Caption: Stephanie Hafferty
Caption: Simmer Potpurri
Caption: Christmas Pudding Liqueur

In this month's blog, Steph prepares for the dark nights ahead. She shares recipes to that will keep the spirits up and how she uses mulches on her no dig beds to renew the soil for next season.

 

Winter is a time for enjoying the plot as much of nature slumbers. With fewer plants growing, and most trees leafless, it is easier to see the structure of the garden than during the leafy abundance of the summer.

My small homestead here in Wales is surrounded by trees, so the beds, borders and grassy areas are covered with them. This winter, I have new plans for the orchard beds and so am leaving the leaves in situ to protect the soil whilst I carry out work on the fruit trees and create new paths and beds.

The back garden beds are full of over wintering brassicas, leeks and parsnips, and autumn planted garlic and broadbeans. There are green manures here too, including field beans and caliente mustard, which help to protect and feed the soil during the winter months.

I don’t want a deep layer of fallen leaves here, because they can create a habitat for slugs and other veg munchers, which could be problematical for young plantings in the spring. Instead, I mulch the veg beds with compost: homemade, well rotted manure or bagged composts such as Dalefoot “green bag” Wool Compost for Veg and Salads, or “yellow bag” Lakeland Gold. I also mix “orange bag” Dalefoot Double Strength Compost with this year’s old spent compost, to make a nutritious mulch.

There is a lot of discussion about whether we should rake up leaves or leave them to decompose naturally on the ground. If there are just a few then it is fine to leave them, but a deeper layer can take a long time to rot down, which isn’t ideal for most annual veg growing. Also, wet leaves on grass are slippery, so I rake those up to avoid accidents, using a lawn rake. This lightly skims the surface, gently gathering the leaves without harming the grass and other plants underneath. Some go into a frame made from some old stick fencing to rot down to become leaf mould (this takes two years) and the rest goes into the wild areas and perennial beds as a mulch. It will gradually rot down, feeding the soil and providing habitat for a multitude of creatures to live and forage in.

Days are short so there’s more time spent indoors, preserving the harvest and laying down stores for the winter. At this time of year I am thinking about making goodies for Christmastime, and so am sharing some of my favourite festive recipes for a delicious seasonal tipple, a versatile salt filled with festive spices and a fragrant simmering potpourri to make your home smell gorgeous.

They’re all easy to make using store cupboard ingredients and home-harvested herbs and edible flowers. They look beautiful in the larder or on kitchen shelves, and make lovely festive gifts too.

Christmas Pudding Liqueur

This delicious seasonal tipple isn’t made from Christmas pud, but rather tastes reminiscent of the rich, spiced fruity dessert often served around the festive time.

It is delicious as an aperitif and a cocktail ingredient, make into a hot toddy, and also as an addition to festive baking.

Use a reasonable quality alcohol as the base - most supermarket ones are great, but avoid really cheap booze.

You’ll need:

A large jar for infusing (at least 1.5 litres)
Sieve and muslin for straining
Clean bottles for storing
Funnel for pouring liqueur into the bottles
Labels

Ingredients

  • 1 litre vodka or gin (brandy or white rum)
  • 300g mixed dried fruit
  • 50g chopped mixed peel
  • 50g dried apples, chopped
  • 100g sugar (muscovado gives more depth of flavour, white is fine)
  • Zest of an orange (preferably unwaxed)
  • Zest of a lemon (preferably unwaxed)
  • 6 cloves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 tsp mixed spice
  • 1 vanilla bean, split open
  • 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Method

Place all of the ingredients in the large jar, pour over the alcohol and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Replace the lid and leave somewhere out of direct sunlight for a week to infuse. A kitchen countertop is ideal. Shake the jar every day.

Strain through a sieve lined with a double layer of muslin. Leave it to drip so that all the infused alcohol comes through.

Pour into the bottles, replace the lids and label. The liqueur is ready to drink right away, and will keep for around two years.

