August has brought with it sunny spells, rain-drops big and small, blustery winds and a little bit of storm damage!
However, it also brought a myriad of ripening fruits, vegetables, flowers, nuts and trees!
August also brought with it some much needed celebration time! Up at The Lovely Cow Shed, we have been absolutely choc full with events, weddings, birthdays and anniversaries, it really is fun to cater for these events as not only do we love helping to make sure your special day is perfect, we really do care about you too!
let’s look back on August…
Sunday 11th August – Flower Pressing Workshop with Grown & Gathered: Greeted by the hot, Summer sun, The Granary was aglow with warmth and ready for the Flower Pressing Workshop! Emma from Grown & Gathered talked and helped us through the skills and practices of flower pressing. Displaying her lovely collection of her own home-grown flowers, we were all able to come up with some amazing ideas, colour schemes and seasonal bouquets – of which went home with us in a lovely little glass display hanging!
Wednesday 7th August – Farm to Fork, Fell walk & Feast
We gathered in front of The Granary at 10am, grey clouds were looming overhead, but managed to hold off on the rain. We walked up to the trig point on the top of Jeffrey Hill guided by Hetty from The Forest Of Bowland. We passed beautiful, purple blooms of heather, bilberry bushes which still wore purple jewels yet to be eaten by the local wildlife and windswept grasses. Although the weather was not on our side, we were still able to take advantage of the panoramic views where you could still see the hills rolling off into the distance, but you couldn’t make out the sea! We then gathered back into The Granary where we shared a lovely buffet lunch and nattered about our days findings!
Tuesday 20th August – Book Club
This month’s Book Club was a warm and cosy occasion where the evening opened with a lovely rainbow in the distance!
After finishing with our last book – ‘The Loney’ by Andrew Michael Hurley, we are now onto our next book – ‘Into the Water’ by Paula Hawkins. If you have read any of our book club titles, feel free to leave a comment about what you thought in our socials!
This month we had a special guest – Caroline Blake, Author of ‘Just Breathe’ who gave us all a little insight into all her books (not giving anything away) and even gave us three of the sequels to ‘Just Breathe’ as a gift for a competition!
August has been a busy month for our Catering Team! From weddings and birthdays to anniversaries and events, we’ve been busier than bees cooking, baking, kneading, marinating, roasting and decorating!
If you have an upcoming event and you don’t want to worry about the food, why not give us a call or message and we will be more than happy to help make sure that your event is smooth sailing and perfect!
We’re not JUST caterers, we’re caterers that CARE! ❤️
Foraging in August – the Elderberry
You’ll have to be quick to grab these gorgeous purple jewels when they ripen on the Elder tree! Not only are they a great berry with antiviral properties, which goes great with numerous foods, the Elderberry is also a favourite amongst birds! Here one minute and gone the next – like many wild foods! Competition for much needed nutrients and vitamins is at an all time high when the harvest season hits!
Traditionally used for coughs, colds, allergies and arthritis, the Elder tree has more folklore attached to it than almost any other European plant. Chopping Elder was considered dangerous in rural England as it was believed that the tree was inhabited by the Elder Mother, and to avoid her wrath, woodcutters would recite a soothing rhyme.
Elderberries have an established antiviral activity, helping prevent and speed recovery from upper respiratory infections, such as colds and flu.
Elderberries can be made edible by simmering them into a syrup, fermenting them into a fine wine, or simply bake them into muffins, the possibilities are endless!
Elderberry Jam
500g of Elderberries
400g of Jam Sugar
1 tbsp of lemon juice
4x 250ml Jam Jars
Method;
1. Begin by putting a plate in the freezer. This will help you test when the jam is ready later on.
2. Remove the berries from their stems with a fork and wash thoroughly to remove any bits of leaf and stalk.
3. Place the elderberries in a heavy-based pan and gently crush with a potato masher, just enough to release some of the juices.
4. Add the sugar and lemon juice to the pan and leave to simmer on a low heat. Keep stirring to prevent the jam sticking to the bottom of the pan.
5. Cook down for around 20 minutes, skimming off and discarding any scum which has come to the surface.
6. To test if the jam is at the right consistency, remove the plate from the freezer, and place a small dollop of the jam on the plate. Put the plate in the fridge for a few minutes, if the jam forms a skin it is ready, if not, return to the heat and keep repeating the test every 5–10 minutes until ready.
7. Spoon the jam into sterilised jars and once fully cooled seal the jar and label with the date of production. The jam will keep in a cool dark place for 1 year, once opened keep in the fridge.
