So you’re in the kitchen feeling a bit peckish and you spot the biscuit tin. My biscuit tin had previously been looking after some elderflower and white chocolate shortbread but was there any left? Yes. Yes there was some left, but just one piece. Should I eat it myself and snub all knowledge of its existence?
Unfortunately as I was plotting how to cover my tracks my other half walked in to the kitchen with a similarly devilish plan. I Raspberries, Elderflower Cream and leftover Elderflower Shortbread
So you’re in the kitchen feeling a bit peckish and you spot the biscuit tin. My biscuit tin had previously been looking after some elderflower and white chocolate shortbread but was there any left? Yes. Yes there was some left, but just one piece. Should I eat it myself and snub all knowledge of its existence?
Unfortunately as I was plotting how to cover my tracks my other half walked in to the kitchen with a similarly devilish plan. I 
When you’ve gone to the effort of making elderflower sugar it is paramount that you make the most of it in ever varying and interesting ways. I thought I’d run out of sugar much sooner than I have; indeed I still have around 500g left. The sugar itself has an incredible aroma and every time you open the lid it smells of hedgerows. The little elderflower cakes I made were lovely but I wanted something a little more biscuit orientated. Not only 
I had grand visions of picking great swarms of elderflowers and returning home to concoct some floral cordial. My imaginings were interrupted with the first (and now unrelenting) rain and my great plan was no more. I had heard that elderflower is not to be picked on a rainy day and I wasn't about to don my wellingtons and test that theory. So instead of making gallons of cordial I baked some elderflower in to my life.
These little cakes I suppose 
My sloe journey started on an early Autumn day when I was full of enthusiasm for making sloe gin. After rambling through the hedgerows, dodging a few rabbit holes and being careful of the thorns I had a basket rammed with sloes. I had romantic visions of sloe picking scenes but in reality it was pretty hard work. Was it worth it? Absolutely.
First of all the sloes were steeped in gin. This particular batch included some blackberries which have 
Some of you may know that I made my own sloe gin this year. It all started on a warm September afternoon with a kilo of sloes, a sprinkling of sugar and a litre of fine gin. It's something I've never even attempted before but I thought how hard can it be?
Turns out it's extremely simple. Put it all together and leave the flavours and juices to mingle and infuse for as long as you can wait.
The wait is definitely worth it. This sloe gin is only 
Autumn arrived and brought with it a questionable frost. Was it a real one or were we all just a little bit surprised by the sudden drop in temperature? Apart from being the time for pumpkin soup, squash in all its forms and stews galore it is also the time for making sloe and hedgerow gin. There are some sloe purists who will not touch this lovely berry until a frost has been; there are those like me who pick them nice and early and speed nature 
I've always been prone to getting out an exceedingly large basket and frolicking amongst the hedgerows at this time of year. I'm normally trying to amass as many blackberries as possible before they disappear. This year has been different as my world has become festooned with plums of all colours just ready for the picking.
These plums were no bigger than an apricot and tasted quite similar. The flesh was as bright as the skin and as sweet as honey.
These 
