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Wild food recipe: grain free granola with foraged nuts and fruits

27/9/2013

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Blackberries and elderberries. These mark for me the turning point between summer and autumn. One last good look at the countless varieties of green - soon the leaves will reveal their true colours.
There's so much to gather at this time of the year that I hardly find the time to blog. Rowan berries, hazelnuts, walnuts, apples, acorns, rose hips, hop bells and more. I'm in love with the deep, rich scent of the soil at this time of the year.
And it's funny how things come together sometimes. I was just thinking how I wanted to find an abandoned orchard when a friend called me to tell me her apple trees had a drastic overload of ripe fruit. She had so much of them that she was feeding them to the (drooling) deer. It only took me 5 minutes to get to her door step.

Usually a lot of apples are ripe at the same time and many people simply don't have the time to process them and they hate to see all that rotting fruit on the ground. If you ask around at this time of the year, there surely are some hidden fruit treasures to find. As they say, the apple does not fall far from the tree. It's yours to pick it up.

But let's see what we can do with these autumn fruits and nuts, other than place them in a basket in the living room (where they disappear fast, I can tell you).
I made this granola. Well, it's not just granola, it's a story. It's September transformed into a mixture of flavours. 
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The apple star story has always been one of my favourites. It seems to fit this time of the year so perfectly. And it makes eating apples so much more magical.

I also vividly remember the challenge as a child to peel a whole apple trying to keep the peel in one piece. You'd be lucky if you could do that. I've had a lot of practice and after peeling two big bags full of apples, I can now happily announce that I surely have tons of good luck coming my way.

Here's what you need:
But honestly, don't worry too much about the exact measures in the recipe. This granola is so versatile you can switch with other nuts and seeds, and change the amounts easily.

  • 1 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1 cup hazelnuts
  • 1/2 cup almonds
  • 1/4 cup beech nuts
  • 1/2 cup hemp seeds
  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds
  • 1 cup dried fruit (I used foraged apples and some cherries. Had some dried raisins in the cupboard as well, which I tossed in)
  • 1/3 cup of coconut oil
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey
  • zest of 1 (organic) orange
  • a pinch of spices you like: cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla

    Optionally you can soak the nuts and seeds overnight, strain off the soaking water and let them dry for a few hours.

First, chop the nuts in smaller pieces. Use a food processor or alternatively, place them in a clean towel, go wild and smash them with a hammer. Preparing food can be such fun.
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In Ireland there were 3 trees of high importance:  the apple tree for its beauty, the oak for its strength and the hazel for its wisdom. These trees were so sacred that cutting them down or damaging them led to death penalty. (Ok, I'm not particularly a fan of the death penalty part, but honestly, I like the respect people used to have for trees. We owe our lives to them -food, medicine, oxygen, to name a few- and the way I see them treated sometimes is a splinter in my eye. There, I've said it. Off my soapbox now.)
As I don't have an oven for the moment, I prepared this in a large cast iron pan. I'm sure you can make it in the oven or dehydrator as well.

On a very low fire, heat the coconut oil until melted. Add the seeds, chopped nuts and spices. Stir frequently until they are very slightly roasted to the level where the pumpkin seeds break open (they seem to dance and make some music). Turn off the heat (using cast iron will hold the heat so it will continue to keep warm for a while).

Now add the dried fruits (if you use larger pieces like apricots, plums, apples: chop them up first) and the orange zest.

Last step: add the maple syrup or honey. Here's my secret: I had some honey in the cupboard that I infused with a combination of elder flowers and wild rose petals. To tell you the truth I don't even want to share this information with you and keep the secret to myself, but it tastes like heaven. If you are looking for a risk free investment: put that on your to do list for next year.
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Walnuts were often used as a love oracle. When two nuts were laid in the fire and they kept close together, it was a sign for a harmonic marriage. But when the nuts cracked and jumped, it predicted a stormy marriage.

My Czech friend Lenka told me in her home country they make candles in the nut halves and let them float on water on New Year's day. Everybody keeps a close eye to their own candle. If your nut halve clashes with another one, it predicts trouble with that person for the upcoming year. If the candle floats calmly side by side with someone else's, you'll have a lovely time with that person. - Must try this out, it seems like so much fun to do, especially with the kids.
When cooled off, store the batch in an airtight glass jar. Eat as it is or with some home made almond milk or yoghurt. You can add some fresh fruits, chia seeds, whatever you like. I have used some foraged plantain seeds and walnuts. (The reason I haven't put these in the basic mixture is because they tend to go rancid rather fast once opened).

I tell you: September is the new flavour.

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Treasures from the sea: how to harvest and dry your own seaweed

2/9/2013

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No, this is not a gnome's dirty laundry. This is my 4 year old son's souvenir from a day at the coast. Hand picked seaweed, drying on the line. Have you ever wanted to harvest your own? Then I have some good news for you: it's super easy. Easier than going to the store and buying some.
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Seaweeds are ridiculously good sources of minerals, and true iodine bombs. Other than land plant species, they are are a complete source of protein. Because seaweed grows in the sea, it has a natural salty taste. It's also one of the school examples of umami flavour.

And here's the perfect news for all beginners in foraging who are stopping themselves to do it because they are frantic with worry about picking toxic species: none of the marine species are toxic. Not all of them are pleasant in taste though, but species like sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) and dulse (Palmaria palmata) are very easy to find, and delicious. You've probably seen sea lettuce countless times on trips to the beach. It looks like a head of lettuce floating in the sea. Next time you'll spot it, you'll know it IS a head of (sea) lettuce floating in the sea.
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Pick and wash thoroughly. This may surprise you, as the plant comes right out of the water, but especially on sandy coasts a lot of sand may come off.
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Remove any stones or shells attached to the plants.
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Make a fancy DIY drying line, using some sophisticated tools such as the trunk of a tree, a couple of twigs and some raffia. You can use any kind of rope, but as the seaweed dries, it hardens and then it's really easy to slide it off if you have a smooth rope. It will dry completely in only a couple of hours!
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Dancing in the sea just a few moments before, and now dancing in the wind.
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See the sea creature in this one?
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Watch that green of the sea lettuce. Personally, I can't get enough of it.
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And there you have it: dried seaweed.

We love this in vegetable stock or miso soup, sprinkled on avocados or in cucumber salads.
It's also one of the ingredients we use for making our own herbal salt.


Here's the recipe:

  • 2/3 cup sea salt
  • 1/3 cup chopped herbs, anything you have in your herb garden, this time we used thyme, rosemary, parsley, hyssop, lovage, lemon balm, nasturtium leaves... and some seaweed

You can use the herbs either dried or fresh. I prefer to use them fresh, as the salt breaks down the plant cell walls and really draws out the good aromas, but the downside is that your salt will be slightly more crumbly. You could add some rice to solve this, but personally I don't bother too much as it will dissolve anyway when you use it in the kitchen. 

To prepare the herbal salt, put herbs (including seaweeds) with salt in a blender and mix. Put in jar, label, done. How easy was that? Now you have year-round access to the summer herbs of your garden. And the sea. 
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The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach - waiting for a gift from the sea.
                                                                                                                           Anne Morrow Lindbergh
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Make sure to identify properly, use the right plant parts, pick from a safe place and use common sense.
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