My Witches Cauldron

It is that time of year again.  Dandelions are sprouting everywhere in my garden.     I know I could eat the leaves in salads, but I like to dig them up, roots, leaves, tendrils and flowers and boil them, show them no mercy!

No, I am not being vindictive, I use the concentrated brew to clean windows, mirrors, metal work, etc.     

Yes, it really does work.

Mirrors and windows sparkle, no smears.

No chemicals!

Recipe:

Dig up three or four dandelions and give them a quick rinse.  Put the whole lot,  roots, leaves, tendrils and flowers  into a pot with about three pints of water.   Bring to the boil and boil until reduced by about half.

Allow to cool, strain, decant.  Label!!  Keep out of reach of children and pets - just in case.

Use within a week.

All I do is to apply with a clean cloth, rubbing as I go, then follow up with a another dry, clean cloth, to dry and polish off.

The first time I made the brew I was pretty sceptical about whether it would really be of much use, but I was delighted with it.

Go on, pull out your witches cauldron, give it a go!

Make Dandelions do Your Cleaning

On Wednesday there was a major failure in the dustsheeting and screening of the kitchen alterations. 
I had gone out leaving a chaotic, but clean, kitchen and returned to thick dust and soot everywhere - and  my grandchildren were due  home from school and would be expecting their tea in little over an hour.


There was no way that I could possibly let them eat at the kitchen table or breathe the dusty air. 

Think, Elaine, think!

Ignore the mess.

I rummaged in the freezer - kept in the Boot Room - and came up with some frozen burgers and some brioche buns.    We have a little gas hob through there, so that was tea sorted.   Not quite up to normal standards of nutrition, but it would keep them going.

To make it more fun, I wrapped the cooked burgers and buns in some greaseproof paper and presented them with a 'Takeaway', to be eaten at the patio table.       Success!   They loved the novelty of it.   Pudding was an ice cream cornet, appreciated all the more because the only ice cream I could find was stripy strawberry, vanilla and chocolate mix.

Once their parents had returned to claim them, I had to face the horror of the kitchen.     It was such a mess that I had to disconnect my emotions and just plough through the jobs, doing basic cleaning and dust removal.

Unsurprisingly, my thoughts turned to cleaning products and how much I dislike all the chemical ones, I prefer using vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, and dandelions!


A couple of years ago I found an old recipe for Dandelion Cleaner.    It was on a detached, raggedy page from an old recipe book.      I didn't really expect great things from it, but I was curious to see whether it worked, so I made a brew. 

Fabulously frugal, it is made very simply by boiling dandelions in water.

You will need approximately five dandelion plants - roots, leaves and flowers.      Dunk them into some water to wash off the soil, insects, etc.  then put them into an old saucepan, along with two or three pints of water.     Bring to the boil and then simmer, until reduced by about half.      You don't need to be too precise.

I then let the brew cool right down  before straining the liquid.   Discard the dandelion plants and bottle the liquid!

Don't forget to label it and keep it out of reach of children and animals - just in case.

It keeps for a week or two, but after that it begins to smell quite unpleasant.

I find that it works brilliantly on mirrors, windows, paintwork and metalwork.    I simply apply it with a soft cloth, rub, then use another soft, clean cloth to dry things.   

The building work is ongoing, though not as messy as before (fingers crossed)    - the resident housework fairy is delighted to be able to clean the place up without chemical cleaners.  😎

Everywhere sparkles!

Hubble Bubble + Parsonage Gardens

I need to get myself a cauldron.    The dandelion brew which I made, for cleaning the windows, etc, is so good that I should really go into production and market the stuff!

I found the recipe in a stray page of a very cheaply produced recipe book which probably dates from around a hundred years ago.      My daughter was sceptical but she has requested a bottle of the brew now she has seen how well it works.

A cauldron would be great fun, I could have a small fire in Owl Wood with the cauldron on a tripod ready for brewing the dandelion mixture.     The more I think about it, the more I like the idea!    I could become the village witch...

Many years ago I had a cauldron.  It was when I was 'The Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe' - on a carnival float.    I was about 15 or 16 years old - so that makes it almost half a century ago!

One of the props was a big black, three legged cauldron, you can just see it in the bottom left of the picture.   That's me in the yellow dress, my younger brother was Little Jack Horner.   I'm not sure he ever forgave my mother for making him wear that outfit - the big white collar and bow, the daft hat, but hey, I had to wear a mop cap.   Mortification all round.

Other teenagers were doing music festivals and having fun!

*     *     *

Meanwhile, back in the here and now.

The primroses have been quite wonderful this year, these steps lead up to the old herb garden.   The brick structure is all that remains of what used to be the privy for the main house.   It had become unsafe, so we dismantled most of it but turned it into the herb garden.   Chives and rosemary are doing really well at the moment, everything else will catch up in time.

The first tulips are out, but the ones I am really looking forward to seeing again are those crazy parrot tulips.   Terribly bright, loud, flashy, not my usual style at all.  Yet I really like them!

Foliage of every colour, but down at the base of the old birdbath the first of the forget-me-nots are appearing.

A little play with the macro setting on the camera and their sweet beauty is revealed.

They will soon be bursting into bloom here.  

The colour of these grape hyacinths is beautiful but, sometimes, all I really need to make me smile

is a daisy.    I love to see them dotted around in the lawn!  

As you can see, we don't keep a bowling green lawn.    This part of the garden leads on to Owl Wood, you can just see the top of the hens gazebo to the middle left, though you would probably have to enlarge the photograph.   The old herb garden is on the right.

There is quite a way to go but spring is beginning to to brighten up the place.    

Talking of brightening up the place - our beautiful daughter-in-law, Poppy, is flying in from Shanghai tomorrow evening.    




We are so looking forward to having you home, Poppy!