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A birthday recipe
May. 24th, 2011 11:35 amMy party was wonderful, everything I hoped it would be! We all looked so pretty, the tea table groaned and looked prettier than we did, and we spent hours playing games, from energetic Graces and Blind Man's Bluff, to Book Consequences and Hunt the Thimble lounging in the sitting room :)
I didn't get many pictures though, I need to pinch some from a friend to post here! So instead of photos, how about a recipe?
I decided, since it's been so hot lately in the conservatory (where we had tea) that cold drinks might be more appreciated than hot tea, so as well as the homemade strawberry lemonaid and raspberry cordial that I made last year we had freashly made elderflower cordial. the Elders are covered in blossom at the moment, so the perfect time to make cordial! I did a batch on Friday, and we drank so much I'm making more now!
The flowers are best picked with the sun on them, because it's the pollen that gives the flavour to the cordial. They need to be as fully open as possible, but not going brown.
Recipe:
20-30 elderflower heads
2 lemons
2 lb sugar
2 pints water
1-2 tsp citric acid
Put the flower heads in a big bowl, pare the rind thinly from the lemons and add to the bowl, squeeze in the juice then cut the empty halves into quarters and add. Heat the water and sugar in a saucpan and bring to a boil, pour onto the contents of the bowl, stir and cover with a cloth, leave to steep for 24 hours. (don't worry if it's swimming with bugs, the boiling sugar water has killed them, and they'll be strained out in the next step!) Next day, strain the liquid through a tea towel back into the saucepan, on a medium heat stir in citric acid to taste, adding a little at a time till it's sharp enough, then heat the syrup till scalding, pour into small glass bottles, screw on the lids and invert to let the scalding hot liquid seal the lids. Leave to cool, lable and store in the fridge for as long as it lasts (not usually very long at all!) Serve diluted with water, soda or lemonade with lots of ice!
Now I'm off to finish my new Edwardian corset and get started on some combinations!
I didn't get many pictures though, I need to pinch some from a friend to post here! So instead of photos, how about a recipe?
I decided, since it's been so hot lately in the conservatory (where we had tea) that cold drinks might be more appreciated than hot tea, so as well as the homemade strawberry lemonaid and raspberry cordial that I made last year we had freashly made elderflower cordial. the Elders are covered in blossom at the moment, so the perfect time to make cordial! I did a batch on Friday, and we drank so much I'm making more now!
The flowers are best picked with the sun on them, because it's the pollen that gives the flavour to the cordial. They need to be as fully open as possible, but not going brown.
Recipe:
20-30 elderflower heads
2 lemons
2 lb sugar
2 pints water
1-2 tsp citric acid
Put the flower heads in a big bowl, pare the rind thinly from the lemons and add to the bowl, squeeze in the juice then cut the empty halves into quarters and add. Heat the water and sugar in a saucpan and bring to a boil, pour onto the contents of the bowl, stir and cover with a cloth, leave to steep for 24 hours. (don't worry if it's swimming with bugs, the boiling sugar water has killed them, and they'll be strained out in the next step!) Next day, strain the liquid through a tea towel back into the saucepan, on a medium heat stir in citric acid to taste, adding a little at a time till it's sharp enough, then heat the syrup till scalding, pour into small glass bottles, screw on the lids and invert to let the scalding hot liquid seal the lids. Leave to cool, lable and store in the fridge for as long as it lasts (not usually very long at all!) Serve diluted with water, soda or lemonade with lots of ice!
Now I'm off to finish my new Edwardian corset and get started on some combinations!
