Cucumber Pickles

I'm starting to get some cucumber crops in now, the euphya cucumbers that I have grown indoors have done particularly well, and with lots more cucumbers to come, I've decided to pickle some of the large ones (including the strange one with the trim middle).
1) Wipe the cucumbers, and then cut them into manageable and similar sized pieces. You can pickle very small cucumbers whole.

I like firm pickled cucumbers so used a dry brine. To find out how to pickle with a wet brine for softer pickles click here.
2) Put the pieces onto a flat tray (a baking tray is good) and cover with a generous layer of salt. Leave overnight.

In the morning.
3) It is best to make the spiced vinegar before you rinse the cucumbers to allow it time to cool. 500ml of malt vinegar was enough for my three large cucumbers, which fitted into three 0.25l jars.
4) Rinse the chopped cucumbers well to remove the brine.

5) Pack the cucumbers into cold steralised jars and pour the cooled vinegar over the top to cover. You could add a bay leaf to each jar. Seal the jars.

The pickles are best left for at least two weeks (I would suggest longer) before being used, to give time for the vinegar to really infuse into the cucumbers.

Using Brine in Pickling

Before pickling any vegetables you will need to use either a wet or dry brine to draw out the moisture of vegetables for a better result at the vinegar stage. Sea salt (usually fine ground) is the best salt for pickling (you are able to purchase fine and coarse sea salt from jACKrABBIT at any of our markets or with a home delivery (sorry, we don't post salt)). Using a brine is incedibly easy; here's how...
Dry Brine
Dry brine is used when you want your vegetables to maintain a firmness or crispness. Sprinkle dry salt over the vegetables on a flat tray and leave overnight (unless stated otherwise in a recipe). Once soaked, use plenty of cold water to rince away any remaining salt and salt solution.
Wet Brine
Wet brine will mean that your vegetables are softer, which is better for pickling recipes where you want a more sauce-like consistency. Usually you will need to use (unless otherwise stated) 50g/2oz salt to every 600ml/1 pint water mixed well. Again, unless otherwise stated, leave the vegetables in the brine overnight, then rinse with lots of cold water and leave to drain really well.
Your vegetables are then ready to be pickled.

Butterflies

Butterflies are one of the prettiest of insects that can be found in the garden. When I was little I remember seeing so many different kinds of butterflies all over the summer drinking nectar on my mum's buddleia. Butterflies are suffering though, from modern farming techniques, and the use of more and more non-flowering shrubs and 'display' (too ornate for butterflies to feed from) flowers in public and private gardens. The recent bad weather has also not helped our native species either. One of the best ways to support all the species of butterflies is to plant all kinds of nectar rich flowers which they feed on. You can find details of all kinds of flowers at the Butterfly Conservation website, but here is a short list. Flowers that are good for butterflies in spring are bluebells, cuckooflower, dandilion, garlic mustard, pansy, primrose, sweet rocket, sweet william, wallflowers, violas. Flowers for the summer and early autumn are buddleia, chives, chrysthanemum, common bird's-foot trefoil, cornflower, forget-me-not, French marigold, globe thistle, honeysuckle, hyssop, lavender, lilac, marjoram, mint, valerian, thyme.

Identify a Butterfly
Seen a butterfly and not sure what kind it is? Identify it by looking at the Butterfly Conservation Identifier. You can also register your butterfly until August 5th in the Big Butterfly Count which aims to record the health of Britain's butterflies, and has been taking place every summer since 2010. Log your butterfly here.

Great British BBQ

~Cardboard BBQ made by my son Nial and myself. He made a dish for everyone; the carnivor, pescitarian and vegetarian. For instructions to make the BBQ please visit Nial's Patch.~

Well, sun is finally here! So now is the time to get out the ole BBQ and get cooking, and jACKrABBIT have a range of BBQ spices to make it taste delicious. The British BBQ isn't always great, with its slimy chicken oozing pink juices, leathery steaks and burgers so blackened you're not sure where the burnt bits end and the middle begins. But they can be truly great too. The British BBQ Society was started in 2008 to help turn things around and build up a new enthusiasm for BBQ cooking, and the Best of British BBQ has been going since 2005 to promote Britain as great BBQers. There has been a revival of British food over the last few years and the BBQ is very much part of that, and as well as that, very much part of the British summer.

For a great BBQ prepare everything in advance. Marinading is often the staple of the BBQ, but it often does not bring out the flavours and dry rubs can offer an excellent taste extravagansa. Lots of interesting side dishes are essential, as there are not many people who just like a plate of meat (or vegetarian alternatives). You can also buy smoking chips (I know that Wilkinson sells them) in a number of varieties such as apple smoke or oak smoke to add another layer of flavour. Don't forget fish, well cooked BBQ'd fish offers another texture and a delicious flavour to the mix. And then there's the pudding!! After being on a beach aged 16 and then served up BBQ'd bananas with melted chocolate inside, all wrapped in tin foil, nothing incredibly difficult, I've never done a BBQ without a sweet dish at the end again.

We will be adding a few recipes soon, including some sweet ones, but until then you can find a good list of recipes at the Best of British BBQ website as well.

Strawberries & .....

What to put with strawberries this .... ahem ..... summer?
Strawberries and cream go with sunshine, sun dresses, sun glasses, but considering that we have had so little of that word sun this year, I have been trying to think of some other great combinations.

With Elderflower Syrup
At Stirchley Community Market on Tuesday we served fresh strawberries picked from the garden with our homemade elderflower syrup poured over the top; they were a real hit and tasted delicious with a real flavour of summer. Much nicer than just plain sugar.

With Balsamic Vinegar
A friend first introduced me to this combination, at first I was a little sceptical, but was instantly converted. For every 200g of prepared straberries add 2-3 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 1/2 tbsp sugar and a little black pepper to taste. I have also seen scones with strawberries and black pepper which I would like to try.

Elderflower Cordial

~The elderflower cordial infusing.~

Elderflower cordial is so easy to make and tastes amazing. Me and Nial made this from elderflowers that we picked locally, and there are loads of them in the area. We got about two litres out of this recipe, and you can freeze it in smaller batches to preserve over the year.

YOU WILL NEED
20 elderflower heads, with minimal stalks
1 lemon, sliced
2 tsp citric acid
1.5 kg sugar
1.2 ltr boiling water


METHOD
1) Place all the ingredients except the boiling water into a large bowl (we used a large pan).
2) Pour the boiling water over the ingredients and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
3) Remove any scum from the surface of the water.
4) Cover the container with a cloth and leave for five days stirring twice every day.
5) Strain through muslin and decant liquid into steralised bottles.
6) Keep refrigerated and best used within two weeks, freeze if necessary.

Elderflower growing wild.
Please use a professional book to identify elderflowers, I suggest Food for Free, which you can find at Amazon.