airtight container once cool
Drink and enjoy!

Rosebay Willowherb Tea. Ivan Tea

If you’d like to see a video of how it’s made, I’ll get one made, but in the short term, here’s someone to show you how:
YouTube video: Full process of making Ivan tea

picking rosebay willowherb

Rosebay Willowherb Syrup*

20 flower heads

500ml water

100g sugar

Juice of a lemon

Bring flower heads and water to the boil and simmer until the colour leaves the blossoms, in about 5-10 minutes. Strain the juice and return to the pot.

Add the sugar and lemon juice and boil for 5 mins, allow to cool then bottle and label.

It will keep in the fridge for a few months.

This is a pleasant remedy for childhood diarrhoea and can be used for any case of intestinal irritation and loose bowels.

Give a tablespoon for adults, and a dessert spoon for children every few hours.

*Taken from Hedgerow Medicine: Harvest and Make Your Own Herbal Remedies by Julie Bruton-Seal and Matthew Seal

I hope you have found this first post on foraging useful. Watch out for more coming up as we go into autumn, and our hedgerows become abundant with brambles and other fruit.

Please forage responsibly – here is a guide to Foraging Guidelines from the Woodland Trust.

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.

Late Summer Sowing for Autumn & Winter Veg

August 25, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Garden/by Sue Reed

Autumn at Bridge Cottage

It is late Summer here, and Autumn is knocking on the garden gate. I have noticed the conker tree on the corner of the lane by the nature reserve is starting to change colour. The nights are drawing in, and last night we noticed it getting dark around nine. However, it is not time to give up sowing seeds! There is still plenty of warmth in the air and light in the skies to get some late summer seed sowing done.

July and August are the times to sow seeds for winter veg that can be harvested around Christmas, or overwintered when it will spring into life again once the warmer weather comes. If, along with the tardiness of this post, setting seeds away feels too late, then opt for buying plugs of seedlings. Good choices for sowing now are broccoli, both calabrese and purple or white sprouting, all the brassicas, ie cabbages, kale, cauliflower, sprouts, kohlrabi and oriental salads like mizuna, and rocket. Spinach and chard will get a good bit of growing done now, and then continue in Spring giving several early pickings in the new year.

Bridge Cottage Greenhouse

If you have a greenhouse, then as soon as early crops and tomatoes have finished, get some spinach and chard in the ground. Lettuces and radishes are quick to grow, and pak choi, mizuna and rocket will love the cooler temperatures and not be so inclined to bolt. We are experimenting this year with growing a late summer sowing of French beans. I have made a note, however, in my garden journal, to set the seed away earlier next year. If we are too late, then all we will have lost are a few seeds. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. There is also time to sow some more soft herbs in the greenhouse, such as parsley and coriander. Plant your parsley out once the seedlings are bit enough to handle, and it will overwinter well, giving an abundance of vitamin C rich herbage in Spring.

Lifting onions in August

We have just lifted our onions, and space there will be for my patiently waiting red cabbage, kohlrabi, Tuscan and red kale. ‘all year round’ cauliflower and sprouting broccoli. the slugs are doing their darndest to munch their way through them, and so a generous handful of wool pellets has been deployed.

Wool slug pellets on brassica plants

The brassicas are also waiting patiently for us to build another structure for netting. There is nothing more soul-destroying than nursing your seedlings, keeping slugs and rabbits off them, only to find the cabbage whites have had a party on them, and caterpillars are making lace from the leaves. Net all brassicas as soon as they are planted and be aware that the cabbage white butterflies will still lay their eggs on the leaves if they so much as touch the outside. We have found out the hard way this year, which goes to show that there is always something new to learn. How my friend Julia, who is new to gardening, escaped with this unscathed and un-netted broccoli, I do not know how she has managed this. It is beautiful though, and I’m thrilled to hear of so many who have started growing their own veg this year, during the coronavirus pandemic. We will need our homegrown food more than ever in the years to come.

Why Bother? Gardening and Growing Food

Did you read the article I shared on our social media pages this week? It was about community initiatives to grow food and support food banks and those in the community for whom fresh food is beyond their budget. We’re hoping at Hexham Fresh Food Bank to keep supplying our local food bank, West Northumberland Food Bank, with homegrown produce through the winter months. The challenge is on, so I’d better go and get some late summer sowing and planting done.

Guardian article: How coronavirus has led to a UK boom in community food growing

Thanks for reading, and happy gardening.

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.

