This recipe comes courtesy of Ruby Taylor, artist/ maker & teacher of Native Hands – a wonderful programme of ‘wild’ crafts, including basketry, pottery and fire making. Ruby’s courses are held mostly outdoors in woodland and have evolved out of a love of making things in nature using natural materials.  Find out more on her website/ blog.

Ruby says:

Cleavers grow abundantly in gardens/allotments and any marginal area. Also known as goose grass and sticky willie, it’s the one that you can throw at your friend’s back & it’ll stick there without them feeling a thing. Cleavers and nettles make one of the best spring tonics (great for the lymphatic system & full of nutrition). This is one of my very favourite things to make as spring arrives. I’ll be having a glass of this every morning for the next month or so. Cheers, all!

Method

Gather a small handful of the young leaves of each plant & crush in a pestle & mortar with half a glass of water added. Strain & keep the juice, Repeat the crushing & straining, to get a glassful of juice. Drink straight away while it’s vibrant green.

Images credits: Leonora Enking & Ruby Taylor

Purple sprouting broccoli is a welcome spring crop, and is worth the long growing season if you have the space. It is nothing like its broccoli or calabrese cousins and is often considered the equal of asparagus; prices in the shops may help you make the decision to find the room to include this brilliant brassica.

If, like me you are waiting keenly for the first pick of home grown purple sprouting broccoli, or if you’re already reaping an early harvest, then you’ll love this fresh, simple recipe.

Ingredients:

• Purple sprouting broccoli
• Sesame Oil
• Soy Sauce or Tamari
• Toasted Sesame Seeds to garnish

Method:

1. Rinse the broccoli and cut off any hard stems
2. Heat the sesame oil in a wok and add the broccoli once the oil is hot – it should sizzle
3. Cover the pan allowing steam to cook the broccoli
4. Just before the broccoli is cooked (still with a ‘bite’), add soy sauce
5. Serve immediately with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds

Rosehips are a wonderfully colourful and cheery sight in the local hedgerows, but they also make excellent jams, jellies and cordials, reputedly high in Vitamin C. Take advantage of this year’s bumper crop and make some tasty jelly to cheer up your frosty mornings.

All rosehips are edible, but make sure you only pick berries from plants you can identify as roses.

Ingredients

500g Rosehips

500ml water (approx)

3 apples (for pectin)

Juice of a lemon

1.5 cups of sugar

Method

1. Rinse fruit and top and tail, removing any bad berries.
2. Boil rosehips in enough water to just cover the fruit. Add apples and boil all until soft and mushy.
3. Pour mixture into a muslin bag and strain overnight.
4. Return juice to a wide bottomed pan, add lemon juice and bring to the boil.
5. Add sugar and boil until setting point is reached (jelly ‘wrinkles’ when placed on a cold saucer).
6. Bottle into sterilized jars and keep in the fridge once opened.

A great homemade Christmas gift!

A quick and easy recipe for using up any last autumn gluts from the garden.  Ready to eat in 3 months – the perfect homemade gift.

Ingredients:

• 3lb Marrow/ overgrown courgettes (skin & de-seed if tough)
• 1lb Onions
• 1lb Tomatoes (use green ones if that’s all you have left)
• 1lb Crunchy veg (such as cabbage, runner beans, chard stems)
• 6 good sized Garlic cloves
• 1oz Root Ginger
• 1oz Mustard seed
• 1.5 pints Vinegar (use any: white, cider, spiced – I used cider vinegar)
• Spices to taste (paprika, ginger, cayenne)
• 2tsp Salt
• 2oz Sugar

Method:

1. Chop all veg into small pieces (think Branston pickle sized chunks) and place in a large flat-bottomed pan
2. Add vinegar, sugar, salt & spices and bring to the boil.
3. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally (don’t let it stick!)
4. Pour into hot, sterile jars & seal

Although we have had more than our average sun quota this year, sadly its not lasted long enough to take full advantage for sun-drying our harvests.  So here is a simple recipe to make the most out of your cherry tomato glut and provide a mouth watering taste of summer in the deepest winter months.

It does take some time to oven dry your produce, so make sure you choose a time when you will be around for 2-3 hours.   Perhaps use this time to look through some lovely organic seed catalogues and daydream about next year’s plans.

You will need:

Cherry tomatoes – de-stalked, washed, dried and any dodgy ones removed

Olive Oil – for brushing

Salt & herbs for seasoning

Method:

• Turn on oven to a low heat (around 120C / GM 1 or lower).
• Line a large baking tray with baking paper or parchment and place a wire rack over this.
• Slice your prepared tomatoes in half and lay out cut side facing up on the wire rack.  For added ease, I highly recommend this fabulous 1-minute tutorial on how to cut multiple tomatoes: https://www.wimp.com/a-simple-technique-for-cutting-cherry-tomatoes-in-half/

• Brush the tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and herbs of your choice.  Basil or Marjoram are good with tomatoes.
• Pop in the oven checking on the tomatoes’ progress periodically to make sure they are cooking evenly; they will probably fall through the wire rack, but don’t worry about that.
• Continue to cook until they are squishy but not juicy (or you can decide for yourself the perfect consistency you want from a sun-dried tom).
• Either use these in pasta dishes immediately, or you can further preserve them by either freezing or bottling.  I have frozen mine in one-meal quantities for easy use. Try searching on line if you want to preserve them in oil – this will take a bit more effort.