11 Comments
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Charlotte's avatar

Really enjoyed this one! Can’t wait until the elderberries ripen up here so I can make some pontack sauce.

Nathaniel Bowler's avatar

Blackthorn berries must be where sloe gin comes from!

Beautiful post gem. A little of everything.

Ms Gubbins's avatar

They are - bung a load of sloes & some sugar into your gin. Keep it in a dark cupboard, taking it out to shake every now & then. Keep it till Christmas, then strain out the berries & bottle it up in tiny, pretty bottles to give to all your friends, who will ooh and aah at your skill

Gem at Birdfolk's avatar

I didn’t realise it was so easy! I have tried sloe gin before but always assumed it was a bit more involved than that.

Ms Gubbins's avatar

Well technically you're supposed to pierce all the sloes with a pin, but you can just squash them a little, or freeze them for a few days to make the skin more porous. But otherwise, very easy indeed, amd a gorgeous colour

Nathaniel Bowler's avatar

Oh what a lovely idea! I wouldn’t know where to get them here in the US. Maybe I could rebottle the store-bought sloe gin and pas it off as my own 😏😂

Ms Gubbins's avatar

You can do similar with cranberries and some orange peel for something quite psychedelically red and festive

Ms Gubbins's avatar

😆

Chantal Bourgonje's avatar

We'll probably find some confused young pigeons wandering in our garden in a few weeks. Found some empty pigeon eggshells, and have seen a (very wobbly) nest in our willow tree. It better not storm, or who knows what will happen to that wobbly nest.

Gem at Birdfolk's avatar

Honestly surprised the species has survived with such poor nest-building skills. Fingers crossed for fledglings at the right time though!

Chantal Bourgonje's avatar

How funny, my husband and I so often say that to each other when we see the pigeons and their nest building efforts. It is certainly a miracle.