In Praise of the Nasturtium from the Bridge Cottage Garden

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

Nasturtiums in the Bridge Cottage Garden

I’d like to take a moment to sing the praise of the humble nasturtium, which is such a useful little plant, and one we love to grow in the Bridge Cottage garden.

Nasturtiums grow well in borders, pots and hanging baskets, and will creep and crawl, up trellises and over walls, bringing vibrant colour to the garden throughout the summer months. They are quick to grow and easy to grow from seed – a great plant to get children to grow, to introduce them to gardening.

This year, my hanging baskets have been filled with the simple nasturtium, grown from seeds saved from last year. Due to lockdown, I didn’t fill my salt-glazed hanging pots (thank you Errington Reay) with the usual mix of annuals bought from my local garden centre, but instead, as many of us had to do, started thinking out of the box, to what I could use that we already had. Saved nasturtium seed to the rescue and I’m loving the bright, sunny display they are putting on.

Nasturtium Pesto

The bees are also loving the trumpet-shaped blooms and can be seen taking their fill of nectar. A far more sustainable practice and they are giving me nutritious food for free in the shape of nasturtium leaves and flowers for salads, nasturtium pesto and I’m now collecting the seed pods to make ‘poor man’s capers’.

Hop over to the Bridge Cottage Kitchen to find out more about eating nasturtium:

4 Ways to use Nasturtium in the Kitchen

Companion Planting with Nasturtium

We also plant nasturtium as a companion plant and have planted them alongside our courgettes and squash. If I consult my handy companion plant poster, bought from the Herb Society UK, I see that as well as being pals with squash, courgette and marrow, the friendly nasturtium is also buddies with apples, pears, radish and tomatoes. We’ve got a few in pots, so might well move them under the apple trees, which are heavily laden with fruit at the moment.

Companion Planting

Nasturtium Seeds

Start your nasturtiums off in early Spring, in seeds trays in the greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill. Transplant and then plant out in late Spring. You might want to keep an eye out for caterpillars – brush off any eggs that appear, and go out regularly to remove caterpillars.

August is seed collecting time for many of our flowers and saving your nasturtium seed for next year is a great plan. You may well find that they self-seed, but just to be on the safe side, collect some in a large brown envelop and leave somewhere warm and dry. Don’t forget to write on the envelope what they are, especially if you have different varieties. I was sent some nasturtium seeds by the writer Sarah Rayner, aka The Creative Pumpkin on Instagram after attending a writing workshop in her beautiful garden in Brighton, which was festooned with nasturtiums. We love a seed swap!

Do grow nasturtiums and do you have a favourite variety?

We’d love to hear from you – just pop a comment in the box below.

Nasturtium

Hop over to the Bridge Cottage kitchen to find out 4 Delicious Ways to Use Nasturtium

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.

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.

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.

July 2020 Blog – Summer at Bridge Cottage

August 6, 2020/0 Comments/in Uncategorized/by Sue Reed

July 2020 in The Bridge Cottage Garden

Welcome to the July 2020 blog, where we look back at life in the Bridge Cottage garden and kitchen over the past month, and our attempts to live a more sustainable life in this summer month.

It’s been a wet and cold July up here in Northumberland, and we’ve been wondering where summer went to. I think we had it back in May! I hear the south is basking in hot sunshine, but as I write this, it’s grey and windy, and two of our sunflowers have just blown down. Never mind, we have sunshine to look forward to this weekend, and the garden is in full bloom, with dahlias and lilies coming into their own, and tall sunflowers reaching for the sky, turning their faces to look for the sun.

Hexham Fresh Food Bank Donation

We are very grateful for our garden during these difficult Covid-19 times. Growing your own food has never been so important, and we’re delighted to hear of many of you planting out allotments and veg plots for the first time. We’ve continued to support our local Food Bank, dropping off donations for the Hexham Fresh Food Bank Group. This is a great scheme; food poverty being a tragic part of life for so many in our communities

The lockdown was eased after a fashion, but we still kept ourselves very much to ourselves. Having kept out of the supermarkets during the lockdown, we found our shopping habits continued in this vein, and with so much ready in the garden, we have been eating very simply indeed. In Hexham, we have some great independent shops, which have seen us buying cheese, butter, olives & cream for our local Deli at Number 4, and rice, pasta, coffee and other basics from the new Refill Shop on Market Street. We have a fabulous Farmer’s Market in Hexham town centre too.

