After foraging for chickweed make this super tasty chickweed pesto! Chickweed is a very nutritious wild green and this pesto is a delicious way to enjoy it.
Decadent and divine. this creamy nettle soup is so worth the effort and a few stings!
The invasive species also happens to be medicinal and delicious! In this post we talk about identification, harvesting, and eating Japanese knotweed!
It's that time of year to go foraging for blackberries, the ultimate plant for beginning foragers with tasty berries and medicinal leaves.
Lambsquarters (Chenopodium album) is a fast growing wild weed that's easy to find and identify worldwide. Also known as wild spinach, the leaves are tender, sweet and delicious. Since it's a close relative to cultivated
These inspiring spruce tip recipes will help you make the most of this ephemeral foraged food. Spruce tip syrup, pesto, ice cream & more!
Enjoy this basic recipe for Pickled Cattail Shoots taken from the book, Wildcrafted Vinegars by Pascal Baudar.
Fiddleheads are a delicious Spring delicacy when properly cleaned and cooked. They are a great wild vegetable served with meats and seafood!
Make this refreshing nettle iced tea with foraged stinging nettles!
This recipe for pine bark bread comes from Sweden and uses the outer bark of a pine tree ground into a fine flour. The resulting bread is more like what most people would consider crackers.
There are many amazing and unique ways to use fiddleheads. Here are 10 fiddlehead recipes for when you have an abundance of this awesome wild plant!
This rich and creamy vegan soup is a spring delicacy with the fresh flavour of wild garlic.
Decadent and divine. this creamy nettle soup is so worth the effort and a few stings!
Edible wild plants include more than just the occasional harvest of wild blackberries and dandelion greens. Serious foragers seek out all manner of unique edible wild foods, from greens and herbs, to berries, roots, bark,
Stinging nettle is a highly nutritious edible and medicinal plant with many benefits. Here are some delicious stinging nettle recipes!
Pine bark cookies happened more or less by accident in my kitchen. I know, you say, how can you just happen to make pine bark cookies? Well, let me explain.
After foraging for chickweed make this super tasty chickweed pesto! Chickweed is a very nutritious wild green and this pesto is a delicious way to enjoy it.
Some of the most nutrient-rich foods can be gathered for free in your yard or neighborhood. Check out the many edible wild greens you can forage!
Learn about the identifying characteristics of red clover (Trifolium pratense), its health benefits, and how to make a simple foraged red clover recipe: wild tabbouleh.
Take the harvest basket out to enjoy the outdoors and early spring foraging for food and medicine to fill the pantry and medicine cabinet.
We were so excited to finally have enough dandelions blooming so we could harvest some to make a batch of these delicious dandelion muffins! The first dandelions of the season started blooming a few weeks
Foraging seasonal wild foods is an exciting and nourishing way to celebrate the turnings of the year—one that connects us to our ancestral stories of sustenance. Each season offers something unique, perfectly timed to nourish the cycles of life.
Stinging nettle is a highly nutritious edible and medicinal plant with many benefits. Here are some delicious stinging nettle recipes!
By Mel Evans Today I am going to share with you a simple Spring recipe using foraged ingredients. We love making Stinging Nettle and Wild Garlic Fritters in the woods at this time of year and below are some of the comments we have had from children about them;- They look disgusting, but they a
Elderberry flowers are in bloom through the middle of June! Elderflower fritters are a fun and delicious way to eat wild right from your yard!
Yes, you can eat maple seeds! Roasted Maple Seeds are a unique and healthy seasonal treat that are fun to forager for, as they are often in your own yard.
Hummus is and always will be my everything. I am eating is almost every day, either as the classical dip or I put it on sandwiches. Sometimes I also tend to just stick a spoon into one of the colourful mason jars that I always have waiting for me in the fridge. It actually happens embarrassingly often since it is a very nice post workout snack. That only applies though when you made it yourself and it is free from excessive amounts of oil and other unnecessary ingredients. This brightly coloured wild garlic hummus takes healthy eating to a whole new level since
It always delights me that stinging nettles with their vicious sting can be tamed and made into something delicious. Nettle soup tastes as though it should be doing you good, sautéed nettles even m…
Eat Wild - and it will transform you I believe the plants that grow wild in their perfect habitat hold an energy that is more powerful than agriculturally grown food. When we consume the wild, the energy of the land releases into our cells and profoundly connects us to the earth in a most natural and healthy way. Eat Wild and see how your body awakens to the land I've been foraging and collecting wild herbs and food for a few years. Eat Wild has grown out of a love to share a little of what I have learned. Foraging and recipe guide to get you on your way. FIRST RULE of foraging: Never pick where the plant isn't in abundance, and don't take more than you'll eat. Printed from an original pen and ink illustration onto FSC certified 100% recycled paper using veg based inks in Bristol UK. A3 (29.7x42cm)
Cookies are comfort food at its best, but how do you make cookies with 100% wild ingredients? Here's how to make cookies after the zombie apocalypse hits. A few years back I remember running across
These inspiring spruce tip recipes will help you make the most of this ephemeral foraged food. Spruce tip syrup, pesto, ice cream & more!
