The Miscellaneous Adventures Digest
A little shop update and a recipe for hawthorn hot sauce!
Hello! We hope you’re all having a good week. The weather has certainly turned here in Cumbria, as have many of the leaves on the trees. The light is golden, the breeze is chilly, there’s been a LOT of rain. We always head to the river after heavy rain to marvel at the energy of the water. See here for a short video of the aftermath last week’s downpour.
We’ve also been out collecting fungi, had a little update in the store and have a recipe to share, see more below!
With warm wishes,
Emma and Andrew
An update in the store
We’re delighted to be stocking the 2023 Landworkers’ Alliance calendar in our store this year. Emma is currently working part time for the LWA so it’s great to be able to support them in this way too! It’s a beautifully designed and illustrated calendar which shines a light on stories of hope and resistance in the land justice movement. From right to roam to urban growing projects and Scottish community buyouts, it’s full of hope and positive change to see you through the coming year.
We are also happy to report that we’ve had a restock of out hand painted wall hangings. There are a handful of ‘Rise Up’ and ‘Wild Spirit’ designs now in stock. These usually sell quite quickly, and may be the only ones we have in the run up to Christmas. Just a heads up!
Hawthorn Hot Sauce
‘Tis the season for berry collection and haws (the berry of the hawthorn tree) are now ripe for picking and processing. Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is known for being a potent heart medicine as it can help regulate blood pressure. I (Emma) also make a tincture from the flowers and later, the berries which I take when I’m feeling stressed or anxious, and find it really helps.
Haws taste a little like apples and contain anti-oxidants and vitamin C. Often growing in hedgerows but also in woodlands as mature trees, hawthorn is quite easy to identify (a good guide to ID can be found here).
Making hawthorn ketchup is a popular way to use the berries but we decided to spice things up and make a hawthorn hot sauce instead. We’re pretty pleased with the results, so do let us know if you give it a go!
You will need:
400g haws
250ml apple cider vinegar
250ml water
170g sugar
A selection of spices, we used:
1tsp nutmeg
1tsp chilli powder
2tsp Paprika
Pinch of chilli flakes
Plenty of black pepper
Sterilised glass jars to store the sauce
Method:
In a pan, simmer the berries in the cider and water for around 35mins until soft.
Using a metal sieve, strain into a bowl and continue to press the pulp through the sieve until you are left with only the haw stones.
Return the pulp to the heat and add the sugar and spices. Bubble away until it is the thickness of ketchup (this can take a while). Once you are happy with the taste and consistency, pour into your jars and seal whilst still hot.
Will last if kept in the fridge for about a month.
Enjoy!
Fungi Foray
We spent a fun day last weekend out and about in woods and meadows collecting fungi. We love this time of year when the fruiting bodies of the usually hidden network of mycelium pop up in an amazing array of shapes, colours and sizes. Head over to our Instagram post to see the species list from our day of mushroom treasure hunting!
Your photography is always so stunning - I would totally buy a print of all that fungi treasure! I love the wall hangings too - our Wild Spirit and Deep Roots ones have pride of place in the living room.