I Would Walk 500 miles!

Being a lifelong Proclaimers fan a chance to meet Craig and Charlie had me in a spin!

Sean wheels 500 miles and now does 500 more!

Sean Allerton from RAF Church Fenton is wheelchair bound after he was paralysed when serving with the RAF. Sean decided to set himself a challenge to wheel 500 miles.

The Proclaimers with Sean finishing his first 500 miles

So who better than The Proclaimers to set him off and most importantly see him home!

This former gunner wheeled for 6 charities that had helped him with his life changing accident.

Craig and Charlie were there to set him off on his way, sadly the weather was a little different on the way back! I went along with a friend who I begged an invite from. Thanks Ron.

Charlie Reid and Steph in the pouring sleet and rain (I look about 30 yrs older! bitter cold needed to try and keep my ears warm!)

Meeting Charlie on the walk was great fun. We discussed their gig at the Grassington Music Festival I went to see a few years back. Also the fact The Proclaimers are going back to America and doing a tour.

To sponsor Sean visit http://www.push500.com as he is now doing 500 more – Just as The Proclaimers sing!

But in the bitter cold of the airfield and the sleet and rain I kept thinking I need a hot toddy to warm me up!

And if I could of I would have given one to Sean and The Proclaimer lads.

So a Wild Cooks hot toddy with a difference

Please see recipe here…..

One vital ingredient is Honey and being a Yorkshire food fan it made perfect sense to use Yorkshire Honey- this is the ingredient that inspired the name of the latest resident in the Moon household please meet Honey!

This is Honey Moon! I know it is cheesy but i love it! We only call her Honey and occasionally Honey Monster!

Yes I have a hound! A King Charles Cavalier and she is 10 wks old.

I hope you try this simple hot toddy with a difference and enjoy!

 “I’m on ma way” as the boys would sing…

Lets hope it is “Sunshine on Leeds” soon a Yorkshire twist to a classic song from the guys.

 Steph x

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Skyfall in Harrogate!

00 heaven falling apples in Harrogate!

For wild cooks everywhere now is the time to fill your larders with some 00 Heaven!

James Bond- Daniel Craig is a local guy so perhaps he loves these apples as much as we do!

Bruised and battered apples that have done the ‘skyfall’ are the things we are all given and do not know what to do with.

The odd spot on the apple or slight bruising means eating raw is out of the question so why not roll up the sleeves wash your hands and get busy making some Autumn Chutney.

This is such a simple thing to make and everyone has a different recipe for chutney.

Here is my recipe but the advice I would give is do not be precious about your chutney. It is a robust thing just like Mr Bond!

THE RECIPE

A change of the recipe here and there makes this base your own and depending on your fruit availability can be adapted to other fruits –pears, plums and so on.

Chutney can more or less get out of any difficult situation you put it in and big pots of bubbling chutney can make amazing gifts at Christmas and not break the bank. Everyone will be impressed with your effort if nothing else!

Can you Adam and Eve it!

Steph x

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It’s raining in my heart! Blackberry to the rescue….

Well no wonder the blackberries are early the weather does not know what it is doing at present. Do not get me started on global warming!

Here is a global warmer with a difference!

Blackberrys

Why not try our Blackberry Rumtopf…

This is our seasonal innovation for the coming month, the blackberries are on every bush nationwide and it is time to fill your boots people!

This quick and easy recipe is a corker. A great idea for a Christmas gift with a difference.

PLEASE READ>>>

So were to find the blackberries?…

 Well they are to be found usually on the hedgerow around fields and often on roadside hedges.

The thing to remember here is if the road is a busy one leave them on the hedge as the car fumes will have affected the taste and rendered them nasty and inedible.

I usually go to the Golf Club woods here at Rudding Park and find plenty as well as other areas of the hotel grounds.

You can make up your Rumtopf with other fruits too…

What we are looking for is prickly brambles (no one said this was easy picking folks. Expect some light scaring! or wear rubber gloves…)

Look for the purple plump clumps of blackberrys

What fun and having a broken Blackberry phone at the moment these Ribena bullets of joy are definitely my Blackberry of choice given half a chance!

Bam a lam whoe Black Berry!!!

Steph x

(With sticky dyed fingers!)

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Foragers’ Supper Club at Hillbark

Dear Wild Cooks,

In my eyes, the opportunity to cook for a group of like-minded, fun-loving foragers is one not to be missed. So when I was invited to cook for The International Wine and Food Society’s Leeds branch I accepted without hesitation! The group are definately up for some fun and eager to learn about food and wine that complement foraged ingredients.

The evening seemed made for my foraging friends Chris and Rose Bax of Taste the Wild who lead the foraging walk around the stunning Hillbark Gardens in Bardsey.

Chris offering his expert foraging advice to the group

The owners, Tim Gittins and Malcolm Simm, were on hand to look after everyone which was a good job as there was a total of 33 members on the evening.Chris and Rose discussed their foraging finds with the group. The gardens are truly amazing and Tim and Malcolm often have charity open days so keeep a look out on their website www.hillbark.co.uk  . The foraged finds on the evening included sweet cicely, mugwort, pineapple weed, corn mint and bitter cress. They are amazing ingredients folks and I, along with the help of my commis Tim Norton and his partner Becky, cooked up the following menu for the group:

Introducing the dishes

Canapes

Goats Cheese En Croute with Sweet Cicely Seeds
Vegetarian Foragers’ Parcels using Rosebay Willow Herb

Mains

Smoked Trout Marinaded in Elderflower, Chick Weed, Bitter Cress, Wood Sorrel
BBQ Smoked Cherry Wood Mackerel with ‘Jack by the Hedge’ Root 
Pigeon with Nettle Spelt
Rabbit and Mugwort Dahl

Puddings

Forager’s Infusion Chocolate Marquise
Corn Mint and Cumin Granite
Meadow Sweet Biscuit
Ground Ivy Jelly
Wood Sorrel Mojito

Coffee and Lemon Balm Tea

Supper Club!

Please click on the links above to follow the fun and easy recipes. As we ate the dishes, Chris and Rose passed on more helpful advice. Here is a great extract from their note:

“Be aware that there might be a backlash at some point from people who are worried about the countryside being plundered. However, foraging is about understanding and respecting the natural environment and provising that pickers follow a basic code of conduct it can only improve our knowledge and husbandry of the countryside”.

I hope you enjoy the dishes as much as the guests did on the evening. The event was declared a great success and Tim even said it was their best supper club to date which was great to hear. My thanks go to Chris and Rose Bax who made the foraging side so interesting for the guests adn my commis Tim and his partner Becky for their help. Huge thanks must also go to Tim and Malcolm who of course made this evening possible and kindly invited me to take part.

Steph the Forager on tour – supper club style!!

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