Beltaine Elderflower Cordial/Syrup

It's Beltaine ritual, gathering these spring blossoms, for refreshing drinks for the coming summer, and to dry for healthful teas throughout the year.. just as the ancestors have, for thousands of years...

So, first, pick a big bowl of about 60 elder flowers, shake off insects, & remove flowers from stalks with a fork, as best you can - the less green the better - I've read it's poisonous...

I mixed this with the zest & juice of 8 lemons... mmm... smells fantastic! At this point, I knew I needed 2 bowls, as I'd picked rather a lot of blossom...

In a pot, bring approximately  2.5 litres water to boil, then turn off. Add 4kgs sugar, & stir to dissolve. Cool about 15 minutes. Then add 75gms  citric acid and 75gms tartaric, & stir out any lumps with a long spoon... Pour liquid over flowers & lemons, cover well, and leave overnight for flavours to infuse...

  

Next day...

strain the flower mixture back into the pot, and bring to the boil again, then cool, and pour into warm (I put mine in the oven 20 minutes 160 degrees from cold) sterilized glass jars with pop top lids, or whatever you prefer whilst it is warm.

This recipe filled 5 passata jars, and assorted juice bottles I had saved & washed. I really can't tell you the exact yeild, but it is quite enough for me to share and enjoy with family and friends. 

You're meant to refrigerate this, but mine is on stone benches in a cellar, as my fridge is tiny. This works well for me, and I wish you much joy if you ever make this cordial at Beltaine.

* In Australia, Elder is a garden shrub, not a wild plant, as in Europe - I planted a hedgerow garden, but that's another story!

Cheers!

Food - Little Leek Pies

Was asked for the recipe for these... but I never really measure anything out, so can't say exactly much of this & that ... just use your discretion, and your taste-buds, as well as your creativity, and if, like me, you have any left-overs, try to put them into something else the next day...

Recipe makes about 2 dozen Little Leek pies

*In a heavy iron pan, gently sweat 2 small sliced leeks with a knob of butter and a good slug of good extra virgin olive oil... season with freshly ground black pepper, 1 1/2 tspn powdered vegetable stock, 1 tspn powdered turmeric, 1/2 tspn mustard powder & a few drops of lemon juice to taste... cook until soft, adding a handful of currants, & a few slops of water to stop it catching, until it's pretty soft..
(use more or less of seasonings - turmeric can taste pretty bitter sometimes, so go easy!)

Mix 4 big eggs, bout a cup of light ricotta cheese, & a small handful of Parmesan cheese. Season with salt & pepper.

Cut little circles of pre-made thawed puff pastry to fit from side to side of each hollow in deep muffin pan, line pan.

Remove tray, then with a spoon, gently push the puffy pastry down enough to make room for filling.

Fill each pastry case about 1/2 - 3/4 full with some leek mixture, then top them all up with the egg & cheese mixture. Sprinkle a little extra parmesan on top,

Return to oven, & cook for about 20 minutes, or until they look lightly browned, and the pastry looks golden.

Serve hot with mixed leaves and tomato salad, dressed with balsamic vinegar & extra virgin olive oil.

And that's it! Easy light tea!

Buon appetito!




 

Art Floozie

This week I saw Monet's water lilies in the flesh for the first time...
 it was a breathtakingly, achingly beautiful exhibition at NGV in Melbourne....
.... moved me to tears... and being privy to the work of the master has left me wondering so much about where to go with my own creative work....

With spring growth putting on a spurt, I am drawn outside to the garden, to create & maintain... inside the cluttered studio tells the story of someone who has never specialised in, or perfected any medium...

I confess, I am an art Floozie, with a capital F! I haven't had one life-long passionate love affair with any particular medium, in fact I'll play with any pretty thing that comes along! Some may be horrified at my lack of fidelity, but I simply can't pass up a new creative experience...... yet I don't consider myself "dilettante", which implies being hopeless... I am brilliantly, blissfully happy in all my art relationships...

There is potential for creative expression in almost any activity, whether tidying my personal space, or making something for others...

I like to make my work from many blended elements - knitting with 30 or 40 colours thrills me, and mosaics that employ varying shades of hundreds of carefully cut pieces of glazed tile delight me...

I'd never make a meal from one ingredient, yet those I choose must compliment & balance each other, lest they result in indigestion, and a badly executed painting has a similar effect on the mind.... on it goes, into every area of my life, this ordering, this impossible quest for beauty & perfection....

So, I think life generally, is an opportunity to express myself & connect with my inspiration, whatever I happen to be doing at the time... 
BUT, is this art? Is a life well lived one in which creativity has been priority, as well as pleasure?
 A reason for living could be to create a channel through which the Arwen flows unimpeded... but is it art?