WW: Winter haws

(Fruit of the hawthorn [Crataegus], these often persist into winter, where they add needed colour to the soggy North Coast landscape. After the leaves fall, the tree's bare branches remain heavily decorated with thousands of these tiny scarlet apples, which, when fresh, are a welcome amendment to jams, jellies, wines, and cider.)

Appearing also on My Corner of the World.

WW: Квас из черного хлеба

(I've been making kvass [квас] more or less weekly for the past five months. This photo, from my first batch, is квас из черного хлеба, or classic rye-bread kvass. I've since made a few fruit kvasses too, but my mainstay is still the basic bread-based brew. Since that fairly blond first effort I've taken to roasting the bread hard, resulting in a dark, bitter, muddy concoction with vaguely coffee flavour. Ironically I don't like coffee, except apparently when it's kvass.)

Appearing also on My Corner of the World.

WW: Black- and raspberry wine

(Here's a bucket of wine I put up on the fridge this week, made of equal parts blackberries and raspberries frozen in summer. It'll be ready to bottle in several months, and fit to drink a year thereafter.

The kvass in the plastic soda bottle was fermented from the second press. Its crisp dryness and beautiful jewel-like colour bode well for the wine to come.)



Appearing also on My Corner of the World.

WW: Gift of my own blackberry wine

(I used to make blackberry wine every year, an activity I dearly loved. Sadly, life conspired to make the 2008 vintage my last. Last week I was rooting deep in a forgotten storage corner and came up with this: my last-ever bottle, which somehow escaped consumption.

But not for long. Brilliant Christmas gift.)