July saw us engage with Plastic Free July, and whilst we’ve always been keen to reduce our use of plastic (one of the reasons we steer clear of supermarkets where possible), this month we really looked at the plastic in our home and made a few more changes to our habits.

Plastic Free July – Who Gives a Crap

Toilet rolls are an ongoing debate with many, and discussions took place over on our Facebook and Instagram accounts about where the bamboo is sourced, that so much of ethical toilet roll is made from, where it is made, and how it is shipped. We bought a box of ‘Who Gives a Crap’ and very much like that their rolls are made from recycled paper, and that this past year they donated 3.2 million pounds to help provide sanitation in communities where it is lacking.

Plastic-Free-July

Refill shops are a great way of saving plastic, and we’ve made the switch to solid shampoo bars, and refills for washing-up liquid and other household cleaning products. We’ve also now got a pile of reusable wipes in the bathroom for when our granddaughter has her nappy changes or if we need a freshen up, made by cutting up an old towel. A handy bag hangs on the loo roll holder, and they are washed, ready to be used again.

There are so many other ways single-use plastic can be reduced – our local Eco Home shop, Matthais Winter, will take toothpaste tubes for recycling, and has a huge range of products. We recently needed new clothes pegs and found some wooden ones there.

Spinach and Eggs

The garden is now being bountiful, with so many wonderful veggies and fruit. We’ve eaten some glorious meals using spinach and kale and discovered Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s recipe for Spouffle in his book, Veg. The Bridge Cottage chickens are laying well, so spinach quiches and omelettes are regulars on the table. Courgettes are coming thick and fast, and the red onions and shallot lifted, thanks to our little helper, the Lady of Shallot.

The Lady of Shallot

Nasturtium Pesto Ingredients

Pam Corbin in her book, Preserves, gives a wonderful nasturtium pesto recipe, which we had with roast chicken, cooked in our outdoor wood-fired oven.

Redcurrant and Almond Cake

July is the month for soft fruit, and we’ve picked pounds of raspberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants. I discovered a great recipe for a redcurrant cake from Mrs Portly’s Kitchen, and an equally wonderful blackcurrant cheesecake from Gill Meller’s fabulous book Root, Stem, Leaf, Flower. We have enjoyed some warm days, and homemade ice-cream – so much better than shop-bought!

Many have been jam and jelly making in earnest – I’ve made a batch of redcurrant jelly, but apart from that have been too busy gardening or writing content for this new website, so all the soft fruit picked has gone into the freezer. Tim will soon be making raspberry and blackcurrant vinegar, and I’ll make up batched of summer fruit compote to have with our homemade yoghurt in the mornings, or on porridge. You’ll find a recipe for Raspberry Jam over in The Bridge Cottage Kitchen.

Summer Herbal Tea

We’re continuing to dry herbs for use over winter and make our own herbal teas. July is seeing me use calendula, borage, mint and lemon balm in a delicious tea. We’re also drinking a lot of cucumber water – with a bit of fizz from the soda stream. I had a friend over for a socially distanced cup of tea (how I’ve missed my friends during lockdown) and took this as an opportunity to make a batch of herby shortbread. This time I used calendula and borage, but have also had great success with calendula and thyme or lavender shortbread.

Seeds for Winter Veg

Now is also a great time to sow winter salad, bulb fennel, winter cabbages, all year round cauliflower, spinach, kale and sprouting broccoli, which will sprout in the early Spring. The long days are still here, and once onions are lifted, and potatoes dug, there will be space for these late summer sowings. I think we get so excited in Spring and can plant massive amounts of seeds, then successional sowing can sometimes go out of the window. I’m off this afternoon to pop some fennel seedlings in the ground, next to the squash. I wrote about companion planting this month. our vegetables are like us, they have friends they’d rather be with than others, That is one reason for all the nasturtiums, borage and calendulas in the garden, They make great companions for many plants.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are ripening nicely in the greenhouse, and in next month’s instalment, I’ll let you know how we make our own passata and ‘sun’ dried tomatoes. It’s a daily job to keep everything watered and fed. We’re so glad we took the time to make our own organic comfrey feed. We’ve been adding borage to the bin too, and this provides so many good nutrients. The tomatoes love it!

Make your own organic comfrey feed.

July 2020 Veg Plot

I think I’d better go now, I could waffle on forever! I hope this has given you a snapshot of life in July here in 2020, a year that will go down in history for many reasons. Will this be the year you started to grow your own food? I hope so!

