Sweetcorn

My favourite thing about this time of year in terms of food from
the garden:  picking corn on the cob for tea.

This year I have grown a different variety from previous years, normally I grow 'supersweet' but I couldn't find the seeds anywhere this spring), and while the taste is good, most of the plants only have one cob and are pretty small, so I'll go back to supersweet next year.

And this is the very best bit - removing the husk,dropping them in to boiling water for a couple of minutes and eating slathered with butter!

Blackberry time

Yay! its blackberry time. After last year's bumper crop I didn't think we'd have so many again but there's a whopping harvest to be had out there, so I'm making the most of the morning dog walk and picking as I go.

I had a look through the homemade jam cupboard before I started making anything and as there were still about 10 pots of blackberry jams and jellies left from 2013, it seemed silly to make more. So, having loved the blackberry cordial and syrup I made last year, and regretting that it was used up all too soon I made that again.

Its been a kitchen-y kind of day so I've also made some wild-plum jam as the tree at the bottom of the garden is heavy with them (and most of what I have used so far is windfalls, I haven't even started picking from the tree properly yet).

Blackberry cordial, blackberry syrup and wild plum jam

The Blackberry cordial recipe is here: http://poppylkitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/foraging-produce-2013.html

Blackberry syrup
(from Pamela Michael's 'Edible wild plants and herbs')

Blackberries and sugar in kilner jar before heating

Put 1lb of blackberries and 1/2lb of sugar into a kilner jar and place into a pan with water around it - bring to the boil and then simmer for an hour. Sieve the contents into a pan and add a further 1/2lb of sugar, bring to the boil again, dissolve  the sugar and keep boiling for a further 5 minutes. Pour into a clean sterile bottle and cork.

Chocolate Torte for Liz

At a BBQ recently I made a couple of chocolate tortes for pudding. They didn't turn out as well as they have  in the past  - I couldn't find the recipe, and was using an unfamiliar kitchen - but I have in the past made some really brilliant chocolate torte and here is the recipe.
(This one's for you Liz!)

Chocolate torte - New Years Eve 2012

Start with 200g of good quality melted chocolate (the darker the better in theory but I always use milk chocolate). Add 200g of melted butter/margarine and mix till well combined. Then slowly beat in 4 medium sized eggs.

Mix in 200g of brown sugar  and then add 100g of a plain flour/ground almonds mix (I tend to up the almonds and decrease the flour for a richer torte)

I usually add about 25g of cocoa powder and some vanilla essence too at this point.

Pour into a greased lined cake tin and bake for about 35 mins at gas mark 4. It should be slightly squidgy inside with a nice crisp crust on top. Fab served with chantilly cream and fresh berries!