Yes, the cold snowy nights of winter may seem a long way off, but you can be sure, they’re coming. But if you get picking now – I guarantee this boozy, dark, thick wild berry compote will bring the heady luscious flavours of high summer back to your winter table. Using alcohol and sugar to…
Category: wild food history
A Super Easy Old-Fashioned Creamy Dessert: Honey Lilac Posset (Or Rose, Elderflower, Peony, Lavender…)
“Be cheerful knight: thou shalt eat a posset to-night at my house” William Shakespeare, Hamlet Dating back to the middle ages, the posset is making a comeback. Perfect for when you want to whip up a special dessert with minimal effort, it’s made with three ingredients, honey, cream and lemon juice. These are boiled together…
Yarrow: On Love & Marriage & Ale
Medicine, magic & marriage. Why yarrow is such an important wedding herb.
Eating Wild: The Missing Link to Optimum Health
I love that wild foods are the most nutritious, natural and sustainable of all foods – which is why they are a daily part of my diet. But because I still have to pay for the bulk of my sustenance, I’m ever so grateful to food journalist Jo Robinson and her wonderful book “Eating on the…
Sweethearts: Wild Violet Sugar Valentines
If you live in the Pacific Northwest, violets are likely popping up their lovely blue, pink or even white little heads somewhere near you – right now. And if you’ve left your Valentine treat to the last possible minute (as I have) well, violet sugar is the perfect solution! No fussing, no cooking, no baking,…
Midwinter Feast of Light: Reviving the Magical Foods of Imbolc
I love the ancient feast days of the pagan calendar. Celebrating the turn of the “great wheel of the year” through the solstices, equinoxes and cross quarter days, these “holy days” are the origin of most of our modern holidays. And no matter what ancestral culture you descend from, it’s a pretty safe bet that most…
Cranberry & Hazelnut Peppermint Honey Cake: Hail To The Mothers!
It’s no secret that baking confections, cookies and fruit cakes have long been part of the feminine customs surrounding the winter holidays. So for our last gathering we offered a buffet of wildcrafted festive cookies and treats in honour of the season. In preparation I spent some time in search of old recipes that might…
Recipes for Comfort & Joy: The Healing Powers of Conifers
When days darken, cold winds blow, and the damp settles into our lungs and bones, we can turn to our ancient plant allies, the evergreen and ever vital, conifers. Towering over the forest canopy, their top branches are always nourished by the sun but their roots extend deeply into the earth. And when winter makes demands…
Ending The Toxic, Costly and Unnecessary War On Invasive Plants: Who Does The War Serve?
This investigative series follows my personal exploration into a big question – is the toxic chemical war we are waging on invasive plants doing more harm than good? To see my introduction to this series click here. In Part One and Two I explored evidence suggesting that, in the long run, invasive plants may be doing more…
Ending the Toxic, Costly and Unnecessary War on Invasive Plants. Now.
This investigative series follows my personal exploration into a big question – is the toxic chemical war we are waging on invasive plants doing more harm than good? I’ve had it. On a recent dog walk into Uplands Park, I was horrified to discover the landscape literally dotted with notices of herbicide applications of Glyphosate…
Herbal Honey: Ancient, Magical & Medicinal
Healing herbal honey. Recipes for cold and warm infused honeys.
Women & Wild French Cookery: Reviving Our Culinary “Joie de Vivre”
Today top restaurants are lauded for making wild food into “high cuisine” – but I am inspired by a much older (and heartier) gastronomic tradition. One in which dishes like Veloute aux Sorties (nettle soup with potatoes, cream and butter) Poulet au Bon Join Sauce Meliot (chicken in a sweet clover sauce) and Salade de…