Springtime is meant for nourishing our bodies with the lovely abundance from Mother Earth. This nettle pesto with dandelion greens uses some plants, which are considered weeds for a nourishing, delicious pesto you can enjoy year-round!
I love, love, love foraging for wild greens from spring til fall. It makes my heart so happy to hunt for backyard edibles, then use them in delicious recipes that unknowing tasters think are delicious. It’s like fermentation or bread baking for me— I get on a foraging kick and just can’t stop! My yard […]
Got some daylilies taking over your garden? Instead of weeding them out, try eating them instead! A common vegetable in China and Japan, the daylily is more than a pretty flower. These wild plants are easy to forage and packed with flavor that will serve as a perfect addition to seasonal recipes. Before trying them,
Lately I've spoken to several friends in the New England area and have been reminded of one of the many reasons we decided to move to West Virginia, those warm early springs. So while there's still snow at our old home in New Hampshire springtime foraging is really in full swing here. There's ramps, may
Did you know invasive garlic mustard is extremely tasty? Here's what to know about foraging and using this invasive plant, plus recipes! #foraging #invasiveplants #garlicmustard
Spring is a great time for foraging! Learn what to forage in spring with this list of 20 edible and medicinal plants and fungi. Spring foraging is fun!
Our backyard was overflowing with violets, so I thought I would try this awesome Violet Jelly recipe from Bakers Brigade. Of course I'd heard of Dandelion Jelly, but I hadn't seen a recipe for Violet Jelly before. I was really interested in the "magical color change" this food blogger spoke about. After collecting violets in a jar, you pour boiling water onto them. Then let the jar sit overnight to infuse and create a lovely sapphire blue "tea". When you strain out the flowers and add lemon juice, the dark blue tea turns purple. WOW! Just take a look at Bakers Brigade's cool color changing video or our time-lapse video. A post shared by Alison (@canning_crafts) on Apr 26, 2017 at 6:45am PDT Violet Jelly (makes approximately 4-half pint jars) 1 pint violet flowers (approx. 2 cups) 2 tablespoons lemon juice 4 cups sugar (*see low sugar recipe note below) 3 oz. liquid pectin Collect a mason jar pint full of violet flowers. Pour boiling water into the jar of flowers. Gently press the violets to release any air bubbles. Cover the jar and keep out of the sun for 24 hours. By the next day, the violet “tea” will be sapphire blue. The next day, strain your violets through a colander lined with a coffee filter or paper towel. I also squeeze the flowers to release all the juices. You will need 2 cups of liquid, so you may need to add a little more water to the violet tea. Mix the tea and lemon juice in a large pot. At this point, you will see the dark blue tea turn purple. Oooooh aaahhhh. Magic! Bring the liquid to a boil and continue to boil for one minute. Add sugar and pectin, then bring to a hard boil one more minute. Turn the heat off and skim the top of the jelly if needed. Pour into sterilized mason jars. Makes approximately 4 half pints of jelly. Let cool and store in the fridge. Note: You could process the jars in a water bath to make them shelf stable, however, you would need to collect an awful lot of violets to make processing them worth it in my opinion. I’ve always just gotten enough violets for a few half pint jars at a time. Low-Sugar Recipe: Pomona's Pectin has a low-sugar Violet Jelly recipe. I recently tried this recipe and it tastes great! Pomona's pectin is a 2-part pectin that uses calcium water that allows you to drastically reduce the amount of sugar in jam and jelly recipes. Some Pomona's Pectin recipes reduce the sugar by 50% over a traditional recipe. So if you want to reduce sugar in pectin recipes, this is a good option. Our Cottage Chic Flower oval jar labels fit quilted canning jars, perfect for flower jelly! The resulting jelly is very sweet with a subtle floral taste. And the color is simply amazing! Who knew flowers could taste so good? If you have an abundance of these beautiful purple flowers in your yard, go pick them now! Violets are unlike dandelions, they won't last all season in your yard. Wild violets are typically found May through June in most areas (zones 3 through 9). Shop for Floral Canning Labels to decorate your jam & jelly jars. If you don't want to make jelly, you'll be happy to know there are plenty of other violet recipes to try. Violet Recipes: Sweet Violet Syrup Candied Violets Violet Sugar Violet Jam Violet Jelly Violet Muffins with Violet Sugar Violet Vinegar Violet Salad Violet Leaf Tea Violet Lemonade Recipe The process is pretty simple for violet lemonade. Spend hours collecting tiny violets in a mason jar, steep with hot water, strain out flowers, then add lemon juice. While it's back breaking collecting so many teeny-weeny flowers, it's worth it to witness the "magical" color change. After soaking the flowers overnight, the resulting liquid is a lovely sapphire blue. But once you add lemon juice to the strained solution, it turns purple. Ooooo aaaahhhh. Magic. I tested two batches of violet lemonade. For the first batch, I filled a pint mason jar HALF full of flowers. The second batch had a mason jar packed FULL of violets which resulted in a much darker navy blue color. I used one large fresh squeezed lemon and added several tablespoons of raw sugar. But wait, the color change is NOT magic. It's SCIENCE! You all know I like science. So WHY does the liquid change from blue to purple? It’s a basic acid/base chemical reaction. The anthocyanins (color pigments) in the violets (the base) are reacting to the lower pH from the lemon juice (the acid). oooooo SCIENCE! Violets have always been seen to have medicinal and even mystical properties. In the 10th century tome “Macer’s Herbal”, violets are noted to be powerful to combat “wykked sperytis”. 