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Carol and Davids Elderflower Cordial (as sampled at Village Picnic)

20 heads of elderflowers (shake but don't wash)
1 litre water
1.4kg sugar
1 lemon washed and sliced
100g citric acid

Boil water in large pan.
Add sugar and lemon & take off heat.
Stir with wooden spoon until sugar has dissolved.
Boil again, then add flowers and citric acid.
Bring back to boil, stir then leave to cool.
When mixture is cold, pour through sieve and then strain through sterilised muslin cloth.
Pour into clean bottles.

Dilute the cordial to drink (it's quite strong)

Lemony Carrot Cake - Thanks to Neil Collis for this recipe!

A light, moist and gluten/dairy free carrot cake

Preheat the oven to 180o C

What you will need
Batter;
5 eggs separated
Finely grated zest & freshly squeezed juice of two lemons
25ml of kirsch or similar optional)
250g golden caster sugar
250g carrot - grated
250g ground hazelnuts
2 teaspoons baking powder
65g cornflour
Lemon icing;
300g icing sugar
freshly squeezed juice of three lemons (plus grated for decoration

24cm spring form tin lined with greaseproof paper

Put the egg yolks, lemon zest and juice , kirsch/crème de cassis, sugar, carrots, hazelnuts and baking powder in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
Sift in the cornflour and fold it in.

In a grease free bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form or you can hold above your head without it becoming a hat! Fold the egg whites into the cake mix very gently, then transfer the batter to the prepared baking tin.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes or until springy to the touch. To check if its ready insert a skewer [thin knife] into the centre of the cake - if it comes out clean its ready - if not give it a few more minutes.

Leave the cake to cool before turning out of the tin.

Make the lemon icing, mix the sugar and lemon juice well to achieve a runny icing. Remove the cake [cold] from the tin and pour the icing over it allowing it to drip down the sides.
Sprinkle with lemon zest.

If you allow the cake to rest for a few days it will improve the flavour even more - you may have to hide it!

Make your own Ginger Beer - Carol & David Steptoe

You will need:

Ginger beer starter (2 teaspoons each of dried yeast, ground ginger & sugar)
Large screw top jar
Clean buckey, plastic lemonade/coke type bottles
Ground ginger, sugar, lemons

Put starter into large jar. Add 3/4 pint cold water

Stir well, put lid on loosley then leave in warm place eg kitchen

This is your ginger beer plant. It needs to be fed daily with 1 teaspoon ground ginger and 1 teaspoon sugar, stir well and replace lid.

After 7 days pour liquid into bucket, leaving sediment in jar.

Add 5 pints cold water and juice of 2 lemons

Dissolve 1.5 lbs sugar in 2 pints hot water and add to bucket stirring well.

Pour into clean plastic bottles but don't fill completely.

Keep bottles in cool place for 7 days before drinking.

Now halve the sediment in the jar (you can give half to a neighbour or throw away) and add 3/4 pint cold water, 2 teaspoons ginger and 2 teaspoons sugar, stir well, replace lid and feed daily as before - an endless supply of ginger beer!