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Wild Garlic, Spot the Difference and Foraging Dates

Posted in Recipes, Spring, Wild Garlic, Wildcrafting on 27 March, 2015| 12 Comments »

Spring is finally in full swing here in Sussex. The sun is shining, March winds are blowing out the winter grey and lots of wonderful young edibles are popping up in the meadows and hedgerows.

Wild garlic (Allium ursinum) is one of the most delectable of these and also one of the most easily recognisable as well as being abundant in damp and shady places such as woodlands and stream edges.

A warning that is often given alongside foraging information on wild garlic is to be wary of its similarities to the leaves of Lords and Ladies or Cuckoo Pint (Arum maculatum) which often grows amongst it. The leaves can be easily camouflaged but, on closer examination, actually look quite different so getting to know the characteristics of these two plants is important for wild harvesting. 

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Spot the difference

I suspect the majority of problems arise from people picking handfuls of young leaves without too much attention to detail so it’s always good to harvest a little more mindfully and respectfully to avoid getting any unwanted hitchhikers in your basket.

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Young Wild Garlic

The leaves of wild garlic are convex, broadly lanceolate and glabrous (smooth and hairless) and have one main central vein with parallel secondary veins.

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Wild garlic – left, Lords and Ladies, – right

Lords and Ladies on the other hand has a broad arrow shaped leaf, with a more wrinkled appearance. However the mature leaf shape may not be fully present in the youngest leaves so the most important thing to notice is the difference in patterning of the veins. In Lords and Ladies they are pinnate, meaning the secondary veins are paired oppositely, emerging out to the edge of the leaf from the central vein. On close inspection they look quite different from the parallel veins of wild garlic.

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Lords and Ladies emerging

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Lords and Ladies

It also often has characteristic purple spots on the leaves though these are not always present, especially in the young leaves, so cannot be relied upon for a positive identification.

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Characteristic purple spots

Wild garlic can also be confused with the leaves of Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) before they are in flower and the two do in fact look very similar. Lily of the Valley is highly poisonous when eaten, though it is also a valuable medicine when given in the correct dosages. One of the main differences is that Lily of the Valley usually has pairs of leaves on a single stem where as wild garlic only has one. Lily of the Valley is rarer now than it used to be but it is still important to be able to recognise the differences.

The most important id feature of wild garlic is its distinctive smell which neither Lily of the Valley or Lords and Ladies have. If you have any doubts at all, leave aside the plants you are unsure of.

Below we can see wild garlic growing up amongst two poisonous neighbours. Dog mercury with the small green flowers and the larger leaves of Lords and Ladies next to it.

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Wild Garlic, Dog’s Mercery and Lords and Ladies

Alongside our usual pestos and infused vinegars I have been enjoying wild garlic cashew nut ‘cheese’ this year which is a lovely creamy treat spread on crackers or used as a sauce on pasta or millet.

Ingredients and Method:

1 cup cashew nuts (soaked in enough water to cover for at least an hour and drained)
A large handful or wild garlic leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water (you can add more to make a thinner sauce consistency)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional but adds a nice cheesy flavour)
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until combined and smooth. Store in the fridge and use within a few days.

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Wild Garlic cashew nut cheese

If you fancy picking some wild garlic with myself and Anna Richardson next month we are holding a spring greens foraging day at Wowo Campsite in East Sussex. Other dates for summer and autumn are also available.

Edible and medicinal spring greens- Saturday 25th April 10.30am – 4.30pm

Women’s Flower Day – Saturday 11th July 10.30am – 4.30pm

Autumn Wild Foods and Medicines – Saturday 19th September 10.30am – 4.30pm

You can find out more and book online here: http://www.wowo.co.uk/faq/30-services/107-anna-richardson-wild-crafts.html

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Early Spring Nettle Curry

Posted in Nettle, Recipes, Seasons, Spring on 4 March, 2013| 22 Comments »

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Despite the chilly temperatures, March is upon us and spring is most definitely on its way. Young nettles are popping up amongst the snowdrops and the first little cleavers, sweet violets and wild garlics can be seen in our wakening countryside.

As the weather is cold, I am still enjoying some of the more warming foods of winter but this is now tempered with an urge for the fresh green foods of spring. Yesterday was bright but bitter, leading me to combine my inter-seasonal desires into this tasty dish which filled our bodies and our hearts with both the wintery sustenance and the spring-like vitality that we craved.

