Fleur de Sureau mousseux

 Every year sometime between May and July ( depending on the amount of sunshine) you will find me clambering into hedgerows, to pick elderflowers ( fleur de sureau).

I can also be found begging screw top wine bottles from friends, neighbours and work colleagues, washing, scrubbing off labels and sterilising said bottles.

I found an Elderflower 'champagne' recipe many years ago and have made it nearly every year since.

Its not difficult to make, and I tend to put the bottles away and forget about them until Christmas when they go into hampers.

So if you still have elderflowers where you are and fancy making some mousseux (fizz)  then here is the recipe.

20-25 flower heads, ( shaken to remove insects) pick away from road sides.

10 litres of water

1kg sugar

2 lemons ( juice and zest)

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

very large bucket.

wash and completely sterilise the bucket.

Add 1 litre boiling water and sugar. stir until it all the sugar has dissolved.

fill bucket with 9 litres of cold water. add lemon juice and zest. white wine vinegar and flower heads.

put into a cool place and cover with a tea towel.

Check and stir every day.

After 7 days strain through a funnel and piece of  sterilised muslin, into sterilised bottles.

It may be cloudy but does usually clear in a couple of weeks.

It will be ready to drink in 3 weeks, but will last........., well I have some in the shed from a couple of summers ago and they are very nice when served well chilled.

Now I wait for the elderberries so that I can freeze them to use in pies, stuffing and chutney through the winter.

Cocktails with a summer feel

 

Well the weather here in the North east of blighty took a turn for the worse on Thursday evening when we had some much needed rain and the temperature turned cooler, however by Friday it showed no sign of stopping ,so my  cocktail hour felt a little bit odd, as I had planned it around sun and warmth. Never mind, living up here in the icy wastes, we take what is thrown at us.

Cocktail for the evening ( although not strictly a cocktail ) was

Frose 

Bottle of rose wine ( put into a plastic container and put in the freezer for a good few hours)

splash of cherry brandy or grenadine 

Frozen raspberries, strawberries or blackberries ( tiny sprinkling of sugar on these)

Remove the frozen rose from the freezer, it will be of 'slush' consistancy.

put into a blender ( Nurtibullet or hand blender will do)

Add the splash of grenadine or cherry brandy and the fruit

Blend.

Serve in a large coupe or wine glass with mint sprig and fruit to garnish

I served with chocolate dipped strawberries and  grapes.

A wonderful cocktail , very easy to make, what more could you ask for 

Add to that a weekend with Micky the Border Terrier and it was just the perfect way to chill out.

Have a great week.

Cocktail Hour on location

 I took cocktail hour on location at the weekend, I decided to have a trip to Headingley for T20 cricket and worked a cocktail round the trip.

The cocktail was 

'That's tea gentlemen' ( a much loved call at cricket on a hot day )

Camomile tea bag 

Vodka

Champagne ( or cremant or cava)

Freshly squeezed orange juice

Orange peel twist to garnish

Soak the camomile teabag in the vodka for a few hours

Strain vodka into a flute, add orange and top up with chilled champagne.

I served it with a small selection of afternoon tea items and with the fabulous view of the pavilion.

Perfect for cricket..................or it would have been if the match hadn't been abandoned with out a  ball being bowled!!

Rain!!!! The cricket spectators nemesis!

This would have been my first cricket since 2019, however  I got to be back at Headingly and the lovely Headingley Lodge for the night.

Hair of the dog

 

It was all go at Maison des Guichets this weekend as I was dog sitting for the lovely Micky, and as such decided to dedicate the cocktail for cocktail hour to him.

I made a 'Hair of the dog'. This really is meant to be a morning after drink, however I do think that it is perfect for any time. 

Hair of the Dog.

45ml Scotch

I tsp of honey

30ml Single cream

Ice

Put into a shaker, shake strain and drink.

Couldn't be easier.

The rest of the weekend, was taken up with dog walking, lots of cuddles and also a visit to the local brewery   https://steammachinebrew.com 

Dog friendly, wonderful homemade food and fabulous beer too, if you are in the local area its well worth a try.

The weekend was over in a flash, luckily the elderflowers are starting to come out here so this week will be busy getting 'champagne' under way.

Look out for recipe and posts on this soon.

This weekend we went to sunny Spain

Well in theory we did, as cocktail hour went a bit  Spanish(ish).

I made my version of Sangria,

Its a great party drink and can be made ahead and stored in the fridge. 

My version is slightly different to any I have had in a Spanish bar but it is equally lovely and it can be turned into a 'mocktail' if you are a none drinker or under 18 years of age.

So here is the mix

Sunshine Sangria

Bottle of Rose wine

Glug ( very technical cocktail term) of Triple sec

Orange juice

Lemonade or soda water depending on your taste.

ice.

Add all the ingredients to a large jug, mix and serve.

For the 'Mocktail' version

Sparkling red ( or white) grape juice 

Orange juice

Squeeze of orange and zest

Top up with lemonade or Dry ginger ale.

Add fruit and ice.

I prepared a sort of 'Tapas' for nibbles, not strictly Spanish but really tasty all the same.

I then sat in the garden and soaked up the evening sunshine.

Its been a glorious week here and although its meant that the garden needs to be watered every evening, long hot days are definitely the best therapy.

The weekend went by too quickly, I did manage to make up some chutney, which I will hopefully use in August when I host an afternoon tea party for Breast Cancer. That's all in the planning stage at the moment.

Have a great week.