Page 52 - BR December 2023

December 2023 December 2023
RECIPE OF THE MONTH
Reptiles
The UK is home to six native species
Thanks to our WI members for sharing their favourites of reptiles: three lizard species and
three snake species. Of these six,
four have been recorded at Wild
Mince pies with Lemon pastry Woodbury: slow worm, common
lizard, grass snake, and adder.

Ingredients During a visit to the site back in the
 8oz plain flour ( plus summer, Rob saw a large pregnant
extra for rolling) (gravid) female adder basking in
 4oz Unsalted butter the sunshine. Returning to the same
 2 oz caster sugar spot a few weeks later, it was a
delight it was to see four juvenile
 1 lemon ( Rind adders with tiny black zig-zag patterning down their backs! It is very encouraging
grated and juice
squeezed) to have breeding adder on site. Their diet consists of lizards, small mammals, and
ground-nesting birds, of which the Wild Woodbury is home to many, so their
 1 jar of mincemeat presence is a good indicator of the abundance of prey items. Adder dispersal
 icing sugar to dust abilities can be limited and requires good habitat connectivity. It is possible that
the adders may have moved to this location from elsewhere at Wild Woodbury,

Method or they could have moved in from beyond the boundaries of the site. Either way,
it’s great that the site is showing good habitat connectivity and has an
1. Heat oven to 180 fan abundance of food for reptiles.
2. Grease your mince pie tray.
I look forward to meeting many members of the community and sharing our
3. Put the flour and cubed butter into a bowl and rub together until it wonderful site together. If you would like to get in touch, then please email me:
resembles breadcrumbs. Daisy Meadowcroft dmeadowcroft@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk
4. Add the sugar and grated rind of the lemon.

5. Then mix together with the juice of the lemon until combined into a Wild Woodbury Community Drop-in Session
ball.
6. At this stage I like to wrap the dough in cling film and rest in the 1000-1200hrs Sunday 3 December 2023
fridge for 30mins.
7. Roll out on a flour board and cut rounds, line your tray, place a At Wild Woodbury
spoonful of mincemeat in the middle then place a lid on top.
8. Make a little hole in lid for steam to escape and cook for 15-20mins. Brian Bleese, Dorset Wildlife Trust Chief Executive and
Cool on a wire tray Rob Farrington will be on hand to discuss plans for the

9. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy with cream, ice-cream, custard or Court Farm buildings, share progress on opening up land
just a cup of tea. for community open access and the wider project. Drop
in anytime between 10am and midday for a chat.

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