Rowans again. They make a good jelly to go with game. Blackbirds, I have noticed, usually strip this tree and its neighbours before Christmas.A small boy has a guitar case strapped on his back, like a satchel. It is almost the same size as him.
On the steps of the classical building, which is now a camping shop, is an erected tent called an Easy Camp Pop Up. Its flat base is inadequately anchored to the floor and as the wind enters it, it rocks and swings violently up and down as though someone is angry with it.
5 comments:
Gorgeous rowanberries! We had planted that tree on our previous property but the scent of the flowers were so awful that I did not want one here. Enjoying them from a distance suits me fine. But I did not know the berries were edible for more than the birds!
We can't grow them very well here, I don't know what it is they don't like.
Is the jelly good? My sister said they made some and were disappointed. Do you just use the berries or mix them wiht apple/ redcurrant etc?
Richard Maybey, in Food for Free, recommends adding a few crab apples to the jelly to provide the pectin. Otherwise, he says, make it in the usual way. The jelly, he adds, is deliciously dark orange, with a sharp, marmeladish flavour, and is perfect with game and lamb. That is how I remember it. But it was a long time ago. My late wife and I (this was long before Heidi came into my life) enountered some rowans late one evening on our way back from swimming. They were in the drive of a block of flats but the temptation to scrump was too great. As we collected the berries, we heard some windows open in the flats, and, afraid of being recognised with our booty, we wrapped our towels round our heads and scarpered,leaving, we hoped the impression, that the rowan thieves wore turbans. The jelly may have tasted better for the escapade, but it was as Maybey descibed it. It also had a smokey quality which was quite pleasing.
What a lovely story! Were there reports of Sikh apple thieves in the neighbourhood?
Food for Free is one of my favourite books, but I somewhat mistrust his Epicurean credentials - he did, after all, claim that coffee substitute made from dandelion root was 'almost indistinguishable from the real thing' which anyone who's tried it would dispute! Your Epicurean credentials, however, I trust implicitly, so I will try rowan jelly if I ever find enough berries to make it. On the other hand, perhaps one shouldn't deprive the birds! I'm thinking of raiding the rugosa rosehips by the plan d'eau, though...
You're right about Maybey. A great book, and one I still treasure. But, I think it is he who recommends ground elder as a vegetable. He says the Romans used to eat it. If they did, more fool them!
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