Hoopoe Family

Over the last week or so we have regularly seen what we thought was just one Hoopoe around the house, including this morning sitting on the windowsill (in France,windows open in so the windowsill is outside) about 6 feet from us.  He looked very striking with his long beak and upright crest glinting in the early morning sunlight.  Unfortunately we couldn't photograph him because as soon as we moved to pick up the camera he flew away onto the front lawn.

Amazingly though, this wasn't the most brilliant Hoopoe sighting that we've had this morning.  Later, there was a family group of three Hoopoes on the lawn, picking away at the insects and worms.  A Hoopoe lays up to 8 eggs, but we don't know whether these were all juvenile Hoopoes.  We'd also love to know whether they have nested here or whether they are just coming here for food.

The good news is that they don't migrate back to Africa for another couple of months so we should get lots more sightings of them.

Blackberries 2011 - In June!

Blackberries June 2011

Incredible as it may seem, quite a few of the blackberry bushes are fruiting. The first couple that we tried were not very nice, but then we came across this larger patch in a south facing field.  Let's just say that it was just as well that we took the photo before we started eating them as there weren't any left afterwards. 

We'll be keeping a close eye on this patch as there were lots of unripe fruit, so with a bit of rain (please) and sun we may get a good crop.

Nonetheless, it is strange to have fruit on some plants when the majority are yet to flower. I presume that this has been caused by the weather, with some plants taking advantage of the hot and dry conditions to fruit while others have been held back by the lack of water and the intense heat.

Blackberries June 2011

Homemade Pizza with Wild Garlic Flowers

Homemade pizza topped with wild garlic flowers

This year to celebrate the end of the Wild Garlic season we added these beautiful delicate wild garlic flowers to our homemade pizzas, adding a unique twist to an old favourite.

Interestingly, we make our pizza dough with a mix of strong white bread flour and wholegrain chapatti flour.  This gives a heavier but much more tasty pizza base and whatever the topping makes an extremely tasty meal.

To lighten the pizza base you can add a small amount of olive or vegetable oil to the dough - this also makes it more elastic and therefore easier to stretch to the perfect size for your toppings.

Food for Free - Wild Garlic

Without being too wacky, living off the land and eating fresh food has always been one of our aspirations. Getting that food for free is the icing on the cake.  A very useful book that has helped us in identifying what can be eaten and what should be avoided is the Collins Gem "Food for Free". It is like an Eye-Spy book for adults, with a month by month guide of what is in season in the fields and woods.  Being in France the month by month guide is a little bit out, as most plants are early here, with only a few of the very early Spring plants being a little bit later.  I think that this is because we have a much harsher Winter than England followed by a much hotter Spring and Summer.

One free food that has gone down very well with us and our friends is Wild Garlic. Every Spring about an acre of our wood is carpeted in this most wonderful plant. The fresh green leaves can be chopped and sprinkled on couscous, stired into freshly cooked pasta with a little olive oil and black pepper or added to egg mayonnaise to liven up your sandwiches. This tasty leaf can be utilised wherever culivated garlic is required, though we have found it is better to add the leaves at the end of cooking as they taste better.  Above all, you can just munch on the leaves as they are - you get a delicate taste of garlic that is not at all overpowering.

Once the flowers start to appear the leaves become less potent and lose their flavour. Thankfully this is not a problem as the flowers taste just as wonderful as the leaves. One recipe that works particularly well and helps prolong the Wild Garlic season is Virgin Olive Oil infused with Flowers of Wild Garlic. 

Recipe for Virgin Olive Oil infused with Flowers of Wild Garlic

Olive oil flavoured with wild garlic flowers

• Handful of Wild Garlic flowers removed from stems
• Clean oil bottle
• Olive oil - enough to completely cover the flowers

Gently rinse the flowers taking care not to loosen the petals. Put these in a colander to drip dry and then carefully put onto kitchen towel.  

Once dry, add the flowers to aclean bottle and cover in olive oil. 

Seal the bottle with its stopper and leave in a cupboard for 2 - 3 weeks. The oil which by then will be infused with a delicate garlic flavour can be used for salad dressings and dips.