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Monday 19 March 2018

Homemade Cleaner & Wild Garlic Cheese on Toast





'The hilltop hollows still hold their snow
And the wind comes keen and wild.'



That was certainly true of this weekend. 

Come on Spring! 

I am impatient to get out there to pick young nettles for soups and wild garlic for all manner of delicious treats, like wild garlic bread and I don't want to be freeze dried while I am doing it.



Wild garlic bread (totally different to garlic bread)
delicious as bread, or made into sandwiches,
  even more delicious on a cold spring day
when it is made into cheese on toast.
Crisp, slightly garlicky and meltingly cheesy. 
Comfort food.

Wild Garlic Bread recipe can be found on my Cottage Kitchen Blog (here)







I want to pick dandelion leaves for adding to salads and sandwiches,  and elderflowers for champagne,  should winter decide to leave us.




I also want to try making another brew of Dandelion Cleaner.      I found the recipe in one of my old books a couple of years ago.       Intrigued, I made a batch to see whether it was any good.    It worked a treat.   It doesn't keep well, so if you make some,  use it up within a couple of weeks.

Simply boil four or five roots, leaves, flowers and tendrils of the dandelion in about 3 pints of water.  Boil it until it reduces to about one pint, strain and then bottle when cool.   Be sure to put it out of the reach of children and animals!

It can be used for windows, mirrors, paintwork.     Just apply with a soft cloth, then wipe off with another dry soft cloth. I found that it worked really well, leaving no smears or grease marks, everything sparkled. 









10 comments:

  1. Some very interesting recipes. I hope spring like temps are evident along the Rhine next week which is where we will be for a river cruise.

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    1. Hello Marcia, Be sure to take some warm clothes and have a wonderful holiday.

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  2. 'The hilltop hollows still hold their snow
    And the wind comes keen and wild.'

    What a wonderful quote, for this time of year!

    Wild Garlic Bread! Ohhhhhhhhhhhh.... And cheesy bread too....

    Love the picture of a bunch of dandelions. They are such a cheery little flower. We do not "panic" and try to eliminate them. ,-))))))

    Nothing looks quite so sterile, as a chemically treated, bright green lawn of just grass. It does not look like Nature. -sigh-

    And I always scoff at the little flags they *have* to put on such chemically treated lawns. Warning people and pets to stay off. Who warns the birds, squirrels, flying insects??????????????????????????

    Grumble, grumble, grumble,grumble, grumble,grumble, grumble,grumble, grumble...

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    Replies
    1. Hello Luna, I'm like you, I hate chemical treatments. Our lawn is always dotted with dandelions and daisies, buttercups too. Much prettier and it doesn't hurt the pets or wildlife. Mother Nature rules in Owl Wood, too.
      We'll grumble together!

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  3. Our wild garlic is a long way from flowering yet, but I have several patches in the cool corners of the garden and out by the front gate (and know the many stretches where it grows along the lanes). I will definitely try the wild garlic bread and also drying the leaves for wild garlic salt and for adding to recipes. When there are more Dandelions about, I'll try and Dandelion cleaner too.

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    Replies
    1. Hello BB I love making seasonal treats like this. We are low on Dandelions right now but it won't be long until they are blooming, surely spring is only just around the corner... I hope you enjoy the bread, it's very popular in this house!

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  4. This post made me long for spring even more than I am. There is nothing like the first tender greens!

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    1. Hello Susan, Welcome! I know just what you mean about those greens - our bodies really do yearn for them in spring. Can't wait to get growing things in the vegetable garden again!

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  5. Thanks for the Dandelion cleaner recipe ... I do love old books and remedies for ailments... and I’ve never thought of wild garlic on bread ... IT sound delicious ... and Garlic is so healthy for the blood... My parents used to make a garlic and orange juice drink that they used religiously ...but I must say the garlic would have warded off even a vampire( ha ha) but my mother was 85 in February and still has a good mind... so I’d say those folklore recipes work..... I enjoyed your post very much ... Hugs

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    1. Hello Zaa, We are enjoying some relatively mild weather right now (up to 11C) so I hope that will induce some dandelions to flower - a cruel fate awaits them, but it is for the greater good! Wild garlic is much milder, though it can still be overpowering. Folklore remedies, so often derided, often have good results. Well done to your mother! I'm not sure that I could quite manage orange juice with garlic, but I guess I shouldn't say yuk until I have tried it. Thank you for popping by.

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Lovely to hear from you.
I will try to answer comments in the next post.