Let's not forget the free food!

[ginger899]

Where I live there is so much free food at this time of year. From about the end of August through to October. Walnuts, hazelnuts, damsons, plums, apples, blackberries, mushrooms. In the Spring there's free food too, Nettles, and other plants which are yummy if cooked nicely.
But I often see all this harvest left to rot on the ground after it has fallen. Just because people are too busy driving past in cars, and don't notice it, and don't care!
Wherever you live there's going to be some lovely natural food available at the end of Summer. Let's not forget about it.
Nut burgers: (serves 2)
1 good cupful of shelled, chopped Walnuts (preferably 'green' Walnuts, when ripe from the tree. You can mix hazelnuts in with this)
1 onion, chopped fine
2 potatoes, or about a cupful of sweet potato, boiled, then mashed.
Couple of Sage leaves, chopped.
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Salt and black pepper
A little Paxo Stuffing mix, prepared to make 1/2 cupful or maybe a little more.
1/2 can of beans (either blackeye, or any other beans) drained and mashed
Mix all together in a bowl, then form into burger or rissole-shapes. Put on oiled non-stick foil, and grill. Or fry in a non stick frying pan. They are delicate to flip over so do it carefully. Cook for about 20 minutes slowly, then brown up for the last 5 minutes
*************************************************************
Blackberry brandy:
Fill a very large glass jar crammed-full with blackberries. Cover with brandy, or if you prefer, Vodka. Add a tablespoon good honey. Screw the lid tight, then keep in a warm-ish dark place for 1 month or even more. Remember to shake the bottle well at least once a day.
When ready, pour out into a bowl, and mash up the fruit to make a mush. Strain this through a muslin cloth into another bowl. Squeeze out the 'mush' through the cloth by hand, if it gets too thick to pour through. Bottle the liquid in any dark glass bottles with either corks or screw top caps.
If this is made now it will be yummy for Christmas!
WARNING: this is very potent!  Can't be drunk in very large glass fulls! ;-)

[Crochetya]

I have changed the way I cook. I go to the Produce Market here, they have frozen veggies fresh from the garden and the price is the same as the grocery store frozen section.

I never buy beans in the can except for a local cannery here. They sell redbeans cooked New Orleans style. When you need something quick these beans and good sausage makes a good meal. I always cook beans from scratch. All of them white navy, red beans, blackeyes, and field peas too. This is on the cheap. Protein for less dollars.

Oh! The wine....LOLOLOL. My mother did the same thing one year, except she put the bottle to ferment in a closet. LOLOL OH Yea! Big mistake. We  were all in the kitchen area talking and all of a sudden, we heard this loud pop. We couldn't figure it out, until my younger brother went in his room to find the red stuff all over the floor from the closet.
The end of the wine.

I

[margypops]

You know we dont have all the goodies you m,ention whre I live although its not in the desert its pretty hot, but when I lived in England My mom made everything you mention, she made blackberry wine ,it tasted like a port, one exploded and shot all over the ceiling My father ,always bad tempered, hit the roof ,literally,she made rice whiskey, plum brandy, all the jellys (Jam) you can imagine Pickles, chutney, at Christmas she made her own Plum puddings wrapped in Muslim cloth and boiled, mincemeat tarts , and trifle .The Father always had to have a Goose at Christmas and it arrived with feet and head on ...made me ill. very greasy,, pans full of Fat ...  oooo

[Dazon50]

Thank you for sharing those:-)))

You make them sound soooo good :-)))))

[ginger899]

Thanks Peek! I'll come over and check out Healthy Cooking.

Give us the recipe then.......

[peekawho]

Come put some of your lovely recipes on Healthy Cooking!  I'm still the CL over there, and I'd adore to see them.

I make a wonderful meatless meatloaf.