Sky Rockets in Fight Foragers delight

Well it has been a little while hasn't it? Baby induced radio silence is however over and there is so much to say about project farm that I could write for days, baby and toddler willing. However instead of blurting it all out in one post like an over excited friend you haven't seen for years (you know the one, loud, brash, in your face and BORING beyond imagination despite the large chunk of life there is to catch up on), I will just concentrate on one glorious element of our journey at a time. Just like that needy pal I want to do anything I can to keep you coming back for more.

Since my last post (a shameful two months ago and only three days before the birth of munchkin number two) Spring has sprung so far it has turned into summer and the land has changed out of all recognition. Despite the weather outside this week, Spring has been dry and mild and where once there was mud everywhere there are now beautiful grasses and flowers that I have never seen before. We have so many varieties of the pea family that I never even knew existed and  field full of grasses that are in full bloom (if I am totally honest here I didn't really appreciate that grasses flower but it seems they do. Not only that, they are beautiful to boot). One of the most wonderful things however has been the discovery of what edible offerings the land produces in Spring and Summer.

For me spring is defined by the scent of wild garlic. I am obsessed and make pesto by the gallon every year, dragging the family on long walks to find the best sites for foraging or leaving them dozing in the car on the byways of the south west whilst I trot up hills basket in hand. Although we do not have enough garlic growing on the land to feed my habit, I was delighted to find two clumps of it right on the edge of the land. Just enough to make a wild garlic risotto, which was incidentally my last supper before baba deux decided to arrive three weeks early. Every spring without fail I make this amazing risotto from Rachel Demuth which is super simple and bloomin delicious!

Wild garlic / Ramsen

Another surprise find was an abundance of mint. Pass me the mojitos and cancel my summer engagements darling! As if that wasn't find enough we also recently found that one entire bank of the quarry is covered in wild strawberries.

Srawbs

Mint galore

Slightly more unsual and not strictly spring based are elf caps which the woodland floor was covered with in the winter and which I have recently been told are edible.

Elf caps

So far so what right? We own some land and on it grow some edible plants. STOP PRESS! I have however saved the most unusual for last. We have known since we first looked at the land last summer that there as a Japanese knotweed problem - it would have been hard to miss as it has had decades to take root unchallenged and it does so love to grow. What is surprising though is that this too is edible and a quick search on the internet led us to tonnes of recipes for this 'delicacy'. We have yet to try it as we had, until recently, been doing everything in our power to get rid of it. So much so that it currently looks like this:

A big pile of Japanese Knotweed

One of the big advantages to this site being an abandoned quarry is that the soil is very shallow - one scoop with the digger and we were able to lift most of the knotweed out. As soon as it grows back (which there is no doubt it will - this stuff is more pernicious than Theresa May) I will investigate further although it may have to wait until next spring when the shoots are most edible. 

Now all we have to hope for is truffles and we've got it made! On this note if anyone reading this knows of any truffle dogs in the South West please get in touch as I would love to see if we do have any even though it is highly unlikely. 

For those of you you who got the musical/Anchorman ref in the post title here it is in full: Stay classy San Diego...