Damsons in April and the easiest pudding

This all began with a rummage in the freezer .... I find that I'm actually quite good at filling the freezer - in fact it's a veritable wonderland of bargain buys and strange creations .... unfortunately I struggle with the bit about using them afterwards (I wonder if subconciously I think there's some strange Narnia like realm beyond the peas and in fact I am entirely responsible for the nutrition of several lost children and a regal lion - however, I digress)

While foraging in said freezer, I happened upon a tub of vibrant purple slush, which was in fact some damson puree. This was a by product of last years damson jelly making and I have previously used it to add a bit of extra oomph to apple pies! Unfortunately there are no apples to be had in the Wylde household at the moment - so this needed a new direction.

Being a bit of a foodie obsessive - I have noticed that panna cotta seems to be everywhere, barely an episode of Masterchef goes by without some form of excitingly accessorised panna cotta turning up, so I decided to have a bash myself! What a revelation - it's so easy, even I could do it without swearing! I was so impressed I thought I'd share the recipe here (and even managed a photo!)

Ingredients:

For the panna cotta

• 250ml milk 
• 250ml double cream
• 25g sugar
• 1 vanilla pod (sliced down the middle and seeds scraped out)
• 3tsp powdered gelatine (or Agar Agar for the vegetarian option)

 For the damson sauce

• 4tbs (ish) of stewed fruit - we had damson but I'm sure any soft fruit would be fab
• 1 or 2tsp sugar (to taste)
• 1 or 2tsp honey (to taste)
• 2 drops of vanilla extract 

Instructions:

Panna cotta

• Put the milk, cream, sugar, vanilla pod and seeds into a large pan and gently heat until simmering.
• Remove the vanilla pod and take the pan off the heat.
• Add the powdered gelatine and stir until disolved.
• Divide the mix between four ramekins (I used some short glass tumblers as we didn't have ramekins - just be careful and make sure they are safe for hot liquids!)
• Leave to cool then put into the fridge (I left mine for a good couple of hours to set)

Damson sauce

•  Take the stewed fruit and put in a microwavable container
• Add sugar, honey and vanilla to taste.
• Pop into the microwave for about 20 seconds.

•  Once the panna cotta is set, turn it out (If it sticks, try standing the ramekin in a dish of hot water for a minute).
• Pour over the sauce.

Perhaps the easiest pudding in the world!

 

See ... I told you it was easy (tastes great too!)

Enjoy x

What to do with purple sprouting broccoli?

Now the weather has improved, I've been using the last couple of weeks to make some headway in the vegetable garden. This had been abandoned slightly over winter, as my working hours meant that from about November I didn't get the chance to see the garden in daylight! However a wonderful surprise was the appearance of some purple sprouting broccoli which had done remarkably well while left to it's own devices! This begged the question - what to do with it?

Of course broccoli is lovely just as a side dish - but I wanted to try something a bit more interesting and remembered this idea of using it with a creamy pasta sauce. This dish was a bit of an experiment as I was trying to use up lots of bits and pieces in the fridge - including a lovely block of taleggio cheese (reduced from £2.25 to 25p! Thank you Sainsburys!) and fresh filled pasta (reduced to 15p from Morrisons!) but it worked so well that I thought I'd share it. As an added bonus, I made enough sauce for a second dish (Well I do love a bargain!)  

Ingredients:

• Splash of olive oil
• 1 Onion - finely chopped
• 2 Cloves of smoked garlic - chopped (I'm sure unsmoked would work just as well)
• 150 ml white wine (I'm sure vegetable stock would be ok if you don't want to use wine)
• 250g block of taleggio DOP cheese - chopped into chunks
• 150ml double cream
• 200g purple sprouting broccoli
• Spinach and ricotta filled ravioli (although any pasta would be fine)

Instructions:

• Gently heat the olive oil in a pan.
• Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened.
• Add the wine and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add the cheese and stir until melted.
• Add the cream and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
• Meanwhile, boil the broccoli and pasta until tender. Drain and combine with the sauce.

This made more than enough sauce for just the two of us, so I retained half and served it the next day with mushrooms sauteed in a touch of home made garlic infused oil, and plain old pasta twists. 

I hope this gives you a new idea for something to do with a glut of broccoli! (Sorry I've no photo's of the finished product - unfortunately I was far too eager to eat it and forgot!)

Enjoy x

A little bit of background ...

The story of this wylde adventure began with myself and my partner looking for a way of becoming more self sufficient and looking for a way of living a simpler life (possibly the result of us watching too much of the 'Good Life' in our formative years). Having already relocated from Lancashire to Gloucestershire for my work, we were living in a lovely property but with practically no outdoor space and were struggling to grow a few fruit and vegetables in pots and hanging baskets - and we were paying a fortune for it! After some judicial research, we discovered the wonderful rural Herefordshire countryside and promptly fell in love with the area, the people and the lifestyle. We made the decision to move to this beautiful location where we could life in a fantastic property with a garden large enough to follow our self-sufficiency aspirations - all for considerably less money than our former home!

So far we have have experienced both highs and lows with our desire to live a simpler life - from the excitement of the first crops appearing, to the annihilation of the maturing crops by all sorts of creatures from slugs to sheep! The nightmare of a tree branch crushing the greenhouse was another particular low point! As time has gone on, the dream has expanded to encompass all sorts of sustainable living including making clothes and cosmetics, upcycling and generally trying to avoid buying a new 'anything'. The aim is to live an expensive lifestyle but on the cheap!

I hope this blog will document our self-sufficiency adventures and offer some advice and a giggle for anyone out there with similar interests. I will be adding recipes and craft ideas as the seasons change too.

Enjoy x 
ElfinBryony & theWyldeMan

The wheel of the year is turning and this week it finally feels that spring is upon us - the perfect time to begin this blog which is dedicated to our attempts to live a natural and sustainable life! 

The ethos of the Wylde-life group is to get together people who, like us are trying to live a little of the 'Good Life' and provide a place to share ideas, ask questions, offer support or just have a good old moan! 

This blog will document our year of living the wylde life and hopefully inspire others to do the same x