sloe sunday

A proper frosted morning. The dogs and I crunched our way through our morning walk and the air hung still and cold. After breakfast we decided this had to be the perfect day to pick sloes for sloe gin. Tradition has it that you pick them after a good hard frost and we knew up the lane there were plenty - the first time in at least two, maybe three years. A bit of extreme sloe picking was in order. We piled into the Landrover and bumped our way through mud and puddles to the overgrown part of the lane, where the spiny blackthorn waited. And there in bright sunshine we picked the dusted purple fruits until one of our party declared he couldn't feel his toes in his wellies anymore and he'd really rather be at home...

...so home we came to defrost by the fire and weigh out the sugar for the sloe gin to come.

autumn feelings

Autumn means darkening days, finding cosy spaces to curl up with a book, lights on, comforting food (cinnamon buns and porridge with maple syrup, flecked with mixed spice). Grey skies on my morning walk and that sudden sense of bleakness that comes when the leaves fall, although there is the occasional splash of berries to brighten the way. It's cold and windy and I'm thinking about the sloes up the lane. There's a good bounty this year, so that means gin, which bring me back to cosy spaces...

recipe :: sloe gin

On this wild and windy day, a recipe to keep out the cold. Sloe gin is a favourite- it's lovely with cheese after a meal or to warm you up if you're out winter sporting or walking. It also makes a perfect Christmas gift. I use Sarah Raven's recipe from her Garden Cookbook.

For about 800ml:
450g sloes
710ml gin
350g caster sugar

Making sure the sloes are dry and clean, prick them all over with a fork** and put into a large sterilised kilner jar along with the gin and sugar. Close the jar tightly and turn it every so often until all the sugar has dissolved. Leave it in a dark place for 3 months and then strain into warm sterilised bottles and seal.

** or put them in the freezer for the same effect

gathering in

This month is a good time to do some gathering. The two smaller boys and I walk up the lane in search of sloes. The day is heavenly- blustery with fallen leaves eddying at our feet but it is warm and the skies are blue. Leaves are picked up, examined and discussed as we make our way along and the boys play lion and zebra, taking turns to be the hunter and hunted.

We walk to the top of the lane and then pass through the overgrown hedges and come out onto an old track or lane-way. The sloes are plentiful. I improvise a basket out of my scarf and we start picking. William wants to pick them all but I say no, take some and leave some for other animals.

We're like apes, says William as his little hands dart in around the thorny branches. Yes, yes we are, I reply. Although I'm pretty sure the apes wouldn't be making sloe gin with their fruit, like I'll be doing with ours.

sloe and steady

This morning I slightly deviated from my usual walk, instead going up the track beside our house which winds and bumps between fields and onto an old roadway, wide enough, really, for only cart and horse. This is where we forage sloes for sole gin, a Winter treat. For the last two years we have had no sloes and therefore no sloe gin, but this year...this year the blackthorn is full of frothy white blossom and I've my fingers crossed that when the first autumn frosts are over there will be plump, dusty purple sloes in abundance for picking.

The windowsill in the dining room is often a place for bits and bobs, leftovers from a busy day- books, pencils, small toys, pieces of Lego and whatnot. I sometimes make the conscious effort to clear up the detritus and so today I am enjoying the delicately scented geranium and the bright sunlight, for a while at least.