Elderflower Cordial...Solstice magical drink!

Making Elderflower Cordial

So happy it's this time of year again! And this years blooms are spectacular! Make sure you harvest on a dry day when the pollen is full and complete, rainy days it gets washed away. Make sure they are young, fresh blooms with no bad bits. If you follow this to the letter it will last all year long as long as you store it somewhere cool and dry. Elderflower is fantastic medicinally, I was drinking it all winter to keep away colds and flus' and all those common winter nasties, it's all good for the immune system!

Ingredients:

900g/2lb caster sugar

3.5g citric acid

1 lemon

½ litre boiling water

10 elderflower heads

Method:

In a large container/bowl, add the sugar and cover in boiling water, stirring until dissolved. Add citric acid. Grate rind of lemon and add into bowl. Slice the lemon and add to mixture. Add elderflower heads. Cover with lid or tea towel and leave to infuse for 12 hours. Strain through muslin, bottle and store for one month before serving. Dilute in water or soda water with a bit of fresh mint. 

Rhubarb Champagne...spring tanginess!!

Rhubarb Chamapagne

Great to make with new, young rhubarb shoots. it's an unusual tasting one, not to everyone's taste, and can taste very different from batch to batch. Be careful how you store this, I've had glass bottles explode over me in bed with a cascade of glass and champagne, it gets really fizzy! So plastic is better. 

Ingredients:

1 kg rhubarb
3 cups sugar
6 teaspoons white vinegar
4 litres water
2 lemons

Method:  Cut rhubarb into small pieces; add to large bowl/container.  Slice lemon in strips with rind on it.  Add lemon slices and rest of ingredients to the rhubarb.  Cover and leave for 48 hours stirring occasionally.  Strain 3 times.  Bottle and label.  Leave for two weeks to mature.