Happy Imbolc!

Tonight is of course Imbolc, the pagan festival that falls between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. In a perfect world, I'd have had a mahusive party with loads of friends, an array of seasonal (organic, locally produced etc) dishes, candles, a big fire in a fireplace and far too much homemade wine. With that in mind, I made a Moroccan dish with lamb and apricots cooked in orange juice, honey and cinnamon. De-licious.

Imbolc is a time for creativity and inspiration, and I have been very creative in the past week. Coming up soon will be details of the range of home-made toiletries I've been making, but the highlight of today was making hummus for the first time. It worked! I made HUMMUS! And it tastes NICE! And I made it the low-tech way - almost every recipe I found basically ran, "Step 1. Place the ingredients in a food processor. Step 2. Blend until smooth." I used a potato-masher-thing. It worked surprisingly well, and my hummus has a delightfully rustic, homemade texture to it. Definitely one to repeat! I also added some cumin and coriander for extra flavour, but I was a bit too careful. I think I need to be more daring with the spices next time.

Other creative projects currently on the go:

• A crochet blanket. Not particularly fancy or complex, but something comforting for my bluesy days.
• Valentine's Day cards for my lovely, lovely friends who should really be told that they are beautiful people more regularly.
• Crochet flowers for keyrings, and other simple demos for the crochet workshops I am setting up this month.
• A bookmark for my mother's birthday. Don't tell her. I made her one last year and it got lost in the post (Sod's law!) so I plan to make another this year, and supplement it with a book. And maybe a cake. You can never go wrong with a cake.
• Many additional crafts are in the UK awaiting my return - including a couple of simple, beginner's dress-making patterns and my mother's sewing machine, the Cath Kidston 'Sew!' book which I am dying to get started on, and many other brilliant books of recipes, patterns and crafty ideas. (Soapmaking and churning butter are on the list...)
  

Wibble Wobble, Wibble Wobble, Jelly on a Plate...

Yesterday, I went exploring. I was hunting for my nearest Brico (chain of DIY and gardening stores), which is allegedly 15 minutes' walk away but of course I got lost, ended up walking 2 communes too far, and eventually arrived an hour later. I did find it however, and on my way spotted a number of berries which looked suspiciously edible. Research on the web when I got home suggested to me that they are elderberries. There's loads of them by the side of the road, and no one else seems to want them, so...

Of course, my first thought is jam/jellies. I have often dreamed of the traditional Edwardian housekeeper's office, with its shelves of jellies, jams, chutneys and cheeses all lined up... I'm the kind of person who would put little gingham circles over the lids and tie them with raffia or ribbon, just to make them look pretty. However, my first step into the world of fruit-preservation was not an out-and-out success.

About 3-4 weeks ago, I turned my hand to making crab apple jelly. It was the first time anyone has touched the crab apple tree in my parents' garden, and they moved in 15 years ago (picture of the tree above, taken Spring 2008). The poor overlooked apples needed some attention, thought I. An unused jelly bag was excavated from my mother's kitchen, and I carefully collected, chopped, simmered and strained the fruit. It smelt delicious and the juice came out this beautiful shade of pink. (Pictures will follow when I get the link between camera and computer up and running again). Sadly, I simmered the juice and sugar for too long and the jelly went way past the setting point. It's crab apple glue, rather than crab apple jelly. Tastes nice, but a challenge to spread on your toast. However, with the elderberries I am limited by the fact that I only have one empty jar on this side of the Sleeve, and that's probably just as well. (Although I have also found a recipe for elderberry and apple jam online, and am toying with that idea too. Saves me the trouble of using an old pillowcase as a jelly-bag!)

So, as I can only make one jar's worth, I plan to eat some with porridge and with my now-traditional Sunday morning drop scones, and maybe make a smoothie/milkshake thing. I would welcome any suggestions of other uses to put them to. My options are rather limited by the fact that my Belgian bank has seen fit to freeze my account this week (naturally the week my rent is due), leaving me to rely on my emergency fund (traveller's cheques) until they start talking sense again. I see from the Barefoot Gypsy Blog that you can dry them. This sounds like a fantastic idea, although I'm wondering whether you just lay them out on kitchen towel in a cool, dark place, or if it's more complicated than that. Any ideas?

This is of course assuming they are elderberries and not deadly nightshade or something...