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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Growing Raspberries from the Bridge Cottage Garden

July 27, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Garden/by Sue Reed

Growing Raspberries

As I write, it is July and raspberry season is in full swing. Every day I go out into the garden, and come back with a big bowlful, eating them for breakfast with our homemade yoghurt, or freezing to use later. It’s a very busy time in the garden, and we make the most of sunny days outside, but rainy days are busy making jams, jellies, vinegars and puddings. Raspberries are so easy to grow and seem to love these Northern climes. I remember well the summer job I had as an eighteen-year-old, up in Inverness at a raspberry picking farm, but I’ll leave those tales for the memoir!

Let’s take a look at growing raspberries. Firstly, where to get raspberry canes from? Any fellow gardeners or allotment holders who grow raspberries will be sure to have a few spare canes they can pull up for you. Don’t be shy, ask! Here in Hexham, we have a Facebook group, Hexham Plant Swop, and it’s a great place to source plants such as raspberry canes. Do you have one in your area, or could you set one up?

Growing Raspberries

The ’cheap shops’ – Aldi, Lidl etc are also great places for soft fruit and can be relatively inexpensive. We’ve brought some great fruit trees and fruit bushes from Aldi.

Then of course, there are your garden centres, which will have a variety of summer and autumn fruiting varieties when the season is right.

If you grow a variety of summer and autumn raspberries, you will have this delicious soft fruit all summer long, extending into autumn. What a treat!

How to plant, grow and prune raspberries

Plant raspberry canes about 45 cm apart, in rows about 1.8 m apart. We grow them along the fence to the chicken field. Give the roots a good soak before they are planted. Raspberries like an open, sunny position, and will need to be tied in as they grow.

You may like to grow them in a clump or in a large container if space in the ground is short. You can use a central support for this.

Some people net their raspberries, to keep the birds away, but we have so many, I don’t mind sharing them with the blackbirds, who sit cheekily on top of the fence as I pick, or fly out from underneath the canes with pieces of ripe, red, juicy fruit in their beaks. They are welcome to a few, as long as they don’t take the piddle!

Mulching raspberries with grass cuttings

Give your raspberries some organic feed in the Spring, and mulch around the roots to prevent weeds and to keep the moisture in. We use grass cuttings for this.

Raspberries like to wander, and you’ll soon find canes popping up where they are not welcome. Just pull them up, donate to a friend, or consider establishing a new patch. It’s a good idea to move your raspberry patch every few years. You can let a new one grow where the suckers have popped up or dig up and transplant. This keeps them free or tolerant of virus diseases. If you do keep them in the same place indefinitely, the canes will become weaker, and the fruits smaller.

Are your raspberries summer fruiting or autumn fruiting?

Summer Fruiting Raspberries

Tie summer fruiting raspberry canes to a fence or stake

July is the month when the summer fruiting raspberries are at their best here at Bridge Cottage, though further south this may well be June. Summer fruiting raspberries produce fruit on last year’s growth. You need to tie in your raspberry canes, either by using string to tie to a fence, as we have done in the photo here, of by providing a fence or stakes for support. As the fruits appear on the stems you have tied up, new shoots will appear in front, with green, young stems. These will bear the fruit next year.

When you have finished harvesting, which for us will be in August sometime, cut the fruited canes at ground level, and tie in the new, green canes. This can be done in winter, although I like to get it done as soon as the fruited canes have finished preventing the new ones becoming too battered by the wind.

Autumn Fruiting Raspberries

Autumn fruiting raspberries start to produce fruit for us at the end of August and will go through to the end of September. The canes with autumn raspberries tend to be shorter, and as such don’t need as much staking as the summer ones. Mine don’t have any staking at all. These will need pruning after they have fruited. Cut right down to the ground. This can be left to do in the winter.

growing raspberries

Considering how expensive raspberries are in the shops, growing raspberries yourself makes great sense, especially considering how easy they are to grow. You’ll be reducing your single plastic use, by not buying fruit in plastic punnets, and reducing your carbon footprint by reducing the transport miles of your food. You will be able to enjoy fresh, organic food, at a fraction of the cost.

Raspberries and homemade yoghurt

There are so many ways to use raspberries, and I’d love to hear from you of some of your favourite ways of eating this delicious fruit.

We make our own yoghurt, so this is a simple but favourite way to enjoy raspberries for breakfast.

