BOUNTIFUL NATURE - Part 2 & THE TOUR OF BRITAIN 2009 IN 3D

Hello, I hope that you are all having a good week, it's been a very busy one for me so far! Following Sunday's berry picking with Miss P, I decided that we still needed more. So, on Tuesday evening, Alan, Miss P and I went berry picking. Unfortunately, the weather was not as nice as on Sunday. It was grey, cold and windy but I was out on a mission and the weather was not going to deter me.


Saved from the bed of stinging nettles. It was my turn next, Miss P and Alan insisted on it! Sorry, no photo!...thankfully ;-))


Miss P got stuck in to it and did a fantastic job


There were plenty of lovely looking hawthorn berries


The best elderberries were high up so a step ladder was required to pick the very juicy looking ones


Removing the berries from the stems (Fiddly job!)


The first thing that I made is ELDERBERRY LIQUEUR
1/2lb (450g) Elderberries
1 pint (600ml) vodka (Alternatives are Gin, white rum or brandy) needs to be a minimum of 40% alcohol
4oz (115g) Sugar
Put the the elderberries in a jar, add the vodka & sugar, seal the jar tightly and place in a cool dark place for 2 to 3 months. During that time shake the jar gently to mix the contents.
Strain the berries away and pour the liqueur in to a bottle.
Just multiply the amounts above if you want to make more.
Elderberry (Also known as Sambucol) has antiviral properties.



Next on my list was a ELDERBERRY THROAT GEL
Elderberries
Vegetable gelatin
Fill a small kilner jar with ripe elderberries, then cover with diluted vegetable gelatin.
Leave in a warm place for 2 weeks. Strain through muslin, squeezing well. Pour into a sterilized bottle.
Adults: Take 2 tsp, 3 times a day for coughs and sore throats.
I didn't have a kilner jar left at that time so had to put it an ordinary jar, will shortly be transferring to a kilner jar.

This recipe is from the book GROW YOUR OWN DRUGS by James Wong. Some of you may have seen the series on the BBC. Being in to natural remedies, I found the series and the book really interesting and full of great recipes for health remedies and beauty treatments.


I also made and blackberry & Strawberry compote made using Vanilla sugar. I will be having some with granola, yogurt, ice cream and in a sponge cake.

My next post will include what I made with the hawthorn berries. We did not manage to pick enough decent sloe berries so have frozen what we have and will try and find more at the weekend.

I went out for a walk this morning...


I had hoped to see the cyclists from THE TOUR OF BRITAIN go by but I missed them by a few minutes. By the time I had reached the top of the lane, they had just gone by. All that was left was a long queue of traffic trailing behind them.
Alan got up very early this morning to get a good spot in Frome (Somerset), the starting point of STAGE 6 - FROME to BIDEFORD. He has been taking 3d photos of the start and finish.

(See below for a link to some of the photos!)


So nice to see so many butterflies in the garden this morning.

It is a beautiful day today, I do hope your day is a good one too.

A bientôt!


Isabelle x

UPDATE: Here are some 3d photos of the event taken in FROME yesterday. Don't forget that you will need a pair of 3d glasses (red & cyan) to obtain the 3d effect when viewing them. More photos will be added to the website soon including ones taken in BIDEFORD.