Flower and herb fermentation

elderflower vinegar

elderflower

elderflower

chive flower

chive flower


elderflower lemon

chive flower vinegar

honey fermented elderflower lemon ginger

chive flower vinegar

honey fermented rosemary lemon ginger

2026年5月30日 賞花惜花

細香葱花色彩紋理都精巧,似朶朶絲花,最方便用來裝飾餸菜、pizza,好看且有蒜香味。花期短,用不完今回學習浸醋,把味道色彩留下。

Elderflower 飲品是多年前英國朋友的介紹,那幽幽青香十分配合夏日天氣。自己試做才知道,一定要下足夠檸檬汁,那香氣才能散發出來,喝時不酸,好奇妙。

花多,又剪下好些浸在醋中,反正夏季常做沙律、漬物,將會有不同花香的醋可用。

自四月中野玫瑰不停開花,香氣撲鼻,花朶只盛開兩天,一向在黃昏,蜜蜂採蜜後收成花瓣,剪走花托不令其長果子,就會繼續長出花蕾,直至夏末。花瓣泡滾水,顏色和香氣都脫落,喝下有益身心。有多的風乾收藏,將來泡茶和送禮都好用。

Elderflower is blooming well, time to do my yearly honey fermented elderflower tonic, this time I added sliced non bitter lemon and ginger in the fermentation, all in one. 

Also learned to marinate elderflower in raw vinegar, well, while there is a lot of flowers around, and I use vinegar in salad and pickling, no harm in having more flavours. 

Chive flower is so pretty, delicate purple with that fine line in the middle of the petal, looks like a silk flower. I like to use them to decorate a dish and also on pizza, for the presentation and a mild onion flavour. As there are more than I can use, I infuse some in vinegar to use later. 

Rosemary is growing so well and there is more than I can cook. Already using a lot every time there is a bbq, but still can’t catch up with it’s growth. Saw this recipe of healthy tonic of rosemary, ginger and lemon syrup, instead of using sugar syrup to infuse, I use raw honey, that I have a lot too, to make a fermented version. 


In raw vinegar and in raw honey, all bottles bubbling away, satisfying my plan to have more fermented food/drink available for daily use. 

Howth seafood



Bought seafood at Howth, compared with ordering online every week, the variety here is good and fish are fresher, bright red gills. 







Among Carlingford oyster, surf clam, squid and mackerel, only the squid is disappointing. Carlingford oyster is as sweet as usual, surf clam is wonderful being very meaty, mackerel is fine but not yet oily. Squid is the tough variety, better for stewing than for bbq. 

Dublin staycation







Stayed in Dublin for a night, for a change of scene, to check out some sights in the capital and see an exhibition in Dublin Castle called Census 1926. The exhibition is interesting as it disclosed the census done 100 years ago, the first one after independence. 


The other important reason is to eat at Michelin restaurants, a lot there but very few near where I live. 













Tried D’Oulier Street in Dublin center, a 13 courses tasting dinner, tasty dishes, some dishes have really used too many ingredients, good attempt and a nice experience. 





The next morning spend the time at Howth, a peninsula north east of Dublin famous for seafood. It was bitterly cold wind, but the sea scenery is pleasant when the sun finally shine through. 

I was expecting a big market hall, but actually just a number of fish shops and restaurants. Bought some fresh looking mackerel, squid and surf clam. 








Ate at Mamo, run by a French trained Irish chef. I have to say this is one of two best cooked fish I have ev
er eaten in Ireland in the last 6 year. Just cooked, juicy meat, crispy skin, tasty sauce. 

Sprouting seeds






To supplement home grown veg in this late spring season and add variety, I bought some seeds for sprouting, cress, fenugreek and wheat germ. All germinated well and harvested in a week when the green leaves formed. Among the three, cress has the most distinct flavour, a bit spicy, nice to know there is a lot of nutrients inside these tiny sprouts. 

Venison stew in Tagline





I have a venison shoulder to stew and think of using this Moroccan pot in the oven, good for keeping moisture inside.
I make a sauce with water, miso, garlic, mix spices and herbs from Bulgaria, raisin, hazelnut, salt and date syrup. 
Bring the sauce to boil and warm all sides of the piece of meat, place in Tajine into a cold oven. Turn to 180˚C and cook for 1 hour, turn the meat over half way through. Serve with home grown salad

Butter croissant and pain au chocolate





What a pleasure to find perfectly made croissant and pain au chocolate, good balance of crispiness and bread dough texture. They are from Sunflower bakery in Limerick, they sell it at the Sunday market in our nearby town. They also make very good sourdough bread with different types of flours. Sure with such skill the owner is not Irish, but French, not a surprise. 

2026年5月25日 活躍好奇




春末,養蜂學會的新學員完成了六堂理論,開始學習照顧蜂箱。我們參與其中,幫忙打理學會的蜂箱,和解答新學員問題外,更重要是和蜂友見面,又有機會認識新學員。

住在鄉郊,車出車入,鄰居也少碰到,找個談話的人絕不容易,幾位有往來的人,都是經養蜂和陶瓷兩個興趣而認識,大家交流經驗,相處得來開始聚首。所以好珍惜這些識人的機遇。

今次的新學員中,有一位特別主動幫忙,問題多又用心聆聽,非常活躍好奇心大。這樣的個性,少是愛爾蘭人,落堂後談天,知道是隨丈夫到來才半年的美國人,沒有工作,未有朋友,在找細藝過日子,所以特別積極。

相約他們夫妻到來看我們家的養蜂安排和菜園,普通的友好活動。自己是過來人,三唔識七地來到新地方居住,最希望遇上友善的人。給予機會和時間相處,也就看看是否可交往的人物。




Chia seed compote




A small serving most days, really helps with daily transit. 

I soak chia seed for 2 hours, add some jam and yogurt for flavour and pumpkin seeds, rich with magnesium, for texture.

Kailan petioles



This is the fattest Kailan this year, with huge dark leaves. The stalk and leave parts are my favourites, while leaf petioles are hard and not that tasty. As this plant is quite big, I divided into 3 separate parts and served in 3 meals. Leaves and stem are stir-fried on their own with ginger, rice wine, tasty as such. 

The petiole part is cut into pieces, stirred with other veg and seasoned with anchovies, garlic and chilli sauce for a stronger flavour.