A quirky look at wildlife. To be taken with a pinch of
salt, but with more than a grain of truth!

Mulling over what I should write and getting increasingly panicky as
the deadline approached, the answer came to me as I made jam!

My last article included this line 'We need to get back our close
relationship with the land and nature' and the last couple of weeks
has seen huge concern over the quality of the food we buy and the
dreaded 'E' numbers that we ingest every day. So that line could be
a large part of the answer for parents worried about what their
children are eating.

Going back to my jam making where the idea for this article came
from, I realised that the only ingredients I was using were several
pounds (kilos) of plums (a gift!), a little water and the equivalent
weight in sugar. Oh, plus a few empty (recycled) jam jars and some
electric. After a short while I had a few jars of plum jam with a
good colour, good flavour and no additives.

Next time you visit a supermarket take a look at a few basic jars of
jam and study the ingredients list. It can be horrifying. The same
goes for chutneys, pickles, sauces and a whole raft of other 'foods'.
Often these are the foods that 'financially challenged' shoppers buy,
purely on price, and they are the ones that probably need good food
the most.

Yes, I know I am privileged to be 'retired' with time on my hands (you
cannot be serious?!?!) but it is possible to fit things like jam
making in to a busy schedule. Small quantities can be made very
successfully in a microwave if you don't have the necessary pan.

In the UK it will soon be half term, so Mums (and Dads), Grannies
and Grandads, instead of searching the papers for expensive things to
do with fractious children, do what mums used to do when times were
hard - cook! Contrary to opinion in many younger generations it is
not rocket science and there is no need for fancy ingredients, most of
which are NOT in our store cupboards whatever chefs say!

It also helps children to understand where their food really comes
from, a problem that is prevalent with youngsters. Trying out their
own culinary skills and sampling the results was a childhood joy many
older people will remember, along with licking the spoon and bowl at
the end!

'Food for Free' or almost, is still available if you look.
Blackberries, rosehips, and elderberries are still around but just
remember not to strip trees or bushes bare, leave some for the birds
and future generations. Anyone with a vegetable garden, fruit tree or
allotment usually appears glad to offload a glut of produce, which is
where much of mine comes from. I never refuse anything offered as I
can't stand waste. People often don't have the inclination to make
use of windfall apples and other fruit as it takes a little more
effort. Apples combine with many fruits to help bulk up and set jam
and they give body to chutneys. It is the peak period for all sorts
of ingredients for pickles, and a good time to 'cook early for
Christmas'. Sorry folks, but it is looming!

Taking children out where they can pick their own food on a warm sunny
September/October day is surely better for them than being stuck in
front of the TV or computer where they may be safer. It is also a
whole lot cheaper than commercial 'attractions'.

Helping to prepare mincemeat, make a Christmas pudding, or a
Christmas cake, can be such fun, and small puds etc. make good
presents for children to give to Nans and Grandads, aunts and uncles.
Again, additives are almost non existent if you make it yourselves.

Many other foods for free are out there. Some need a good level of
expertise, like mushroom picking, but dandelion leaves make a good
addition to salads, young nettle shoots make an excellent substitute
for spinach and wild horseradish is easily made in to a relish.
Obviously gloves and trousers are a good idea when picking to avoid
howls of pain, but children once again learn to take care, and to find
dock leaves to ease the pain. Beware both nettles and dandelion leaves
if you have 'waterworks' issues!! Rosehips make a wonderful syrup
which you can freeze and use throughout the winter on cereals etc.
giving a high level of vitamin C. Commercial rosehip syrup is still a
good standby for children but it is not nearly such fun and may well
have unnecessary ingredients!

I make no attempt to give recipes as there is a wealth of information
on h2g2 and people with the expertise to advise. The Internet
generally is full of such information. Now there is something useful
the children can do on wet days - research recipes and foods for free.
Oh, and don't be fooled in to thinking this is a girls only
occupation, as boys love to eat, but watch they don't pinch too many
ingredients behind your back, after you have weighed them, or your
recipes WILL fail!

Salads and vegetables can be grown in a flower garden quite easily to
give children that special experience of watching things grow.
Should you have no garden then many seeds and sprouting beans can be
cultivated on a window sill such as alfalfa, mung and haricot beans,
lentils etc. They are excellent for use in salads, soups and other
dishes. Most health food shops carry stocks of sprouting mixes, and
the attention required to grow them is well within the capabilities of
most children. And of course there is the old standby of mustard and
cress. Any leftovers will be welcomed by garden birds, and other
wildlife. Growing your own sunflowers is becoming very popular, and
will produce copious seeds for use on salads and cereals, that is if
you can get to them before the wildlife finds them. Sunflower seeds
seem to be a universal food.

Unless you are diabetic, don't worry too much about using sugar in
jam, chutneys and the like. You will find far more hidden sugar and
artificial sweeteners in commercial products than you will ever put in
your own. Artificial sweeteners are not the answer to the obesity
problem or any other health issues either. Consider this - many
artificial sweeteners were 'discovered' after post war processing of
Hitler's nerve gases produced extremely sweet cheap substances which
were then adapted for use by an unsuspecting public.

In using natural sugars and foods the fact that 'less is more'
becomes apparent. Good natural home made/grown food is more filling,
requires more chewing and works the body's digestive system more
efficiently so less stays on as excess weight. I can remember some
post war food needing so much chewing we would have been too tired to
eat any more!

Jams, chutneys and pickles stock the cupboards for weeks ahead, but
don't be surprised if they disappear very quickly! Soups can be made
and frozen ready for cold winter days. Getting used to meals that
are less highly coloured can be difficult but real, fresh fruit and
veg. will soon bring a change in thinking and a boost in good
behaviour. Ditch the 'E' numbers, forget the TV and get back to
nature.

So get out and about, change your lifestyle, and reap the benefits
of nature's harvest. Not only will humans benefit from better food
but essential insects will flourish, doing what they are good at,
pollinating your next harvest of fruit and vegetables. In turn birds
benefit and so do mammals.

Children will benefit from healthier food, they will encounter birds,
butterflies and insects for real, flourish in the fresh air and
sunshine and sleep better. Lastly they will gain a better
understanding of how this world of ours 'ticks'. Seems to me it is a
'win, win' situation for everyone, except perhaps the
supermarkets.

Websailor's Wacky Wildlife
World Archive

Websailor

20.09.07 Front Page

Back Issue Page