The healthy forager

There are several iterations of summer in Scotland. At the moment I would say we are in ‘high summer’, where the sheer abundance of fruit and mushrooms can feel a bit overwhelming! We’ve had several weeks of rain and boy, it shows. This week I found my first porcinis of the season:

It’s also proving to be an exceptional year for chanterelles. I already found them last week, and I’ve continued to find them on every single bike ride. Here’s a wee beauty:

In our greenhouse and on the windowsill, things are also happening. A few days ago I found myself the proud ‘parent’ of my first ever aubergine. It was huge and the colour intensely purple. I’ve done it justice in a wonderful oven bake with tomato and cheese.

Since discovering Barberries last week, I’ve been finding them everywhere. Mostly in people’s front gardens, where a knock on the door and a friendly question was all that was required to top up my stock. By yesterday I had enough for a batch of wine!

The living room is now a brewery, with two big containers doing the first round of bulk fermentation for our two wines; blackcurrant and barberry. By the end of this week it will all be transferred into glass demijohns and the happy ‘bloop-ing’ from the airlocks can begin!

Finally, my rescue tomato plant Shirley is bearing fruit! What an awesome transformation that has been, from near-death to absolutely thriving. Sadly her inaugural consumption took place in torrential rain today, but I did enjoy it!

Today marks a full year since I last had a cup of coffee (I stopped when I went ‘wild for a month last August). It also marks a year since I last ate supermarket fruit. Our Shire has been able to provide for us, 365 days – and counting!