Welsh Bilberries - 10th August 2013

I visited some friends who live in the Rhondda Valley in South Wales and we walked around the ex-mining town of Blaengarw. I found some ripe bilberries. They were quite prolific and I could have easily picked enough for a meal or two. Sweet and delicious!

Apparently they grow on the Malvern Hills, so I may make a visit.

In The Raspberry Woods Again - 2nd August 2013

I went for a walk in the raspberry woods again, just in case there were some early fungi. The first thing I found was a crop of King Alfred's Cakes or Cramp Balls. Not an edible fungi, but can be used as tinder for fires. They are rock hard and grow on dead Beech and Ash. Ash in this case.

I passed the raspberries again and there is still a good crop.I must be the only one picking them. Fresh raspberries and ice cream for dinner!

My last find was Jew's Ears fungi or for the more politically correct, Wood Ears. They were dried up on the tree, but will re-hydrate when the damp weather comes. You can pick them dry and re-hydrate them at home. I don't think they have much flavour, so use them in soups or pasta. Usually grows on Elder trees and was in this case.

Before:

After:

Wild Raspberries 2. 28th July 2013

I went back to my wild raspberry woods today. The crop is now in full swing and looks like a big crop this year. I picked enough for my dessert tonight. Don't want to be greedy :)

I was also looking for the wild basil that grows in these woods. I found it, but unfortunately, it it not a relative of the basil that we buy in the shops for our pasta and doesn't have a culinary use.

I picked some wild marjoram that I found on my last visit. This can be used and is virtually the same as Oregano.

Wild Raspberries and Herbs

I went out early this morning to may favourite woods, before it gets too hot. Forecast to be 29 degrees today. I looked at the wild raspberries three weeks ago. That was the same week  a couple of years ago when they were ready. This year, because of the cold spring, they are about three weeks late.

I reached the best area for raspberries and there were a fair number ripe. They don't appear to have reached their peak yet, but I picked few for my tea.

On the way back down I spotted a herb. I thought it was wild basil, which does grow here, but it was wild Marjoram. Apparently, it is the same species as Oregano. I need to pick some for my pasta next week.

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!