By Sharon Wilson
Apart from eating delicious restaurant takeaway food Mrs Bite has been foraging, pickling, fermenting and preserving. But, I always seem to come at life from a different direction to the prevailing wind.
As Lockdown tightened, our oven broke. So while social media feeds were a roll call of artwork-worthy sourdough me and the mister were taking the back off the stove (ok he was), ordering parts (me) until finally finding an unfixable fault. Ikea we await your re-opening!
Never mind we have gas rings and ordered lots of beautiful produce. The garden began to give, and long country walks were a source of food too from wild garlic to jack-in-the-hedge to elderflowers. I have made wild garlic soup and strawberry jam, preserved lemons, made fools and played with kefir. I have pickled vegetables and made whole meals out of what would at one time be called 'scraps'. I have bartered and shared.
My lastest adventure is elderflower champagne. You need elderflowers, organic unwaxed lemons which I ordered from Spain via Crowdfarming, sugar, vinegar, sterilising fluid and a big bucket. I am posting the video I followed. I have 20 litres undergoing a second fermentation and no explosions so far.
Come to think of it .....I better go and burp those bottles.
Happy homesteading!