Hunting & Gathering

The hills and gullies around are an abundant source of wild animals, fruit trees and other things suitable for eating.

Baking apples with waste heat

Baking apples with waste heat

Details  With the recent installation of the chimney oven we have been looking for things to bake and roast. The last of the granny smith apples chopped, drizzled with honey, a scattering of frozen blackberries and a splash of water. Fantastic.
Date  July 20, 2017
Harvest     
Tags    apple  july  winter  baking 
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Clavulina rugosa - edible fungi

Clavulina rugosa - edible fungi

Details  After several attempts to inoculate and produce edible mushrooms I decided I might be better off educating myself on the local edible varieties that grow themselves. On several occasions we have found and eaten large field mushrooms but these are less common as the land rapidly returns to forest.

One species that I felt comfortable identifying due to lack of poisonous lookalikes is Clavulina rugosa, commonly known as the wrinkled coral fungus. Knowing that it occurs in symbiosis with conifer roots I went looking and was surprised to find some growing less than 100m from the house. Now that I know what I'm looking for I have found them in other locations.
Date  August 05, 2021
Tags    fungi  food 
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Melting Beeswax

Melting Beeswax

I hate to see anything go to waste so with the fire going to heat the bath I remembered the deserted beehive with the exposed comb.

Crushed up and sitting in an iron pot near the fire it slowly melts down. Once I have skimmed off the impurities perhaps I can make a candle...
November 11, 2011
  bees  wax  fire 
olmec
Blackberries

Blackberries

Wild blackberries are a bit of a curse round here, growing rampantly wherever they can. However at this time of year they redeem themselves somewhat by offering up sweet berries.
In addition to the thorny wild plants, we have a thornless variety in the garden that produces larger, more accessible berries.
February 16, 2010
  Blackberries  weed  fruit 
olmec
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