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Another weed recipe: home made sauerkraut with wild edibles

30/1/2013

Yes. It is alive. And it's not the X-files in a jar, it's a bubbling and fermenting patch of my experimental wild sauerkraut. And it was SO good!

Here's what you need:
1 head of white cabbage
1/4 head of red cabbage
2 tablespoons of common hogweed seed
2 tablespoons of dried stinging nettles
2 tablespoons of juniper berries
1,5 tablespoon sea salt

Other materials:
clean glass jar
bowl
stones (maybe you want to boil them for a while to make sure they are clean)

Chop all of the cabbage, place in a large bowl and add the salt and wild herbs. Now, give your cabbage a little massage. Let stand for about 30 minutes, this allows some of the juices to come out.

Fill a glass jar with the mixture, firmly pressing down every layer of material with your fist. You'll be simply amazed at how much juice will be released, and how much cabbage can fit in one jar! When the jar is filled, take some stones and cover the cabbage mixture with these, so that everything is pressed down. This will force more juice to come out. Eventually (after 2 to 24 hours) , the brine level will be higher than the cabbage. Then you can close the jar and let it ferment.

Take a daily look at it; you'll see there is something going on there. Bubbles, maybe a little foam, some noises. These are the good bacteria doing their job. After a few days, taste a bit of your batch. Some people like this fermented for a long time, others don't. Warm weather will speed up the fermentation process and cold weather will slow it down.
Looking for more fermentation inspiration? Visit Sandor Katz's website.

And why again should we ferment?

Because it's a low-cost, natural and easy way to preserve food
Because it boosts the available nutrients (did you know that sauerkraut contains more vitamin C than unfermented cabbage? That's exactly why it was a lifesaver on long sea journeys).
Because it's good for your guts: our intestinal flora LOVES these lactobacilli that are abundantly present in fermented foods.
Because it's always an experiment, and -come on, just admit it!- we all have a secret crazy scientist living in us.

Hmmm... and next year I want to try this with some Queen Anne's Lace (wild carrot).
What about you? What wild kitchen experiments have you been doing lately?

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How to make a winter drink from wild dried elderberries. Or: sugar free elderberry syrup alternatives, part 2

22/1/2013

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If you are a first-time visitor, please be sure to like us on Facebook and receive our exciting and inspirational tutorials on wild edibles and foraging!

We've already discussed another way of making sugar free elderberry syrup, using elderberry juice, but this time we'll try something else. Every year I dry quite a few handfuls of elderberries - they are easy and compact to take with you when you travel. And they have a long shelf life, at least until you have new elderberries the next year. With these dried elderberries you can make another wild elixir that gives your immune system just that little kick it may need.

Put your dried elderberries in a pan with water (I use about 2 cups of water for 5 teaspoons of dried berries). If you feel like it, add a few slices of (organic) lemon and bring to a boil (I explained in my other elderberry post why boiling the berries is a vital step). Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Watch the colour come out and then close your eyes and notice how your kitchen smells like a magic elderberry forest.

Strain and drink. We like this just the way it is, but some people like it sweeter than that. You could add stevia leaves to the brew, or raisins, or some dried apple. Or add a teaspoon of honey in the end.

Another idea is to add some cinnamon sticks, orange slices and dried apple slices. I've done so in the past and it makes a great alcohol-free Glühwein alternative.

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Foraging in winter: how to eat wild edible plants when it's snowing - 5 tips

16/1/2013

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Snow. You know it has fallen before you even opened the curtains. The silence. The light. Snow is the ultimate language of winter, the language of slowing down, becoming silent, of being where we are, of playfulness too.

But what about foraging? Does a winter with snow make the forager suffer from withdrawal symptoms? And how can you deal with those seasonal challenges?

Here are 5 tips for eating wild plant foods in winter, even when it's snowing:

Dry: a majority of the wild plants can be dried rather easily. Harvest some extras during the abundant time of spring, summer and fall. Hang wild greens in small bundles to dry, place flowers and fruits on a drying rack and hang stems with seeds upside down, wrapped in a paper bag (that will catch the dried seeds).
Ferment: my other favourite way of storing wild plant foods. Instead of losing vitamins during the process, more vitamins will be formed (did you know that sauerkraut contains a lot more vitamin C than fresh cabbage?), plus gut-friendly lactobacilli. Chop and cover with salted water (approximately 1 1/3 tablespoons of salt per kg wild vegetables) and wait. Wild seeds and greens are also a great addiction to home made sauerkraut. I strongly recommend Sandor Katz's Wild Fermentation book and website for inspiration.
Freeze: Though I hardly use this technique myself, it's worth mentioning, especially for those plants that lose a lot of aroma when dried. When you take them out of the freezer, they may look unsexy, but they still do a good job in the kitchen.
Vinegar: explore your kitchen cupboards at this time of the year, and get all excited about the elder flower or rose petal infused apple cider vinegar you just found. Spring/summer in a bottle!
Roots: dig for them on moments the soil isn't frozen. They are highly nutritious at this time of the year, and exactly what your body needs now. Use them fresh or dried, and use them creatively, they may hold more possibilities than you think at first.
Dig under the snow: ok, maybe this is for the hardcore foragers, but I've had occasions that -though there was enough food in the house- my wild self took over and started digging. Though most plants will look a bit wilted when you bring them in, a lot of greens are still very much ok that way. Keep some home made seabuckthorn salve at hand though when you are like me and like to do things barehand. It brings great relief in case of frostbite.
Plan and dream: hang in there, and enjoy winter. Experience it fully, because before you know it, it'll be spring again. And isn't this the perfect time to think about new foraging projects? What wild edible do you absolutely want to taste in the upcoming year?

