Northwest Recipes, Hawthorn jelly

Autumn is traditionally the time of year we stock up for winter and, if you have the time and patience, it’s the season to forage for hedgerow berries to preserve in chutneys, jams and jellies. These make perfect Christmas gifts or you can keep them in the cupboard and bring them out to compete inContinue reading “Northwest Recipes, Hawthorn jelly”

Northwest Recipes; Winter Venison Chilli

Venison is one of the healthiest and most environmentally sustainable meats available and we have a plentiful supply of it here in the British isles, but we don’t utilise it anywhere near as much as we could. In the countryside of Northwest England you can find Roe, Red and Sika deer and their venison canContinue reading “Northwest Recipes; Winter Venison Chilli”

Roe Deer

The Roe deer, Capreolus Capreolus, is one of two breeds of deer native to the British isles, they are a sleek, medium-sized animal with only a minuscule, rabbit-like scut for a tail and stand about 60 to 70cm tall and around 1 metre in length. Found moving around the countryside in small family groups theyContinue reading “Roe Deer”

Juniper in Bowland

The fragrant Juniper, Juniperis communis, (Communis being latin for ‘common’, which is unusual as vulgaris is more commonly used to convey this meaning) is the plant from which gin gets its name and flavour, and along with the Yew and the Scots pine, is one of the three species of conifer that remained native toContinue reading “Juniper in Bowland”

Northwest Recipes, Bowland Roast Grouse

Bowland Roast Grouse This recipe is for a version of the classic English roast dinner which substitutes the traditional Lamb or Beef for Grouse, which is relatively inexpensive*, available from local suppliers, healthy and environmentally friendly. If made with locally sourced ingredients, as much as is possible anyway, it should give you a proper tasteContinue reading “Northwest Recipes, Bowland Roast Grouse”

Meadow Crane’s-bill

Meadow Cranesbill, Geranium pratense, is a perennial wildflower of the British countryside and is in bloom from June to August, its scientific name pratense means ‘of the meadow’ but it is often found on roadside verges, embankments and hedgerows too. Its nectar-rich flowers make it an important and popular plant for many species of pollinatingContinue reading “Meadow Crane’s-bill”

Northwest Recipes, Pheasant au gratin

This week is Great British Game Week and here in the Northwest of England we are very lucky to have a great choice of local and seasonal produce to pick from including Game such as Pheasant. The latest addition to my Northwest Recipes Series is one for Pheasant and sticks with the Seasonal and LocalContinue reading “Northwest Recipes, Pheasant au gratin”

Sika Deer

The rutting season for Sika, Cervus nippon, lasts from around September to November and is the best time for spotting this large deer skulking about the woods and forestry. Sika are similar in appearance to Fallow but are in fact foreign invaders and their size varies considerably, the more common Japanese sub-species has a shoulderContinue reading “Sika Deer”