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Nettle, Squash and Almond Curry:

Ingredients:

1 tblsp coconut oil
1 large onion
6 cloves garlic
Inch long piece ginger
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 large butternut squash
3 courgettes
1 colander fresh nettle tops
1 tin coconut milk

For the curry sauce:
1 cup blanched almonds and water for soaking
1 1/2 cups water
3 cardamom pods
2 chillies
Another inch chopped ginger
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp garam masala
Salt and pepper to taste

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See how red and rich in iron these young nettle tops are.

Method:

First soak the blanched almonds for an hour before you begin to prepare the other ingredients.

Gently fry the cumin seeds in the coconut oil for a few minutes before adding the onion, garlic and ginger. When this has begun to soften add in the cubed butternut squash and the courgette. Leave cooking on a gentle heat whilst you blend the strained, soaked almonds with the cup and a half of water and the spices and seasoning until you have a thick fragrant paste. Add to the cooking vegetables with a tin of coconut milk and stir well. Leave to cook for about 20 mins or until the vegetables are soft adding a little hot water now and again to prevent the sauce from thickening too much. When just about done, add the washed nettle tops into the pan and allow to cook down for a few minutes.

We served ours with saffron and cardamom spiced brown rice.

if you prefer something lighter, you can find some of my recipes for nettle soup here.

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I hope that, if you are here in the northern parts of the world, your spring is bringing you many blessings and that those elsewhere are also enjoying the delights of their season. Happy nettle picking!

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Simplest Rosehip Jam

Posted in Autumn, Recipes, Rose, Seasons on 5 December, 2012| 22 Comments »

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A few days ago I spent a lovely afternoon with my friend Deborah making rosehip jam from a stash that were picked last month and stored in the freezer. I noted on my walk yesterday that there are still a fair few rosehips about, though they are starting to look thin on the ground, so I thought I would share this recipe with you before it gets too late to make it. Rosehips are always better after a frost anyway and it is only in the last week that we have had hard frosts in this part of the country. If you pick your rosehips before the frost then you can always pop them in the freezer like I did to sweeten them up a little.

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To make this recipe you need only four ingredients; rosehips, half a lemon, sugar and water and the method is simplicity itself. What is a little challenging is halving and de-seeding your hips before you begin which can be a surprisingly lengthy process so make sure you have allotted a good amount of time for it and perhaps enjoy it as a relaxing task whilst listening to music or watching a film. To do this you just need to cut the stems and bases off the hips, then slice them in half and scoop out the seeds and little irritating hairs which can make your hands itch after a while.

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Method:

  • Begin by adding  just enough water to cover the de-seeded rosehips (add too much and the resulting jam will be too runny) and bringing to a slow simmer.
  • Allow them to continue simmering for about 20 minutes, mashing regularly with a potato masher.
  • You should have a nice thick pulpy liquid at the end of this time which you now want to push through a sieve. You really just want to catch all the odd seeds and hard bits of hip that inevitably get missed in the preparation, though you will end up losing a little of the pulp of course too.
  • Weigh the rosehip pulp and put it back in the pan with an equal amount of sugar and the juice of half a lemon. 1kg of rosehip pulp and 1 kg of sugar will make about 6 to 8 average sized jars.
  • Bring to a gentle boil for about 10 minutes or unti the jam has thickened to your desired consistency. Try to avoid boiling for too long though as you don’t want to destroy too much of the precious vitamin C that rosehips are so rich in.
  • Transfer the finished jam to sterilised jars and enjoy spread lavishly on your bread/ crackers of choice.

I hope you enjoy the last of the seasons wild fruits before winter tightens its grip. For more lovely jam making recipes and tips see this post on the Herbarium by Carol Church whose jams are the finest around, as I can attest from personal experience!

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Herbal Cough Syrup

Posted in Autumn, General Well-being, Home Remedies, Recipes, Seasons, Winter on 31 October, 2012| 15 Comments »

Several people I know have had a nasty cough this autumn that they are finding difficult to shift. As it seems like there is something going around, I thought I would share this herbal cough syrup recipe incase any of you are struggling with the same thing.

A syrup such as this one is lovely if your cough has both dry, tickly phases as well as wetter, more productive ones, as there are herbs here that wll address both states. As a syrup is slippery and sweet in nature though I would avoid it if your cough is very wet and you tend to be an all round damp sort of person. In this case tinctures and teas would probably suit you better.