You can use the boozy fruit mix to add to a fruit cake or other baked festive delights. It is lovely added to apple crumble.

Tip: if you can’t get unwaxed fruit, scrub in warm water and rinse before zesting.

Seasonal simmer potpourri

Simmer potpourris are a lovely way to gently and naturally fragrance the home. Place on top of the cooker hob or on a woodburner to release the gorgeous scent of seasonal fruit, spices and herbs.

This recipe uses dried ingredients, so it can be made in advance and used as you wish. It also makes a lovely festive gift, and can be used as a dry potpourri in a dish.

This recipe is very tweak-able. Leave things out, or add things in, depending on your preference and what you have in the larder. For example, swap the cranberries for dried rosehips, or the rosemary for sprigs of scented pine.

Replace the dried fruit and herbs with fresh, if you’re making it to use right away.

This makes enough for approximately four simmer pots, depending on the size of pot used. I use a cast iron pot about the size of a milk pan.

Ingredients

  • 200g dried cranberries
  • 15-20 slices of dried orange
  • 10-15 slices of dried apple
  • 8 dried star anise
  • 2 tbsp whole cloves
  • 8 springs dried rosemary
  • 1 tbsp all spice berries
  • 4 sticks cinnamon

Method

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, then either pour into a large lidded jar or divide equally between four jars or bags.

To use

Place the ingredients in a sturdy pan and fill 2/3 full with water. Put on a low heat and simmer for 2-3 hours, or longer. Keep checking the water levels to make sure the simmer pot doesn’t dry out.

All of the ingredients can be composted after use.

Safety First! Treat the simmer pot like any other pan of hot water and do not leave unattended.

Christmas spiced salt

This is absolutely delicious sprinkled over roasted vegetables and all kinds of savoury dishes (vegetable or meat) to add a spiced festive flavour. It’s also good in sweet dishes that benefit from some added salt, such as homemade chocolate truffles.

Ingredients

  • 250g sea salt flakes
  • 2 tbsp dried orange zest
  • 2 tbsp dried lemon zest
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp finely chopped dried rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Method

Mix all of the ingredients together and pour into a jar. Label and use when cooking over the festive season.

Fancy extras

Add finely chopped edible flowers such as rose, calendula or blue cornflower petals to the mix for extra colour.

Dried citrus zest is easy to make.

Either zest the fruit and spread over a sheet of baking parchment on a tray and leave in a warm, dry, airy place for a few days (such as an airing cupboard) or use a dehydrator, following the settings for your machine. Many air fryers have a dehydrator setting which is ideal for this. You can also dry it in a low oven.

When completely dry, store in clean, dry jars until needed.

Steph

...............................................................................................................................................................

Stephanie Hafferty is an award winning garden and food writer and has been shortlisted for the Garden Media Guild 2024 Awards for 'Practical journalist of the year'. 

Stephanie is a homesteader with decades of experience, edible garden designer and teaches how to grow your own - plus what to do with those harvests! She is currently creating a sustainable homestead on a tight budget, on half an acre in West Wales, from where she runs gardening courses.

Follow her journey on her blog, Instagram and You Tube

Website and blog : www.NoDigHome.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniehafferty/

You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/StephanieHaffertyNoDigHomesteading

e-newsletter

Be the first to know about fresh offers and events, gardening tips and blooming good news from Dalefoot Composts.
Your Details
No thanks
By signing up you agree that we can process your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
© Barker and Bland Ltd t/a Dalefoot Composts 2014 - 2024. All rights reserved.
Barker and Bland is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Dalefoot Farm, Heltondale, Nr Penrith, Cumbria, CA10 2QL. Registered number: 8312959

This project is supported by the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) for which Defra is the Managing Authority, part funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in rural areas.

Bulk Buy Scheme

The price of every item in our bulk buy scheme drops as you buy more.

Shopping Bag   /  total £0.00  Go to shopping bag