After all the “Kinging in the reign“, our “Kinging in the rain” ‘bun fight’ wasn’t the anticipated sun drenched ‘do’ that we hoped. For the oldies, quite a few poorly oldies in truth, it was a jolly, fine old ding dong! After all, they now had two coronations under their respective belts.
An endless array of hot and cold canapés, finger foods dragged into a main with loads of satellite side dishes for the fussy and not so fussy, gossiping melange. Desserts comparably. One couple arrived with a case of red, a case of white and another of white but in bright blue bottles, which all seemingly disappeared? Huzzah!
There was also (not quite sure what happened to …) the bottle of fluorescent orange coloured gin, then another from the Major whose voice boomed ‘Oh too blank sweet for us, you can use that for cooking, what!’
When I know that they are coming for ‘an event’ I plan a party for three year olds, but once they apply booze (subject to their medication and mobility) its even more mayhem.
The heavy rain departed and the evening saw quite a few outside playing shove ha’penny. On an old board, with pre decimal coins. The racket!, The vitriol! Competitiveness! Amazing! The walking stick football further ultilsed the contents of a red white and blue, balloon drop was a sight and a half.
One has learned to accept graciously and sort out the carnage at a later date, don’t cha know.
The decanter of unknown gin was indeed sweet, best to use as ‘ahem ‘cooking gin then.
I digress Magic as in Magic Michael has taken control in recent months, the gardens look immaculate, as does the compost heap. The place I find all my plants he has magic’d away.
Headline Woman seen diving through three walls of cookery books, eventually finds archaic recipe for water ice, and then proceeds to completely ignore the recipe she so eagerly sought!
Between downpours of unmitigated rainfall, I harvested some of the drenched blooms from the dark lilac that lurks by the boot room door. Its fragrance is amazing together with some lemon balm that I saved from the Magic’d compost heap. Ahh Borage. Umm coo Rose petals.
The heady fragranced lilac blooms, sprigs of lemon balm were gently washed then let to bathe and poach in a 50-50 sugar syrup, 1 cup of each. Let the sugar melt into the water on a low heat before adding the flora and leafage. Remove from the heat and allow to steep in a cool dark place.
The second batch using elderflower cordial instead of the lemon balm, it’s divine. The third ‘copped the lot’, the triple floral tipple. It’s really edgy but light and decadent. Then to add the ‘pretty’. Some borage flowers, a scratch of cucumber skin, tickle of lemon balm, flay of lemon zest and indeed some of the juice, a whiff of this, a tickle of that, made a heady fragranced liquid.
Once steeped and cooled add a decent squidge of liquid glucose, a quarter cup of the gin, if using (non-fluorescent may well be best) the glucose will stop the hard set as will the alcohol in the gin.
Once tipped into a poly bag and the laid on a flat tray in the freezer. A cursory shiggle and a moosh here and there to keep the whole thing combined and less like a brick.
Whist you’ve likely envisaged a victorian bonnet wearing Lady of the Manor affair. The next bit is a tad less ladylike. When almost frozen it received a wallop, or twain, with a rolling pin so as to break up the crystals. Note: Try not to thwack the bag to the point of decimation its sorbet not therapy. Boof! >>
Returns to the image of corseted, dirndl skirt, petticoats, lacy bonnet, flouncing through a blue bell dell whilst carrying a sunshade and trug of interesting regional flora.
Typically I’d harvested far too many flowers but couldn’t waste, so froze the lilac blossoms in a bag with a couple of spoons of fine sugar then veritably ‘thrust’ them into the freezer.
These whizzed into a lemon sorbet turned out to be the cure for all the frippery, flouncing, taffeta wearing malarky.
Light and fragrant as a pre dessert, a palette cleanser, introductory course for afternoon tea or indeed a cocktail once sprinkled with a fairy thimble of gin?
ice cream magazine 
What incredibly appealing dishes you made with the sorbet and flowers! Gorgeous photos, too ❤