As I have said before, don’t be put off if you don’t have all these herbs. A classic cough syrup recipe contains just liquorice and thyme herbs so you could try this if you wanted to make it more simple.

I don’t normally use a lot of sugar in the recipes I make but it does work best for this syrup unless you plan to use it all up within a couple of months and store it in the fridge, in which case honey should be fine as an alternative, sticking to equal parts raw honey to herbal liquid.

Herbal Cough Syrup:

25g Thyme leaf
25g Mullein leaf
25g Marshmallow root
25g Licorice root
25g Aniseed
25g Echinacea root
2 sticks Cinnamon

Water 1 litre
Sugar (organic soft dark brown is nicest) 750 g – 1 kg (depending on amount of liquid left after preparation.)
Peppermint EO – 8 drops (be sure you have 100% pure, preferably organic, essential oil, not fragrance oils which can be cut with all kinds of chemicals. Buy from a reputable supplier like Neal’s Yard or Materia Aromatica.)

Method:

Place the roots in a pan along with the aniseed and cinnamon sticks and cover with 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil and then turn down immediately to a gentle simmer, putting the lid on the pan to prevent too much evaporation. Simmer for 20 mins then turn off the heat and add the thyme and mullein allowing to infuse for a further 15 mins. When cooled enough to handle, strain the herbs out and measure how much liquid you have. You should be left with between 750ml and 1 litre.

Return this liquid to the pan along with an equal quantity in grams of soft dark brown sugar. So if you have 800ml liquid you will need to add 800g sugar and so on. Return to a simmer, stirring continually then remove from the heat and stir as it cools and thickens. Add in the drops of peppermint essential oil and stir well to ensure it is properly mixed in. Bottle in sterilised bottles.

You can take a tablespoon of this syrup as needed up to 8 times a day. For children younger than 12 make this a teaspoon and those between 2 and 6 a half teaspoon.

It makes a delicious mix so is a most pleasurable way to banish the season’s ailments.

Wishing you all good health!

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How To Make Herbal Infused Honeys

Posted in Herbs, Home Remedies, Medicine Making Guides, Recipes on 8 August, 2012| 32 Comments »

Thyme infused honey

After my recent post on aromatics  several people commented on the herbal honeys I mentioned which are surely one of the most delicious ways to enjoy taking herbs. Although I have talked of them often in other posts, I thought it time to focus on herbal infused honeys more specifically and explain a little more about how to make and use them.

Herbs that make lovely infused honeys include most of the aromatics- especially those with floral, spicy or herby tastes. Some of my favourites are plants that are at their best over the summer months including rose, sage, thyme, lemon balm, mint, lavender, chamomile or lime blossom. It is usually nicest to keep them plain but sometimes it works well to add a complimentary flavour, cinnamon or cardamom for example is delicious with rose petal honey.

Lemon balm in set honey

Chamomile in runny honey

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Making a herbal infused honey is very straight forward. All you need is a jar, a chopstick or spoon, some honey and your herb of choice.

You can use dried or fresh herbs. The benefit of fresh herbs is that they are softer so will be nicer if left in the honey where as dried herbs will be a bit chewy and you will therefore probably want to strain them out before eating. Also, the aromatic quality of freshly picked herbs is often much more vibrant. The drawback of fresh herbs is that they can make your honey more liquid, which is why it is good to use a thicker honey for infusing fresh herbs into.

You can use set or runny honey but if using set you’ll want to warm it in a pan of water to liquefy it before pouring. Just warm it enough to stir and pour, never overheat honey, as it will destroy the beneficial enzymes.

Always get good quality honey from a reputable supplier where you know the bees are well cared for.

Mint infused honey

Method:

First lightly pack your jar with herbs. Don’t cram the plant material in like you would if making a tincture, as you want plenty of space for the honey to go in and move around.

Next pour your honey over the top, stopping every now and then to give it a good stir. When you have fully covered all the plant material with honey, give it another stir and leave on the side for a fortnight before eating, stirring every couple of days or so to re-integrate the plant material.

If you wish to strain the plant material out then leave it for a month before straining.

