It's harvest time! Not sure if you've seen any of the BBC programmes at the moment on this year's harvest, but last night, as the family were out getting Sarah's GCSE certificates (WELL DONE my fabulously clever sister!) I was eating dinner and decided to be a bit of a slob at watch TV at the same time. Turned out, what was on TV was really interesting! This programme followed a cereal farmer and looked at the way wheat and oil seed rape are farmed in the UK. Our weather this year has meant that our wheat crop hasn't done too well, and for the second year running we're going to be net importers of this staple grain. Bad news for the environment and for our pockets because the further our food travels the more carbon emissions and the more the price increases!
The programme also focused on oil seed rape, which is a really interesting plant. In all seeds, there is a food store, designed to last until the plant shoot breaks the surface of the ground and starts photosynthesising and therefore making it's own food. In wheat, that food store is mainly carbohydrate, with some protein. In oil seed rape, the food store is fat. So when we press the rape seeds, we get oil! I knew rapeseed oil was pretty good for you, but I didn't know that it is actually better for you than olive oil! It's got lots less saturated fat, and it also heats to a really high temperature without burning. If you buy cold-pressed rapeseed oil, you can use it for salad dressings as well as for cooking with! And, what's more, you'll be championing our British farmers.
The programme was really interesting, and if you've got a free hour, I highly recommend you watch it here.
Talking of harvest really reminded me of the fruits we've been picking lately. Have a look around you on your next walk because nature's bounty really is there for the taking right now! (Make sure you're not picking in someone else's garden though!!) The other day, the family took a day out to Windsor. As we were walking along the river bank we noticed a huge length of bramble bushes, with a veritable fortune's worth of blackberries. Now, we love a good blackberry, but they are so expensive to buy in the shops. Who can afford £3 per punnet! So, when we see them growing wild, we tend to go a bit crazy. We filled a whole bag full of blackberries. We didn't let the stinging nettles stop us! All four of us came away with arms scratched and stinging, but mouths stained purple and feeling very happy.
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| We boiled them with a tiny bit of water, a dollop of honey & some apples. Yum! |
A couple of days later, our lovely next door neighbour Margaret came over with lots of her apples. She's got a wonderful cooking apple tree in her back garden, and she had so many she couldn't think of what to do with them, so she very generously gave some to us. They were delicious! I'm feeling the gratitude right now.
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| We cooked these beauties with hardly any water, another dollop of honey, a sprinkle of mixed spice and a handful of raisins, until there were some still firm pieces and some gloopy bits. So. Delish. Try it with natural yoghurt :) |
So wherever you are, look out for what nature is offering you! I'd really love to find some wild gooseberries. We've been enjoying some of Waitrose's gooseberry jam at the moment on toast (whole gooseberries in there!) it's a really delicious treat. Another thing I really love is a damson. Our Aunty Jackie makes the most fantastic damson jam ever. It tastes so delicious, and different to your typical shop bought jam. I'd love to make some jam myself but our plum tree is looking a little sad and rather bereft of fruit after the gardeners chopped it back prematurely! Ah well, we will have to make do with what we can find on our walks. There's so much out there!
Let us know what you've been doing with your wild finds!! We'd love to hear from you!
Enjoy today!!
- rosinaviolets x
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