NETTLE SOUP

Its spring , there are stirrings underground and the Nettles are through .

Not being able to clear the little buggers, i decided to eat them!

They're only just beginning to show now, which is perfect, because you need young shoots if you're going to eat them

They are full of iron, and vitamin C.

A five minute backyard forage resulted in a carrier bag of fresh young nettle leaves.

And so to the kitchen....

It only takes a little bit of heat to disarm the stings. There's no danger at all that your lunch will sting your mouth, as long as it is well-cooked.

1oz butter

1 medium onion , finely
chopped

1 garlic clove crushed

14 oz potatoes, peeled and finely
chopped

1lb freshly picked nettle
tops

1 3/4 pints veg stock

dash of double cream

salt and freshly ground black
pepper.

Melt the butter and cook the onion and
garlic gently for 10 mins in covered saucepan, without colouring.

Add potatoes and nettles and cook for 2
mins.

Add stock, cover and bring to boil and
simmer for 15mins.

Cool a little , then puree in
liquidiser.

Return to clean saucepan, stir in cream and
season with salt and pepper to taste.

Reheat genlty and serve.

It tasted lovely - not strong, a delicate flavour a bit like asparagus thought!

I'll definitely make it again.

MEET " KELLY" - our storm kettle!

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to a dear new friend "Kelly" Kettle©!!



A wonderful Yuletide gift - Thanks Mum and Dad !

Kelly has been a godsend ,as we havent had the use of the Yurts stove since we had to take it down for the winter.

Kelly will boil water very rapidly depending on the fuel you're using. She is made from aluminium it is essentially a double-walled chinmney with the water contained in the chimney wall. And is very light to carry.

Once the kettle is filled with water, and a very small fire is started in the base, on which kelly is set. Drop additional fuel (twigs, leaves, grass, paper, etc.) down the chimney and the large internal surface area of the chimney heats the water very quickly.

When the water boils, you just hold the handle at an angle of 90° to the Kettle - then lift the Kettle clear of the base.

To pour, lift it by the handle and tilt it using the cork chain

In about 5 minutes you will have a couple of pints of boiling water for brews all round, or to refill my hot water bottle which is invariably stuffed down my trousers now-a-days, to keep my back muscles relaxed!

The tradition of using the kettle as a method of boiling water at lunchtime goes back over a hundred years and the design has changed little since it was first introduced. The shores of the lake provided ample fuel for use in the kettle, where washed up twigs, sticks and dried grass were easily available. Visiting anglers are as amazed today as they were some hundred years ago with the speed at which the water could be boiled and through word of mouth, these anglers have spread word about the kettles worldwide.

IMBOLC BLESSINGS!

It is time to celebrate the first stirrings of spring from the depths of winter!

Horrah!

when the first buds can be seen appearing on trees, when the days are quite visibly longer than they were around Yule, and when there are the first days of semi-bearable temperatures.


The word Imbolc literally means "In Milk." This is because it is the time when the cows and goats generally begin lactating in Western Europe.
The festival is sacred to the Goddess Brigid (pronounced "Breed, " often spelled "Brid"-the Celtic triple Goddess of Inspiration, Healing, poetry and smithcraft.

This is a time of new beginnings and growth. At this time, think of your goals and dreams for this year that you will plant.


As the days begin to get longer, it is tradition for every candle or lamp in the house to be lit for a little while welcoming the return of the Sun.


Esotrically it is the willing sacrifice of the outer self for the inner self.

The period between Imbolc and the Spring Equinox is when self-discipline is practiced.

"I hereby do create sacred space,

In time that is not time; a place not a place,

Today is a day that is not a day,

All malice and worry, now away,

So all within here is right and just,

This is a place of magic, love and trust."

One of the things I find tangeable in the celebration of Imbolc is purification itself.

The concept of Spring Cleaning came from this Sabbat.

Traditionally the greens of Yule that are left in place for our protection during the deepest Winter months are now removed and burned in a sacred fire.

The home is physically cleaned from top to bottom.

I use this period between Yule and Imbolc to do the Soul searching and meditation called for in this season during The Winter Rites held on Yule.

Its a time put my financial life in order, my physical home in order and my relationships in order.

Free now of these burdens, we gather in our homes with brooms in hand and begin to turn whiddershins from room to room carrying with us incense, fire, water & salt, purifying each room of all negative energy. Chanting:

Thus we banish Winter... Thus we welcome Spring!