Selfsufficientish.com

Had the best day foraging today, me and the OH went to the woods early in the morning and finally there were mushrooms (not many though) to pick - thank god for the rain this week which made them come up. A lovely bay bollette omlette set us up to go to an old woods we hadn't been to before after lunch - within 10 minutes there we saw the place was unexpectedly dripping with berries, a quick dash back to the car to grab some bags (the nappy bags for the gifts from the terriers) and we ended up with tonnes of blackberries (mixing with brandy for christmas liquers), elderberries (for wine), hawthorne berries (for hawthorne leather, a ray mears inspired effort this year) and sloes (for sloe gin). The icing on the cake was on the way back when we spotted a shaggy inkcap to mix with some ham for tortellini for dinner tonight. I honestly think there is nothing better to feed the soul than foraging - it must flick some evolutionary hunter gatherer happy switch in the brain.
Sorry if the grammar and spelling is off or if that reads a bit gushy, i'm a bit piddled on homebrew.

Sounds great... but... don't you need to be careful with the shaggy ink caps and alcohol??

Just been checking and it's the common ink cap that causes sickness with alcohol...

that's fab!

do you have a recipe for hawthorn leather please? my local woodland is dripping with hawes this year after the wet summer and I'd love to try it.

Sounds brilliant. Our five year old dragged us all out blackberry picking today (not that we weren't keen in theory, just being lazy) and we got 2 1/2 lbs, to add to the stash she and I picked yesterday :) Also found sloes and rosehips, but that's a separate trip when I know I've got time to do summat with them when we get back!

We've just pitted 14lb of plums we picked on the way home form work on Friday night. They'll add to the 6lb of pears waiting to be pickled and the willow that Chris turned into a basket for me the other day!! This is just such a fantastic time of year and there's so much to forage round here that we've taken to driving round looking at the hedgerows instead of the road!! Chris has just said we should have a bumper sticker saying "born to forage"!! lol Unfortunately we just don't seem to be able to find any mushrooms

mhwaaaaaah ... I just love all this food thats lying around ... I dropped the old fella at the pub and went off to gather
4 pounds greengages.
large carrierbag of elderberries.
Just under 3 pounds of apples.
4 pounds of the biggest sloes I have yet seen.
anf yet more blackberries.

Its been a really good season for me and I aint finished yet ...

Best forage this year has been Hazelnuts, and bushes dripping with the largest sloes ever.
Cherries too and cooking apples to come. Yellow Egg plums got a disease tho and would love to dig up some horseradish but aint there a thing about not doing so.
Have made an apple catcher, basically a cut out lemonade plastic bottle stuck on the end of a walking stick.
Free food , love it.

Archie wrote:Best forage this year has been Hazelnuts, and bushes dripping with the largest sloes ever.
Cherries too and cooking apples to come. Yellow Egg plums got a disease tho and would love to dig up some horseradish but aint there a thing about not doing so.
Have made an apple catcher, basically a cut out lemonade plastic bottle stuck on the end of a walking stick.
Free food , love it.

I have lots of horseradish if you want some. I keep trying to eradicate the stuff from my garden and it keeps comeing back.

I aint far from you Fenwoman, even closer when a yoof, at March, Capital of the Fens.
Next time I freecycle your way will give you an email.
Along with others I once altered the Wisbech signpost from Capital of the Fens to Hospital of the Hens.

Archie wrote:I aint far from you Fenwoman, even closer when a yoof, at March, Capital of the Fens.
Next time I freecycle your way will give you an email.
Along with others I once altered the Wisbech signpost from Capital of the Fens to Hospital of the Hens.

Well you can dig as much as you want to and I'll be glad to see it gone. Someone came this spring and dug all we could see and still the blasted stuff came back. I call it whores-rubbish. (dunno if the moderators will allow that noun).