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How to make life better in November - this question has been on my mind, as it seems Novembers are universally difficult months for everyone in the Northern hemisphere. When summer is gone and sweet golden hues of October are now fading away, it's difficult to find joy in this months which seems grey and dull. I've been trying to find little happy moments this November and noticing things which I failed to notice before. I also went foraging after the first frost and collected a bunch of wild rosehips for the most delicious and healthy syrup which is making my November evenings even brighter and cozier. Wild Rosehip Syrup recipe (Makes approx. 200ml) - About 460g of rosehips (which will amount to 415g once stalks and dark ends are removed) - 500ml of water 2 tablespoons - 1 tablespoon of sugar (or more to taste) - juice of quarter of a lemon Optional ingredients: Whole star anise, cloves, cinnamon, orange slices Collect wild rosehips after the first frost when they're still quite firm to touch. Cut off the stalks and black ends where the flower buds were. Put them into a saucepan and add 500ml or about a cup and a half of water. At this stage you can also add your optional spices. Boil for 30 minutes until soft and water has almost evaporated. Remove the spices if you used them. Transfer to a sieve lined with a mesh cloth in parts, squeeze out the juice with a wooden spoon into a bowl. If you let the mixture cool a bit beforehand, you can also simply squeeze the juice out by hand after placing it into a mesh cloth. Make sure no seeds get into the bowl of juice. The juice will be messy and naturally pretty thick, so you might want to protect the surrounding area. Pour it back into a clean saucepan, add sugar, lemon juice, 2 tbsp of water and boil for 5 minutes. I suggest you try it for sugar at this stage. Most recipes recommend 1or 2 cups of sugar which I find too excessive, but then again you might prefer a sweeter syrup. Try it first and then decide how much sugar you actually want. Boil your vial or glass bottle to sterilise it before you pour your syrup in. That way the syrup will last longer. Store in the fridge and once opened consume within 2-3 weeks. --- Find me on Instagram: Filming equipment: Panasonic Lumix GH5 Edited in: Adobe Premiere Pro CC Locations: Cotswolds Stow-On-The-Wold Arlington Row in Bibury