For softer plant parts like rose petals or thinly sliced lemon balm leaves you can happily leave the plant material in the honey and enjoy just as it is however for tougher plants or those with bits of woody stem, you’ll probably be better of straining it out through a coarse sieve. Gently warm the jar with the infused honey in before you strain it to make sure you get the most honey out of the plant material. You can keep the spent herbs in the fridge for a few days and infuse in hot water to make sweet teas if you wish.

Give it a good stir!

Herbal honeys can be eaten as a delicious food, either alone, on bread or crackers, in salad dressings or teas or anything else you fancy. They can also be used medicinally. Though weaker than a tincture, they will still carry the medicinal qualities of the herbs and can be taken internally or used externally where they are particularly beneficial for minor wounds or burns. Lavender or chamomile are particularly nice for this purpose. Sage or thyme honeys are lovely taken for a sore throat and chamomile can soothe digestive problems that are exacerbated by anxiety. The fact that these honeys are both gentle and delicious makes them fantastic options for children, though remember that many people advise against the use of honey in children under two.

They can also be used cosmetically, either as a simple face wash or as a soothing anti-bacterial face mask. I sometimes mix a small teaspoon of honey with a little ground almonds to make a skin brightening (and delicious!) facial scrub.

Scented rose petal honey

There was also a lovely post recently on Nettlejuice about honey medicine which you can read here.

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Valentine’s Delights

Posted in Avena, Cardamom, Recipes, Rose, Teas on 11 February, 2012| 16 Comments »

Three of my all time favourite herbs are most definitely herbs of love and, with Valentine’s day just around the corner, I thought it an auspicious time to share a little more about them.

They are Avena, Rose and Cardamom, all famed for their aphrodisiac properties, but all quite different, though they do work in some similar ways.

Avena – Oats are one of the best remedies we have for building and restoring the nervous system and this makes them a wonderful love tonic as they strengthen our reserves helping to make us more resilient and energised. Although we tend to think of aphrodisiac herbs as stimulating rather than relaxing, these kind of nerve tonic herbs act to energise us in a more roundabout way, by releasing the stresses that caused our problems in the first place and getting us strong and vital once more. So many arguments are caused by being frazzled and over-sensitive, making regular doses of Avena a great relationship soother.

Rose – What need I say about the rose, the ultimate symbol of love? It is gently moving, gently stimulating, relaxing, aromatic and uplifting. It also opens the heart to allow greater self love and acceptance, something which enables us to partake more fully in any relationship, romantic or otherwise.

Cardamom – Cardamom is one of the most balanced of the spices and for me this makes it the true spice of love. It is both slightly stimulating, like most spices, as well as calming and centring. As I mentioned above, it is often a combination of stress and resulting fatigue that stops us from giving time and attention to our beloveds, so balancing herbs, like all those mentioned here, are exactly what the love doctor ordered.

All these herbs help us to feel loved in order to feel loving. They work at the meeting point of relaxation and stimulation, of uplifting and of soothing. Essentially they work from a place of balance from which all things can flower, not just love for a partner, but love for ourselves, for the wider context of people and other sentient beings and in the knowledge that there is no real difference anyway. After all, love is just love and when it is in our hearts, all will benefit from its radiance.

Here are just a few of the ways you can combine these herbs to make some deliciously delectable treats, for Valentine’s or any other day.

Tea – A simple tea of cardamom (gently crushed in a pestle and mortar), rose petals and oatstraw makes a lovely soothing and heart opening blend for drinking anytime. To make an extra special tea, add some Ashwagandha root which is a traditional adaptogen and aphrodisiac of Ayurvedic medicine. To make the tea gently simmer about half a tablespoon of ashwagandha root in a pan for about 15 mins. Turn off the heat and add the other 3 herbs leaving to steep for another 15 mins before straining and serving with a little honey. Ashwagandha can be a little bitter in flavour so the addition of the honey makes it more deliciously balanced.

Ashwagandha root and rose buds

Bath – A lovely romantic bath can be made by mixing rose petals and rolled oats with a drop or two of cardamom essential oil and tying up in a small square of muslin. Tie this around the taps as the bath is running, making sure you squeeze out all the creaminess of the oats as you go.

Honey – Infuse rose petals and cardamon seeds in honey for a delicious aromatic treat.

Massage Oil – Cardamom and rose are both divine as essential oils and a beautifully romantic massage oil can be made by combining them both with a base oil such as almond, olive or jojoba. To 50 ml base oil add 5 -10 drops each of rose and cardamom oils.