👻 Part of the mysticism surrounding them comes from their extract turning from dark purple to magenta when combined with lemon juice. Witness the magical & scientific color changing video below. Mwahahaha. Violet Lemonade Ice Cubes Recipe: When life gives you violet lemonade, you should make violet lemonade ice cubes! These tri-colored ice cubes are like a beautiful watercolor painting. It just takes a little patience to make the cubes because you have to freeze them in steps. You’ll need equal parts of blue violet water tincture and violet lemonade. To Make the Violet Lemonade: Add boiling water to a mason jar full of violet flowers. For the darkest blue water, steep overnight in refrigerator. Strain flowers from the blue violet water. Divide the blue violet water into two separate mason jars. Add lemon juice to ONE of the blue mason jars. The blue water will magically turn purple. Watch our color changing video. Oooooh Ahhhhh. Optional: Add a little sugar to the lemonade mix. To Make the Violet Lemonade Ice Cubes: Freeze violet flowers in ice cube trays with a small amount of water, about 1/4 inch. Make sure they are completely frozen before moving on to step 2. Remove ice cube tray from freezer and add about 1/4 inch of violet lemonade. Put in freezer until completely frozen again. Remove tray from freezer and add about 1/4 inch of blue violet water. Put in freezer until completely frozen again. Once the cubes are fully frozen, add them to violet lemonade, water, or other beverages. Violet Infused Vinegar Recipes I tested three different violet infused vinegars. For each, I filled a mason jar half full of violets. Then I filled each jar with a different vinegar. I used plain white vinegar, white rice vinegar, and a white wine vinegar. I added a piece of parchment paper under my metal rings so the vinegar didn't react with the metal. I then stored the jars in a cool dark place for a week. After a week or two, strain the violets from the vinegar. Each vinegar turned a lovely pinkish color from the violets. I'll make salad dressings with these colorful vinegars later this spring. Wild Violet Lemon Cookie Recipe Our Wild Violet Flower Lemon cookies are a real head turner! They are also a fun project for kids to help make. If you have an abundance of wild violet flowers in your yard, give this fun and healthy recipe a try. It will wow your friends and keep your kids busy in the yard. Read our blog post to get the Wild Violet Lemon Cookie recipe. Violet Salad You don't need a "fancy" recipe to eat violets. Besides eating them in jelly, cookies, or vinegar, you can eat the fresh in salads. Fix up any basic salad by topping it off with a sprinkle of fresh violets and a sweet vinaigrette. Nutritional Benefits of Wild Violets: So why eat violets? Well, they have fantastic health benefits much like dandelions. According to The Herbal Academy, violets have been used to treat: coughing and bronchitis colds and sore throats cystitis rheumatic complaints, reduce inflammation eczema psoriasis acne cradle cap for babies and even cancer! Violets have ample Vitamin C and A as well as other vitamins and minerals. Violet leaves are also sold as a supplement. Harvesting Wild Violets: There are 40-50 violet species in the US according to The Herbal Academy. Here's another handy website to help identify violet species. The medicinal properties of most wild violet species are interchangeable. They are NOT to be confused with the African Violet houseplant which will make you sick if eaten. Wild violets are typically found May through June in most areas (zones 3 through 9). Much like foraging for other edibles, be sure to harvest in areas free of pesticides. Avoid flowers in yards where pets may go to the bathroom as well. Harvest flowers and use fresh soon after picking or dry for later use. Our Cottage Chic Flower canning labels look great on any flower jam or jelly jars! Want to know more about eating flowers! Read our Using Dandelions as Food & Medicine blog post. Sign up for our newsletter to get more gardening tips, product updates, & a 10% off coupon on your first order of canning labels in our shop. Follow our Foraged Food & Wild Edibles Recipes Pinterest Board Have you ever made Violet Jelly or other flower recipes? If so, we'd love to hear about your foraging & cooking experiences in the comments blow.
Dandelion greens have made their way into the supermarket, but what about the roots? Dandelion roots are both nutritious and edible. They can be foraged in the early spring before the plants send up flower
Ever wondered, can you eat pine cones? Here's what you need to know about foraging and using edible pine cones.
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A ice cream crafted from all things ethereal. Sweet, alluring, even magical -- this is an ice cream to transport you to dreamland. This would be a wonderful way to use infused honey.
Chicken of the Woods mushrooms are incredibly common in the woods, and they're commonly found at farmer's markets and specialty stores. Wild mushrooms are only just beginning to become a part of American culinary traditions,
A delicate floral syrup of a beautiful purple color to give a summery twist to your cocktails, iced teas and coffee drinks or simply to use on top of your morning pancake or waffles.
Where we live right now is not my idea of a homestead. We're in the suburbs, next to a major highway on 1/3 of an acre of compacted clay. We've had to truck in top
