Wednesday 23 May 2012

Elderflower recipe


This is a photo of the first flowering elderflower in the garden project for 2012. I love elderflower. Making elderflower cordial is one of my favorite things to do each year...batches and batches of it (slightly obsessively i think!) Its also quite expensive to buy in the shops so their is nothing better than being able to harvest the flowers and make it for yourself for next to nothing. I thought I would share a recipe with you... 

Elderflower Cordial

250g elderflowers, cleaned1.1L 

water 900g

caster sugar

50g citric acid

2 lemons

2 limes


Bring the water to the boil, pour the boiling water over the sugar. Stir to dissolve and let it cool completely.
Wash and cut the lemons and limes in quaters and add to the stock syrup.
Pick the elderflowers and remove any dead bits and leaves. Place the elderflowers in a colander and wash under cold running water.
Let the elder flowers drain while the stock syrup cools.
Once the stock syrup is cold add the elderflowers and the citric acid, mix and place the mixture in a deep container in the fridge, place a layer of clingfilm directly on top of the mixture.
Let the cordial infuse for 48 hours, stir a couple of times during this period.
Pass the cordial through a fine sieve and pour into sterilised bottles. Keep refrigerated.

Makes aproxiamtly 2 litres of elderflower cordial

Food Fanatics Tips
If you add the elderflowers to they syrup while it's still boiling hot you will scorch the flowers and it will change the taste of the cordial. I have made this mistake in the past and the end result is not pleasant. Instead of keeping the cordial in bottles you can pour the cordial into ice cube trays and freeze them, this saves space and it will keep slightly longer.


Read more: http://www.britishlarder.co.uk/elderflower-cordial/#ixzz1vhA1Zkfs



Oh.... and here is our giant fennel progress...its now very tall and spectacular!.....enjoy the sunshine everyone!

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Herb Growing Workshop


Workshops are back. I am pleased to be posting our first Garden workshop for 2012!  Come and learn about herbs, what you can do with them and how to grow them. Spaces are limited, so get in quick to avoid dissopointment.  To book a place or for more information please email me on louisa.loakes@deencityfarm.co.uk or call 020 8543 5300.


Date: Sunday 1st July 2012

Time: 10.30am – 3pm

Price: £20 for visitors, £15 concessions, volunteers £10

Location:
Deen City Farm
39 Windsor Avenue
Merton Abbey
London, SW19 2RR
www.deencityfarm.co.uk  


We are planning on running one workshop per month on gardening/food growing subjects, so please keep checking this blog for all up-to-date details on all our workshops. Cheers!    

Friday 4 May 2012

Made by the people for the people


Myself and Will Waterhouse (Fizzy Roof Designer) were asked to do a talk at Hackney City farm on our cob building and Fizzy Bottle Project, for the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens. The building was about involving as many people in the local community as possible, along with being built fron re-used materials to demonstrate what you can do with urban waste and having a beautiful, educational and functional space to use on a daily basis.  To prepare for the talk we had to go through many  photographs from the start of the project to now. I thought it might be nice to share a few of the best photos with you... 


The start



The cob wall building workshop


The William Morris inspired recycled tile floor!


In need of a roof....

The start of the bottle collection for the Fizzy Bottle Roof. Only 7500 to collect!

The design






The Fizzy Bottle Community Build day.













The inside of the roof


For sale sign posts and lots of bottle tops. 



Last stage - lime and clay rendering.






Many thanks to everyone who was involved in the project.