And last but not least…

The Flapjacks of Love – 
Combining oats, rose, cardamom and other delicious ingredients into a sticky sweet treat that is sure to delight anyone you serve them to.

Ingredients:
250 g rolled oats
125 g coconut oil
75 g muscovado sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
Small handful of broken up walnut or pecan pieces
1 tsp rose petals (dried is fine)
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground ashwagandha root (optional)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a baking tray ready. Mix all the ingredients well in a mixing bowl, I find it easier to melt the coconut oil first. Transfer to the baking tray and spread evenly. Cook for about 25 minutes until golden brown then remove from the oven and score into rectangles. Allow to cool thoroughly giving the coconut plenty of time to set. Enjoy with some cardamom, rose and avena tea and a small smile of satisfaction.

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Nourishing Herbal Stocks and Autumn Soups

Posted in Autumn, General Well-being, Recipes, Seasons on 29 October, 2011| 13 Comments »

A few people commented that they would like the recipe for the soup and herbal stock that featured at the end of my last post so, somewhat belatedly, here it is!

Herbal stocks are a great way of getting extra nourishment into our diets, especially at this time of year when we can use small amounts of immune supporting herbs to sneak extra medicine into our day through the most natural of all methods, our food.

When making a herbal stock I use whatever I happen to have in the cupboard so it will vary every time. This also means you can be very fluid with it and if you don’t have all the ingredients it’s no problem, you can just use one or two. This stock below had a number of different herbs in it but you could do equally as well using just echinacea root and elderberry or any of the other ingredients listed depending on your preference. You can play about with other herbs too, I remember Danielle mentioning that she uses astragalus root in her soups.

When making stock, I tend to just use herbs that I would not blend into the soup directly such as tough roots and bay leaves etc. The ginger, rosemary, chilli, powdered cinnamon and other soft ingredients I generally put straight into the soup as normal, but as this is merely a guide, feel free to play about as you feel inspired.

Herbal Stock Ingredients (for a soup to serve 4):

1 tsp Echinacea root – for boosting the immune system
1 tsp dried Elderberry – for nourishing the immune system
1 tsp dried Hawthorn berry – for supporting heart and circulation
1 tsp Burdock root – for gentle cleansing and nourishing
2 Bay leaves – for flavour and supporting digestion
4 slices dried Reishi mushroom – for nourishing the immune system (and too many other things to go into here!)

Simmer all ingredients together in about a litre of water for 20 mins approx then strain and add into your soup.

Soup Ingredients:

1 squash or small pumpkin
2 medium onions
6 cloves garlic
chunk of ginger to taste
coconut oil for frying
Herbal stock
1 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

This soup is an incredibly simple one which just involves lightly frying the onions, garlic and ginger in the  coconut oil, then chopping the squash and adding to the pan with the turmeric, salt, and pepper. Stir for a few mins then add the strained herbal stock. Simmer until the squash is soft, blend and enjoy with any number of delicious, seasonal toppings…

sprinkled with nettle seeds…

topped with steamed kale (as inspired by my friend Deborah)…

or, my personal favourite, a large helping of finely sliced mushrooms fried in a little oil and tamari.

I hope you are also enjoying lots of seasonal and nourishing goodies to keep you strong in body and mind.

 

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Simple Spring Soup

Posted in Nettle, Recipes, Seasons, Spring, Wild Garlic on 27 March, 2011| 5 Comments »

Spring is getting into full swing here in the South East and the time for indulging in copious bowls of nettle soup is upon us once more. Each year I end up with a new favourite variation on this time honoured classic of wild food cuisine and this year I’ve managed the impossible. I’ve come up with a recipe that my husband not only tolerates, but actually enjoys too.

Creamy Nettle and Broccoli Soup with Wild Garlic Oil:

Ingredients-
1 colander full of freshly picked and washed nettle tops
1 head broccoli
1 tin of cannellini beans
1 large onion or 3 shallots
3 cloves of garlic
Tablespoon olive oil
squeeze of lemon juice
stock and seasoning to taste
Wild garlic oil (and leaves if available) to garnish

This is such a quick and simple soup but the texture and flavours make it feel both nourishing and fulfilling. Begin by lightly frying the onion and garlic in the olive oil until softened but not brown. Add the stock, cannellini beans (pre-cooked) and broccoli to the pan and cook until broccoli is tender. Add the nettle tops and a squeeze of lemon and cook for a few minutes until the nettles are wilted and soft. Add seasoning to taste and blend to a thick and creamy consistency. Garnish with a drizzle of wild garlic oil and, if available, some freshly chopped wild garlic leaves and violet flowers.

