~ A month of Haws ~

Oh beautiful October how I am loving this summery autumn you are gifting us ~ thank you*

The Rowan berries are in full orange fire
and the air is biting into an Autumn crisp;
while the light is sliding from its warm summer pink
to the cooler blue of shadowy fall.

Twice this month I have collected, simmered in cider vinegar and water, mashed and strained through a sieve, the meditative process of making hawberry ketchup. The picking and de-stalking are reminiscent of sitting as a child with my nana on her peaceful doorstep, shelling peas we had just picked from her abundant garden.

Red haws

blue sky.

A willow basket

made with love to hold 

these berries

~ little capsules of heart medicine ~

It is an excercise in patience to mash the cooked berries through a sieve, but listening to this, which makes it summer at any time of the year, and this which must surely make anyone just want to dance made it purely pleasurable. Many berries have to be picked to make up a weight of 500g which, as a ketchup fills just one bottle, but the taste is so good that it was worth the effort of doing it twice, so we could have two bottles!

I heard that if you turn the bottles upside down when you have poured in the hot sauce, it makes them self sterilize, so that is why these two are rather a sticky looking mess :~)