Video Blog #2 'Making Elderflower Cordial for your Summer Girlfriend*'

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It's midsummer and the fields and hedgerows are wearing their finery, so we thought we'd take advantage of nature's abundance, go foraging for elderflowers and attempt to make a cordial from our harvest ... This is the result ... 

Our recipe - (Recreate with caution ...)

Ingredients:

- A minimum of about 30 elderflower heads in full bloom. Try not to pick from a roadside or you may get a delicate hint of diesel.
- 3 lemons (for zest and juice).
- 1.5 litres of water.
- 1kg of sugar.

Method:

(Don't forget to shake out the flowers and check for little critters. We rescued and re-homed several tiny hitchhikers before we turned on the heat!)

1. Trim elderflowers heads from stalks into a large pan (1.5 litres) of cold water.
2. Add the zest of 2-3 lemons.
3. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for a minimum of 30 minutes. (For a stronger infusion leave elderflowers to steep in the cooling water for 24 hours).
4. Add sugar and lemon juice and dissolve, bringing back to the boil.
5. Allow to cool.
6. Strain liquid through muslin or a clean tea towel into a pouring jug.
7. Transfer liquid to a sterilised bottle and fill to no more than 3/4 full.
8. Keep in fridge for a few weeks or freeze to keep for longer.
9. Enjoy your (hopefully!) delicious drink ... (Don't forget to dilute it with water, lemonade, tonic water, champagne etc etc etc)

... Can also be used as a dressing on fruit salads etc ...

All filmed and edited on Lisa's iPhone SE.

*Summer Girlfriend, a tongue-in-cheek phrase inspired by an episode of Black Books and oft quoted by us to each other ... 'I'm literally jumping for joy' etc ... Check it out. It's funny ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgbDJ...

Once again, we would like to extend fond gratitude to the boatyard for providing the ambient sounds of power tools in the background.

Music licensed by https://artlist.io
'Reminiscing' by Assaf Ayalon