To make the wild garlic oil you simply lightly pack your blender with freshly picked wild garlic leaves and add somewhere in the region of 250ml virgin olive oil. Blend until you have an almost smooth vibrant green oil. This will last a couple of weeks in the fridge and can be added to soups, salad dressings or smeared on crackers. I always add it at the end though as wild garlic looses much of its flavour when cooked.

You can read my last year’s nettle soup recipes here and my recipe for wild garlic pesto here.

I hope  those of you in the Northern hemisphere are enjoying your spring bounties too.

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Elderberry Recipes for Health and for Pleasure

Posted in Autumn, Elder, Home Remedies, Medicine Making Guides, Recipes, Seasons on 12 September, 2010| 18 Comments »

Elderberries

I’ve managed a few elderberry harvests in the last couple of weeks and have been mixing up some different syrups and other medicinal and delectable preparations. Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is one of our most important herbs at this time of year as both a treatment and preventative for autumn and winter colds and flus.

Harvesting Elderberries

Collect  your elderberries when they are ripe and a deep purple/black, remembering of course to ask the Elder Mother’s permission first. When you get home, strip them from the stems and discard any that are still green or red as well as any that have shrived. Elderberries should be cooked before ingesting as they can be laxative and emetic when eaten raw.

Ripe Black Berries

Discard the unripe berries

Elderberry Syrups

I have made a variety of different elderberry syrups this year with different healing properties emphasised in each one. The basic method for all the syrups is the same and is as follows:

  1. Place 2 cups of elderberries in a pan with 2 cups fresh water and whichever additional herbs you are using (see below for variations.) Simmer gently for about 30mins with the lid off until the water has reduced to about half it’s original amount and the berries have released all their juice. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
  2. When cool, strain through a jelly bag into a measuring jug.
  3. Add approximately the same quantity of raw honey to the elderberry juice and stir until dissolved. You can use less honey but the mixture will not last so long.
  4. Bottle in sterilised preserving bottles and label. Store in the fridge.

Making Different Syrups

Simmering Elderberries

Deliciously gruesome!

During the first stage you can add different herbs according to your preference. I added a handful of fresh thyme and hyssop to my first batch to make a syrup that is particularly effective for winter ailments that affect the respiratory system. My next batch included orange peel and cloves to make a Vitamin C rich, anti-microbial blend that will also ease the digestion. Cardamom and ginger added to the next batch are warming and stimulating to sluggish winter circulation. Finally I simmered a batch of elderberries on their own and added 12 pink rosebuds when I turned it off the heat. I let these infuse whilst the mixture cooled and added half the quantity of linden blossom honey (I used less so as not to overpower the beautiful and delicate rose flavour) to make a divinely comforting blend for grey days which also encourages a healthy heart. As I mentioned before this syrup won’t last as long as the others but it’s so delicious I don’t think it will be hanging around for long anyway! In the fridge these syrups should last 3/4 months, slightly less for the rose one.

Syrups can be taken directly off the spoon, added to hot or cold drinks, drizzled on porridge, added to smoothies or any other way that takes your fancy.

Sugar vs. Honey? Most traditional syrup recipes use sugar instead of honey and heat the elderberry juice a second time after adding it to make a thicker syrup. The advantages of this are that it will last longer, potentially the whole year until the next harvest comes round, and that it’s much cheaper- raw honey can get a bit pricey in large quantities. The downsides of course are that sugar does not contain the medicinal benefits of raw honey which is antibacterial and rich in antioxidants and enzymes. In fact, sugar can act to deplete the immune system and many people in today’s sweet-crazed society already have imbalances caused from an excess. Still if you want to make large quantities that will last, it’s pretty much the only option and the damaging effects won’t out way the benefits of the elderberries.

Elderberry Elixir

If you want a long lasting and delicious preparation that warms your wintery cockles then this could be the one for you. I go to town a bit on my elixir, making it with a combination of port and brandy, local raw honey and warming spices. When i was at university I was introduced by a friend to the winning combination of port and brandy as the ultimate cure for colds and flus. Nowadays I tend to turn to herbs first but I still respect these warming alcohols for driving out the cold and the ache. That’s why I combine them with the elderberries and the warming spices from another of my favourite beverages, Chai. For me, this blend is the ultimate winter warming wonder recipe. Take a tablespoon in a small glass of warm water each evening as a preventative or take half a teaspoon every couple of hours at the first sign of infection.

