Sky grey, dark grey, lighter grey… “What the heck, we’re off!” The strong south westerly tries its best to pull me from the slippery rungs as I descend. Bare footed I step from the ladder into cold grey slightly funky mud. Like icy worms it slips between my toes as I sink just a little and the rain that has been threatening all day decides now to come at me, sideways. Paddling across the last of the retreating water, my little man Ed and …
Just gathering up all the wonderful information to go into our new Autumn 2017 edition – if you’d like to be there, get in touch NOW! Deadline is 1st August.
For me, food is one of the most important things I have to think about every day. I am a darned good cook, creating unforgettable flavours from seasonal British ingredients everyday!! But I do get fed up of shopping, planning meals, using things up in the fridge, so like to introduce a bit of imagination to make it all much more exciting. So I mix it up, and that is where foraging kicks in and breaks the cycle. I am not some mega bearded …
Nettle has a unique and delicious flavour. No surprise then that its soups with potato, a luscious risotto, and the various flamiche recipes become favourites. This recipe concentrates the taste of the dark green fleshy leaves with the rustic flavour of toasted sunflower kernels, a soupcon of chilli heat, and the richness of a good olive oil. You could use this forager’s Nettle pesto as a base and build it up with flavours of your own: such as basil, anchovy fillets, Kalamata olives, crab …
Happy Spring, Foresters! And isn’t it a beauty? The air is warm and the skies have been perfectly blue. Birdsong fills our ears and the sent of pear blossoms is in the air. And everywhere I look… DANDELIONS! The Dandelion by Vachel Lindsay O dandelion, rich and haughty, King of village flowers! Each day is coronation time, You have no humble hours. I like to see you bring a troop To beat the blue-grass spears, To scorn the lawn-mower that would be Like fate’s …
As well as the many classes you can join at any time, like those with FitSteps, WhiteLotus and Severn Sun, Yoga and Tai Chi, or Dance Classes – Artentinian Tango or Line Dancing, we’ve also got lots of music happening on a regular basis such as Lydbrook Band & Training Bands, Singing with Kirsty Abraham and lots going on at SoundSpace, we have some courses and workshops set specifically for March: 5th – Shamanic Sunday with Mandy Pullen 7th – Forest of Dean Health …
Ow bist forest friends, and thank you to the Forest Bee for inviting me to write this monthly submission about foraging in the Forest of Dean. Each month I will feature a few of the wild ingredients available in our woods, with recipes and preserving tips you may try for yourself. I would not call myself a foraging expert but rather an enthusiast and a cook. I was born five thousand miles west of here and have spent most of my life living in …
We are now very lucky to have a team of 17 distributors helping us get the latest Forest Bee out to you quickly. If you couldn’t find a copy, let us know whereabouts you are and if there are any suitable outlets in your area that we haven’t supplied. Just email us on info@theforestbee.co.uk. Thank you, and a huge thanks goes out to all our helpers.
Yes – The Forest Bee reaches places other brochures can’t go: Schools: Dean Academy, Dene Magna, Lakers and John Kyrle in Ross, plus a few junior schools around the Forest. Doctors’ Surgeries and NHS health professionals eg nurses gave them out when doing flu jabs this winter Village Agents who support the over 50’s across the Forest, sponsored by Gloucestershire Rural Community Council. Organic Veg Boxes (Forest Food Hub, Field Fayre)Leisure Centres and Gyms Forest Voluntary Action Forum (FVAF) at Belle Vue Centre, Cinderford …
Our volunteers are getting out and about distributing the lastes edition of The Forest Bee – if you can help as well, we’d be very glad to hear from you. Cinderford, Ross, Lydney could do with a boost please?