Make Your Own Yoghurt

Here are some of ours, and if you hop over to the Bridge Cottage Kitchen, you’ll find recipes for:

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

Recycling Plastic in the Garden

July 23, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Garden, Outdoors, Sustainable Living/by Sue Reed

We all now know that we should be reducing our plastic waste, and recycling plastic in the garden is one way of doing this. When I wrote about this back in 2011, on the old Bridge Cottage Way Blogspot site, we were just learning about the tragic byproduct of the plastics industry that is the phenomenon known as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This vast expanse in the North Pacific Ocean, in fact, twice the size of France, had become the largest landfill in the world and was made up of plastic. Every year it kills millions of seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals.

Recycling Plastic in the Garden

David Attenborough brought the nation’s attention to the dreadful sea of plastic in our oceans in his programme, Blue Planet, and this brought the issue of plastic waste to the mainstream. We’ve been trying to reduce our plastic consumption here at Bridge Cottage for decades. There are many ways to reduce plastic consumption around the home, and I’ll write later about our experiences with Plastic Free July 2020, but for the time being, let’s concentrate on ways to reduce plastic in the garden, and specifically here with planting.

If you visit any garden centre, you will see rows and rows of plastic plant pots, and plastic seed trays, and folk with armfuls of these, eager to start the new planting season. But ask yourself, is all this new plastic really necessary?

Before we carry on, let’s address the debate on the issues of growing food in recycled plastic. Can we still call ourselves organic gardeners if we grow food in plastic? Is plastic safe to grow food in? What about all those chemicals it leaches into the soil?

Recycling Plastic in the Garden

I’m talking about Bisphenol A (BPA). All plastics leach chemicals. Some plastics are harmful and can leach toxins into the soil, especially when heated or exposed to sunlight or prolonged periods of time. BPA is not found in food-grade plastic, and therefore these containers are deemed safe to use as the chemicals they leach have low toxicity levels and the amounts leached are very small.

You can check to see if your recycled container is safe to use by looking for the symbol on it – there will be a triangle with a stamp on, and numbers 1,2,4 & 5 – (see diagram) are safe to use.

Food Grade Plastic Labelling

Tetra packs used for plant-based milk and fruit juices can make great planters. Crops such as runner beans and sweet corn that have long roots love a chopped off Tetra pack. Toilet roll inner tubes whilst not plastic, are also a great recycling hack for growing sweet peas. Just pop the whole kits and kaboodle into the soil when it’s time for planting. The tube will biodegrade and the root remains undisturbed. No plastic needed there, my dear!

Recycling Plastic in the Garden

Plastic containers that have fruit such as grapes in even have plastic lids that can be used as mini propagator. Larger containers such as sweet or biscuit boxes are great for sowing lots of big seeds in. I used this ‘Celebrations’ tin for broad bean seeds one year.

Recycling Plastic in the Garden

Don’t forget to wash the containers well before use, and put some holes in the bottom for drainage, taking care not to put holes in yourself!

I add a double layer of newspaper to any clear containers to stop the light getting through to the roots. The paper can be planted in the garden as it soon rots down.

Recycling Plastic in the Garden

Once you’ve sown your seeds, you’ll need to label them, and a plastic lid, yoghurt or crème fraiche pot comes in very handy here too – just cut it into strips and write on with permanent marker pen or wax crayon.

Recycling Plastic in the Garden

Don’t forget, once you have planted your seedlings in the garden, wash and dry the containers and store away in the shed for next year.

Going completely plastic-free is very hard, and I guess a step too far for many, ourselves included, but here is one way our plastic kitchen waste can be recycled.

By recycling your food-grade plastic pots to sow your seeds in or make plant labels, you are doing your bit to help the environment. You will also save money and space in your recycling bin!

Remember the ‘Buyerachy of Needs’ which encourages in the first instance, to use what we have?

Sustainable Living. The Buyerachy of Needs by Sarah Lazarovic

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or one 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.

Make Your Own Herbal Tea

July 17, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Kitchen/by Sue Reed

Drinking Moroccan Mint Tea with Berber Men

Nettle Herbal Tea

Making your own herbal tea is easy, especially if you are growing herbs in the garden. As far as sustainable living goes, making your own herbal tea from herbs in the garden cuts down on packaging and transport, not to mention manufacturing output. It also tastes delicious and will save you money.