Elixir Magic

To make it mostly fill a jar with freshly picked elderberries. Give them a wash and quick dry on some kitchen towel first as the natural yeasts present on the berries can cause this to ferment and ooze out of the jar if you aren’t careful. Add one cinnamon stick, broken into pieces, 8 thin slices of fresh ginger and then 12 cloves, 12 black peppercorns and 20 cardamom pods lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle. Add brandy until 1/3 jar is filled with liquid, then add 1/3 port and top the final third up with honey. Stir everything thoroughly with a bamboo chopstick or glass stirring rod. Lid, label and store out of direct sunlight, somewhere cool and dry for a month to six weeks before straining and rebottling. I like to hold the jar between my hands every few days and add some energy healing to the mix.

Elderberry Tincture

This  can be made very simply by filling a jar with elderberries and covering with vodka, lidding, then allowing to sit for a month stirring occasionally, before straining and re-bottling. This will last at least the year and has the advantage of being easily added to blends of other herbs.

Elderberry, Blackberry and Apple Autumn Crumble

Add some elderberries into your favourite crumble recipe to give your immune system a boost and lend a lovely tang to the other fruit. I made this one with cooking apples, blackberries and elderberries with a few dates to sweeten it. The topping was made from oats, ground almonds, seeds and pecan nuts with a few more chopped dates and some ground cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and vanilla powders. Scrumptious.

Elderberry, Blackberry and Apple Crumble

Elderberries can also be dried or frozen to make into teas or add to other preparations later in the season. I’ve had lots of fun creating delicious elderberry concoctions this autumn and I’ve enjoyed reading about other people’s adventures with elder too. Some posts from other bloggers I’ve been enjoying over the last few weeks include a lovely one over at Nettlejuice which you can read here. This one here from Moment to Moment which is full of beautiful photos. And this one here from Sensory Herbcraft which has an alternative syrup recipe using sugar.

Update: I’ve just read this post over at the delightful Teacup Chronicles which is full of great information on elderberries and some lovely reflections.

Enjoy!

Elderberry Medicine Chest

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Improvised Herbal Pestos

Posted in Recipes on 31 August, 2010| 2 Comments »

We tend to think of Basil as the herb of choice for pesto making and it certainly makes a delicious dish. The more adventurous of us pick wild garlic in Spring or chickweed through much of the year to make alternative, and equally yummy, versions but herbal pestos can actually be made from just about any tasty culinary herb.

As anyone who knows me can attest, sometimes I lean towards the disorganised, and on days when I’ve forgotten to get food in for dinner this is one of my handiest recipes. I like to call it, ‘make something out of nothing pesto’ or simply ‘random pesto’. It’s never quite the same as it depends on which herbs are looking good in the garden at any given time but it usually involves a small handful each of three, four or even five different herbs. It’s nice to nip out with your gardening scissors and snip a bit of each herb knowing they will all fuse together into a delicious alchemy of flavours.

Pesto and sprouts on spelt

Last night I made a beautiful and strongly flavoured pesto from sage, oregano and basil with the usual garlic, olive oil and nuts of choice, in this case cashews. I’m a big fan of adding a sprig of rosemary and a few chives to my pestos as well as a pinch of salt and pepper.

You can use just about any herb that you like the taste of. Lovage and parsley are nice with chives. Marjoram and thyme work well with basil and a little bit of mint (don’t over do it or it’ll end up tasting like mint sauce!). In spring a few nettles make a nutritious addition, though do of course make sure they’re well blended before eating them.

Whilst pine nuts are particularly good, they seem to have been vastly expensive this year so I’ve tended to use other nuts and seeds or a mixture of whatever happens to be in the cupboard. Cashews, pecans and walnuts are all first rate, as long as the walnuts are young and fresh without the bitterness that develops as they age.

And don’t just have it on pasta. It’s lovely on salads, crackers, bread, baked potatoes or added to other dishes to increase flavour.

See here for my recipe for wild garlic pesto, posted earlier in the year.

What are your favourite pesto ingredients? I’d love to hear!

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