Dog Days of Summer, Well Preserved & Tangle Web(site)

Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
22^nd July 2023

Dog Days of Summer

I tried so hard not to mention the weather but when you spend most of your life outdoors – and your column is called Green Scene – it’s hard not to.  And whilst it’s not the easiest working out in the rain all day – or getting wet weather gear dry for the next day – I am still grateful for our July weather rather than the scorching weather they currently have in Europe. I’m sure our gardens are too.

While we have the ‘dodgy days of summer’, Europe certainly has the ‘Dog Days of Summer’.  By definition, the Dog days of Summer are the hottest and steamiest part of summer and occur from the 3^rd of July until the 11^thAugust.  Famed for muggy, sultry, conditions or ‘weather that you can wear’, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Ancient Greeks and Romans believed the ‘Dog Days’ to be a time of misfortune plagued by drought and unrest as animals and people alike were driven mad by the unbearably hot temperatures.

The phrase has nothing to do with our four-legged friends but is a reference to Sirius, the Dog Star, as during the ‘Dog Days’ period, the Sun occupies the same region of the sky as Sirius, the brightest star visible from any part of Earth and also a part of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog.

In the summer, Sirius rises and sets with the sun and is in conjunction with it on the 23^rd July. Because the star is so bright, the ancient Romans believed it gave off excessive heat and added to the sun’s warmth for the 20 days before and 20 days after the alignment.

Well Preserved

National Preserving Week is taking place next week, between 24^th July and the 1^st August, with events designed to get people preserving their own food and encouraging those that have the skills to take some time to help those that don’t.

With events like The Jam Festival, Swapcrop and various ‘Jampaigns’, people are encouraged to discover the different ways food can be preserved at home.

To preserve vegetables in olive oil, they must be cooked – grilled, roasted or blanched – and it is essential to use clean sterile jars.  The marinade consists of 2 parts olive oil to 1 part vinegar and add a little salt and pepper. The acid and salt will keep any unhealthy bacteria at bay.

The marinated vegetables must be refrigerated and will keep for 3-4 months as long as the veggies are completely submerged in the marinade liquid and there are no raw components like raw garlic or herbs. If you want to add these kind of ingredients, then make sure you use the veg within a week or 10 days.

Don’t be alarmed when the olive oil ‘hardens’ in the fridge – it’s supposed to, if your fridge is cold enough.

Or you can pickle vegetables, of course.  Just about all vegetables are suitable for pickling –including a few surprises. Fermented watermelon rinds are apparently ‘on trend’ at some fancy restaurants at the moment.  You can try it at home by peeling the dark green outer ‘skin’ from the watermelon then cut in half. Cut into wedges 2–3cm in thickness and cut away the watermelon pulp, leaving about 2mm of the fruit on the rind. Cut each slice into chunks and add to a pan of boiling salted water. Cook the rind for 4–5 minutes until just beginning to soften, drain and transfer into a clasp-top jar.

 Reuse around 775 ml of the original cooking water, add 300 ml white wine vinegar 300 g raw sugar cane, 2 tsp black peppercorns, one cinnamon stick, 25g thinly sliced and bring to the boil until all the sugar has dissolved.  Leave to cool slightly before pouring over the watermelon rind, layering with ginger and pepper, and securing the lid. Refrigerate for 48 hours before using and eat within a month.  They are supposed to be delicious with cheese, as a snack or included in sandwiches and salads.

Dehydrating fruit and veg has become more popular over the years with bespoke dehydrators making it all a lot easier.  If you are running short of counter space – or cash – you can dehydrate fruit and veg at a very low temperature in the oven.  Some air fryers can be used to dehydrate fruit and veg too – the temperature needs to be below 45 degrees centigrade and it’s best to check your own individual air fryer instruction booklet to be sure.

Fruit and vegetables that dehydrate the best include bananas, strawberries, mangoes, tomatoes sweet potatoes, courgettes and sugar snap peas.  There are plenty of recipes and directions – for all sorts of preserving – online.

Tangle Web(site)

Yogi loves her new bowl from Tangle.  Co-founders of the ‘green’ company, Sam and Xavier – who claim ‘it takes two to Tangle’ – have just added the beautiful green-marbled bowl to their other ‘paw-fect products’ made from recycled fishing nets.  Known as ‘ghost nets’, these fishing nets have been abandoned, lost or discarded in our oceans and are almost invisible in the dim light.  Often left tangled on a rocky reef or drifting in the open sea, they can entangle fish, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, dugongs, crocodiles, seabirds, crabs, and other creatures, including the occasional human diver.

Horrifically, the nets restrict movement, therefore causing starvation, laceration and infection, and suffocation in those that need to return to the surface to breathe.  It’s estimated that around 48,000 tons of ghost nets are generated each year, lingering in the oceans for a considerable time before breaking-up. Named ‘the silent killer of our seas’, nearly half of the plastic in the ocean comes from ghost fishing nets that have been discarded in the sea. These nets are often made from harsh plastics that take centuries to degrade and are killing millions of marine species every year.

Tangle is on a mission to put an end to these ghost nets from entering our oceans and killing marine life by creating a range of high-end sustainable dog accessories made from recycled fishing nets in the UK.  As you can see, Yogi is very proud to sup’paw’t this im’paw’tant mission.

You can read more, and order, at www.tanglemission.com.