"When it rains, it pours," or so my English granny used to say to me when I was little. Guess what I have found an abundance of all of the sudden? Yes, you guessed it. WILD GARLIC! I have hunted everywhere for the little blighter: clutching my empty bag to my chest, feverishly scanning the horizon for the sight of it, longingly sniffing the air for the slightest whiff of garlicky goodness, crying out in utter despair "where art thou, my wild garlic!?!" but still nothing (okay, this last bit might be a slight exaggeration but you get the idea of how hard I have been looking for the bloody stuff).
It started as a normal Saturday walk out of Exeter, over Cowley Bridge (should be known as the Bridge of Doom - every time I cross it, I'm sure I'm going to die) up towards Upton Pyne and then up a public footpath by The Pynes (http://www.pynes.org.uk/index.php) a gorgeous late seventeenth century house, supposedly the inspiration for Jane Austen's Barton Park in Sense and Sensibility and last on the market in 2011 for a whopping $19,000,000 (a bit out of my league, I think). I just love it so much - it has to be one of the prettiest period homes I've seen around Devon, or anywhere for that matter.
The Lodge House at the Pynes
The Pynes
Taken from Right Move http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30424417.html where it was up for a couple of million... BARGAIN!
After passing by a pig farm and the flat lands by the River we managed to get to Stoke Woods which run all the way up the big hill behind the University.
And there in the woods, practically EVERYWHERE was wild garlic. I was in heaven. I picked some leaves to take home with me (leaving the root bulbs to regenerate next year).
After the woods you come out onto a road with magnificent views over a big valley looking over the little villages of Stoke Cannon and Brampford Speke and we even found a fresh turnip on a cattle grid leading into Stoke Farm (as illustrated by Levi below).
The public footpath leads past the farm and its outbuildings where I stopped to admire the artwork on the barn wall, etched onto metal plates.
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A sure sign that spring is now upon us are the lambs and we spied some very small ones with their mums in a little enclosure by the footpath. They were so adorable and it reminded my of when I was younger and I used to be allowed to help feed pet lambs (one's without mums, or whose mums can't feed them for whatever reasons) for relatives, friends and neighbors. I've even managed to find a photo of me at our neighbors' with a lamb which I've put below. Can't believe it was taken nearly a decade ago. Scary stuff.
Me aged around 16 feeding a pet lamb at the Gilligans in Ireland
The last bit of the walk (which we've done before) is hideously muddy and disgusting. We got absolutely caked in muck but I did find an old horse shoe and I guess that's lucky, right?
Once home, I got to work with my wild garlic that I'd collected on the walk. We were having guests over (Stan's Wnwl Owain and Helen Birkett) and decided to make this batch of wild garlic into a dip based on a recipe I found here: http://www.bodyenlightenment.me/blog/2012/05/wild-edible-recipes-8-irresistable-wild-garlic-recipes-for-your-wild-edible-adventures/
I basically took a large courgette (zucchini), a handful of wild garlic leaves, 50 ml lemon juice, 25 ml olive oil and a tsp of cumin powder and blended it. I would probably put a little less liquid in it next time as it was a bit on the runny side, but was very nice with crisps.
“The best beer is where priests go to drink. For a quart of Ale is a dish for a king.” — William Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale
I found my 'best beer' last night: Miner's Best Bitter (3.7%) by the Merry Miner Brewery. Tasty, light but not hoppy, smooth - keep an eye out for this excellent session ale currently on at the Locomotive Bar at the Western Hotel in Exeter (http://www.greatwesternhotel.co.uk/) probably the only pub in Exeter which combines well kept ales (with several guest ales), regulars that you actually recognize and can say hello to, comfy squidgy old chairs to relax in and NOTHING that resembles a wine bar or gastro pub. All too rare it seems these days (though if you live in Peterborough, I highly recommend our old local, the Hand and Heart which is a fantastic community pub and an utter gem http://www.heritagepubs.org.uk/pubs/national-inventory-entry.asp?pubid=6). More on the Hand and Heart another time, when I can write a proper post fully deserving of its magnificence.
Levi, Helen and Owain
Then this morning has been best represented by this fifteenth century manuscript illumination from Iceland... enough said...
...and I've used up my remaining wild garlic making myself an omelette in the hope of feeling a little more human this afternoon.
Next weekend, I have my MA graduation at Cambridge so will be later updating my blog. Though massively excited at the prospect of donning a gown once again and catching up with old friends, I am a little sad to be missing YEOFEST! (http://www.yeoford.org.uk/community-groups/yeofest) next Saturday and heartily recommend anyone based in Devon who reads this blog to go and find it. As mentioned on the blog ages ago, Levi and I went to YEO CIDER! back in October, and were very impressed. It was easy to get to - you hop on the train at Exeter on the Tarka Line towards Barnstaple. You request to get off at the small village of Yeoford where you follow the chalk arrows on the road til you get to the village hall. For your money you get a commemorative glass, folk music, chatty friendly locals, straw and good clean country air. If the smaller Yeo Cider fest was really good, I suspect Yeofest might be even better and sadly will have to wait til next year to attend.
Finally, I just want to say a big thank you to all you who have been reading my blog and supporting me in this venture. I've now got over 2000 views which is brilliant. Best wishes, Cathy/ x
