Elderflowers and Summer

Elderflowers

Elderflower fritters frying

Celeriac chips doing the same

Elderflower fritters and a banana fritter

How to make Elderflower fritters
recipe taken from "Wild Food" by Roger Phillips, ISBN 978-0-330-28069-3, highly recommended reading

1. Wait until June/July next year (they're past it now)

2. Make simple batter
4oz flour
1 egg
1/4 pint tepid water
pinch salt

3. Dip elderflower heads into batter, hold by the stems. This batter mix will do at least a dozen elderflower heads

4. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown

5. Optionally dress in icing sugar, they go nicely with fresh fruit like raspberries or a blob of ice cream

tip: if you have batter left over, use it to make some banana fritters as I did above ^^^, it's quite hard to run out of elderflowers when they are in season though as they grow so profusely. If you pick them next year be sure to not decimate a patch as that will limit the harvest of elderberries

Prize for figuring out what this is^

note: the dates on the pictures are all inaccurate

The Onset of Spring, March 2010

Some photos I took this week in search of the signs of spring in my local vicinity. There are a few buds on the trees, primroses and the odd nettle popping up. Forgot to capture any snowdrops.

A horsie who lives nearby.

The Road to Oblivion

A temporary lake

Chaffinch