If you’ve ever been to Morocco, then you’ll know all about mint tea. Tradition has it, that the higher the height that your host pours the tea from, so making bubbles in the cup, then the more honoured you are, as a guest. We’ve travelled extensively in Morocco, the first time being on our honeymoon. We were invited to stay with a Berber family and participate in a wedding. It was an experience we’ve never forget. The warmth and hospitality of the family were wonderful. Here I am, drinking mint tea with the men of the community. We brought a rooted sprig of mint home with us from Marrakesh and it’s been growing in our garden ever since.

Mint

Mint (Mentha spicata) is probably one of the oldest culinary herbs to be used in the Mediterranean region and is mentioned in all the early writings of physicians and naturalists. It was used in medicine as well as for food because of its value as a digestive. Care should be taken when planting it, as it has long underground runners and will soon take over a patch if it is not planted in a bucket or bag.

There are lots of different varieties of mint, and one of my favourites is Chocolate Mint (Mentha piperita) which smells of After Eight mints, although mores the pity, does not taste of them.

To make mint herbal tea Moroccan style, warm your pot and then add a large handful of freshly picked mint, some sugar to taste (the Moroccans like lots of sugar) a couple of teaspoons of green gunpowder tea if you have it, if not, green tea. And top with boiling water. Pour from a height into mint tea glasses of cups if you haven’t got them. Moroccans traditionally pour the first cup back into the pot.

Fennel Seeds

In October, the fennel seeds are ready to harvest on our vigorous fennel plant, and they can be dried to make a delicious tea. Herb fennel is a totally different plant to the Florence bulb fennel. Simply gather seeds and use fresh or dried. Store in a clean jar once dried to give fennel tea all year round. Fennel seeds have awesome health benefits, and I drink it to reduce water retention. Also great for digestion, constipation and IBS. Fennel seeds are rich in vitamin A, so good for eyesight too. Simply take a tsp of dried fennel seeds, give a rough crush with a pestle and mortar to release the flavour, then pour on boiling water and steep for five minutes, before straining and pouring.

Purple Sage

Another of my favourite herbs for adding to tea, is Sage, (Salvia officinalis) and I often combine mint and sage together as it makes a delicious tea. As with mint, just make an infusion by add pouring boiling water over a few leaves and leaving to brew.

Sage has many health benefits, and is good for coughs and colds, oral health (making a good mouthwash) and digestion. It is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiseptic.

Sage is also a valuable herb for menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, digestive problems and memory loss.

thyme

I love to grow Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), and it can be seen here growing well in my greenhouse even though it’s November.

Besides its many culinary uses, thyme herbal tea is a must in our house when the kids have sore throats. It gets its medicinal use from the component thymol, which is a powerful antiseptic.

Make a tea using a large handful of fresh thyme, and add a good teaspoon of honey to the cup. this can also be bottled and given cold to sip if preferred.

Borage

Throughout history, thyme has always been associated with strength and happiness. In the Middle Ages, it was a symbol of courage, and high-ranking ladies embroidered sprigs of thyme on to the clothes of knights going off to fight in the Crusades. Another herb for courage is borage – Brage for bravery as the saying goes.

Rose and Raspberry Leaves

Rose is a herb I’ve been experimenting with of late, and this can be added dried or fresh to teas, helping promote a sense of calm. Use pink or red rose petals for the best medicinal effect.

Lemon balm too, is a beautiful herb with a refreshing taste, that calms the nerves and reduces anxiety.

lemon balm herbal tea

Like its friend, mint, lemon balm needs to contained, as it loves to spread.

Lavender can also be used, and used to help promote sleep, although take care not to add too much or your tea can taste soapy.

Elderflower and mint tea

I’ve been making blends of tea for friends and family this summer – a blend of relaxing tea with lemon balm, mint, elderflowers, lavender and rose for a friend who has been having trouble sleeping.

My daughter is expecting our second grandchild in November, and I’ve made her a batch of raspberry leaf tea – a remedy used for centuries to tone the uterus and prepare the muscles for childbirth, though this should only be drunk in the later stages of pregnancy.

This is all well and good during the summer months, when herbs can be picked fresh from the garden, but it is prudent to dry herbs in the summer for use over winter.

Drying Herbs

Herbs can, of course, be grown in pots, and many will survive all year round if brought inside and placed on a sunny windowsill or in a conservatory.

The possibilities and blends are many, and I’ll leave you to experiment with making your own herbal tea.

herbal tea

I’m off the put the kettle on!

Read more about growing and using herbs in these posts:

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 out 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.

Sign up to Quarterly Substack Newsletter

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