Hop Shoots and Horseradish

I went down some local fields to try and find some wild hops. Although I have yet to try them, the shoots are edible. Last year I went to the same place where I know they grow, only to find nothing. The very wet weather put paid to many wild crops.

You need to look on ancient hedgerows. This hedge has blackberry, sloe, hawthorn, dog rose, hops and many other wild hedgerow plants. I soon found some hops with nice shoots. The leaves are very large and hand like. Much larger than other hedgerow plants and you can see the stems climbing and twisting and even last years stems.

I gathered a few shoots to cook up and made my way back along another path. I've seen a recipe for a hop shoot omelette, so I may try that. 

 I have seen wild horseradish growing along this path. The path runs by some allotments and the horseradish was there when I was a boy and it was still there. Its leaves are similar to dock, but have a twist and don't have any red colourisation.

Dock leaves don't have the twist and have some red colourisation as well. Here is a dock leaf.

St. Georges Mushrooms On Cleeve Common

The weather has turned summery, so I went for a walk over Cleeve Common. Along the hedgerow going towards the Golf Clubhouse I found some Garlic Mustard, also known as Hedge Garlic or Jack of The Hedge. It has a mild garlic flavour and can be used in soups and salads. Apparently best when it is in flower.

I then started the trek across the common towards the radio masts. At about halfway, I found some St. Georges Mushrooms. These seem to be very common as I have found them at a number of locations I walk in Gloucestershire.Quite easy to identify as there are very few fungi  up at this time of the year and nothing else that looks like it. It has a strong "mealy" type of smell.

There were also some large "fairy rings" where they were also growing.

Spring 2013 In My Favourite Woods

The weather has turned glorious for a few days, so I decided to go to my favourite woods. Wild garlic should be well advanced now and as this is a bluebell wood it is abundant. You usually find wild garlic growing near bluebells. It didn't take long to find a nice tranche of wild garlic.

A short walk uphill and I found that the Wood Sorrel was in flower. The leaves of this are good to use in a salad. They have a tart, lemon flavour.They grow in damp, shady positions, quite often under trees. The leaves look like clover.

I was now amongst the areas of bluebells and they are well into their flowering season now. There were a couple of Roe deer hiding amongst the trees, but they slipped off before I could get a photo.

 I will be back soon to gather nettles and wild garlic to make a soup. Delicious!