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Weed recipe: wild root chai with yellow dock root, wood avens and mulberries

10/1/2013

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The idea came up when I was harvesting wood avens roots and yellow dock roots. I got seduced by their aromatic scents.
I always have a hard time describing the scent and flavour of roots. Mostly earthy, some with a hint of sweetness (like yellow dock) or spicyness (like wood avens - somewhere between cloves and cinnamon). And even though it's a rather warm January, there's nothing like a warming cup of chai in the winter, is there?

Does it get more intimate than this, foraging? Digging up deep roots, burying our hands into the soil, slowly feeling with our fingers how the roots are growing and then slowly slowly, dig them up. Carefully. It's an exercise in being humble, as we need to kneel down for this work and get dirty. This is not the time of the year when we pick what the earth grows, no, this time we are directly in contact with the earth.

Even though the green parts of the plant we can see, are wilted or dead, the plants are still very much alive, and very powerful. Things aren't always what they seem in the first place.

Here's my Wild Root Chai recipe:

2 yellow dock roots (Rumex crispus, aka curly dock)
Dutch: Krulzuring - French: Oseille crépue - German: Krause Ampfer - Italian: Lapazio, Romice - Spanish: Rumex crispus

2 wood avens roots (Geum urbanum, aka bennet's root, old man's whiskers, colewort, cloveroot, St. Benedict's herb)
Dutch: Gewoon nagelkruid - French: Benoîte commune - German: Echte/Gemeine Nelkenwurz - Italian: Cariofillata, Erba benedetta - Spanish: Hierba de San Benito
a handful of dried white mulberries (Morus alba) Dutch: Witte moerbei - French: Mûrier blanc - German: Weiße Maulbeere - Italian: Gelso bianco - Spanish: Morera blanca)
two sticks of cinnamon
a piece of fresh ginger root (quite large)
a tablespoon green tea or dried wood avens greens
optional: some black pepper
1 l water (that's 4 cups)

Bring the water with all the other ingredients to a boil. Then wrap your cooking pot (lid on) in a warm blanket and let simmer for a while. After 10 to 30 minutes (depending how strong you want this to be), take of the lid. You'll see the water become darker, and the aromas will hit your nose. Strain.

Drink as it is (if you love intense bitter) or preferably: serve with some honey and home made almond milk, and notice how this one cup in your hands has all the four elements of nature: earth (the roots), water, fire (used to heat the water) and air (see that damp swirl from your cup?). Enjoy.

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Weed recipe: white dead-nettle soup

1/1/2013

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Part of our New Year Day's lunch today:

For those of you who think wild greens are out of season: think again! They may be a bit tougher and less suitable for salads, but this soup was a great way to have the white dead-nettles we picked. And a wonderful, green wild way to start the new year.

And here's my challenge for you in 2013: eat something wild on a regular basis. When I started my journey as a herbalist, I set myself the goal of eating something wild at least twice a month. What can I say - I fell in love and now I eat wild edible plants on a daily basis. I can't imagine having to miss them!

~Lamium album~
English: White Nettle, White Dead-nettle (it looks like nettle but doesn't sting)
Dutch: Witte Dovenetel
French: Ortie Blanche, Lamier Blanc
German: Weiße Taubnessel

Here's what you need to make this simple yet delicious soup:

two big handfuls of white dead-nettle
some white dead-nettle flowers for decoration
optional: some other wild greens like dandelion leaves, yellow dock and stinging nettle. We used all of these (the stinging nettle was dried, from the pantry), but you can omit all of them.
2 big onions
3 cloves of garlic
1,5 l vegetable stock
some olive oil

Heat the olive oil, toss in the chopped onions and garlic, and allow them to become soft. Add the greens and the stock and let cook for about 10 minutes. Blend and serve with white dead-nettle flowers on top.

Have a wonderful new year, filled with wild adventures!

How did you start the new year? And what are your green wishes and challenges for the upcoming year?

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Another weed recipe: home made sauerkraut with wild edibles

How to make a winter drink from wild dried elderberries. Or: sugar free elderberry syrup alternatives, part 2

Foraging in winter: how to eat wild edible plants when it's snowing - 5 tips

Weed recipe: wild root chai with yellow dock root, wood avens and mulberries

Weed recipe: white dead-nettle soup

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