ANCESTRAL FOOD. HERBAL WISDOM. MAGICAL COOKERY. SEASONAL CELEBRATION.
Soon May Day Eve will be upon us – so I’m sharing this recipe posted last year at Gather Patreon. (Patrons will see a new recipe coming soon!) This Maibowle Cream Cake – made and glazed with Maibowle Wine – is infused with sweet woodruff, a pretty unassuming little forest herb linked with May Day […]
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I’m not sure about you but Vancouver Island is awash in tulips! From pale yellows, crimson reds, pumpkin oranges, deep purples, lustred pinks and snow-white, their luminous colours are stunning. The most unsung of tulips many spring charms, however, is her edibility. With flavours and textures as diverse as her colours, her blooms offer not […]
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Note: This recipe was originally shared at Gather Victoria on Patreon. It was originally a recipe for Imbolc but for reasons that will soon become apparent- I thought I’d share it here for St. Patricks Day! St. Patrick was said to have driven all of the snakes out of Ireland – which is odd. While […]
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O most honored Greening Force, You who roots in the Sun; You who lights up, in shining serenity, within a wheel that earthly excellence fails to comprehend. You are enfolded in the weaving of divine mysteries. You redden like the dawn and you burn: flame of the Sun. – Hildegard von Bingen, Causae et Curae […]
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Here’s another recipe from “Gather Cookbook” for Gather Patrons! I’m releasing a few of last year’s recipes to the Gather website – so the rest of you can see what you’re missing! First up was a Chunky Rose Petal Pesto (recipe here) and now these creamy & tangy yogurt mini-tarts. Made by processing wood sorrel leaves […]
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T’is the glorious season of rhubarb and roses, one of my most beloved flavour combinations. And since practically everyone I know is eating keto, I was inspired to create these Keto Rhubarb-Rose Squares. With a buttery ground almond base and a creamy pannacotta style filling, these rosy tart “no bake” darlings are sooo simple to […]
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This April I’m celebrating Goddess Cuisine. I made a Floralia Cake for the Goddess of Flowers, Violet Cream Cupcakes for Venus, honeyed libations for the Goddess Bona Dea and a savoury fresh white cheese made with plenty of “herbs and blossoms born of the earth’s free will” for the Great Mother, Cybele. And more! This […]
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Right now in my back garden, a Red Flowering Currant Bush (Ribes sanguineum) is in full radiant bloom. Her drooping clusters of “soul-piercing pink flowers” are sending out an entrancing floral, fruity and spicy perfume. Which is probably one reason ethnobotanist and author Abe Lloyd describes the blossoms as “capable of transforming winter sodden pessimists […]
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The Spring Equinox is almost here! This means I was up bright and early today with a mission, to craft one of the most hallowed objects of spring cleaning – the Besom. I’ve been so busy with my cookbook and creating rewards for Patrons, my home is a mess! According to the famous Swiss psychologist […]
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These legendary sponge-cake cookies were immortalized by French writer Marcel Proust. In his book Remembrance of Things Past Proust’s narrator tastes a Madeleine dipped in tea and is immediately swept back in time to his childhood. “No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me […]
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Words cannot say how much I love Garlic Mustard. Not just because of its velvety emerald coloured leaves, not because it is one the most versatile nutritious greens you can possibly eat, not because it is one of oldest food plants and possibly the oldest “spice”, and not because its green garlicky aroma fills me […]
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Right now every bakery to big-box superstore that is open has yeasty, doughy Hot Cross Buns for sale. Most feature large swipes of thick white icing that are irresistible, at least to me. Their popular longevity is amazing considering their history dates back to the dawn of civilization! According to a variety of food scholars, […]
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Soon it will be officially spring – but here in Victoria the pansies and primroses have been blooming for quite a while! So of course, for the past few weeks, I’ve been plotting how to best eat them. The pansies delicate sweet scent and pretty colours make them popular as candied blossoms or garnishes, but […]
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Coloured with magical dyes and painted with magical symbols, eggs have played a central role in spring rites and feasts for thousands of years. From Egypt, Persia, Russia to Europe eggs were sacred objects embodying the essence of life. For northern European peoples eggs embodied the fertilizing power of the spring sun because it was […]
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The classic Tabouli (or Tabbouleh) Salad is made with bulgur, mint, parsley, tomatoes, cucumbers and a lemony garlic dressing, but I love to spruce mine up with seasonal wild greens. For this Tabouli I added some of the earliest wild edibles sprouting up now, greens like tender miner’s lettuce, peppery bittercress, and the oniony sprigs […]
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Photo by Yam Magazine: Gather’s Wild Spring Salad. Today I drove up to the University of Victoria Community Garden to check out what was growing. I’m giving a walk there in March focusing on the wild edibles of spring. And by wild I mean the weeds that grow at the fringes of the garden, between […]
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Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is a foraging favourite, so it doesn’t need much of an introduction. I probably don’t need to tell you that it has been a beloved spring tonic since time immemorial, or that many consider it the most nutritious of all wild plants, jam packed with vitamins, minerals, even protein. But aside from […]
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My favourite childhood food was (and still is) the pancake, so I’m pretty happy that from Imbolc (Feb. 1st) to Candlemas (Feb.2nd) to Shrove Tuesday (Feb 16th) to the Russian & Slavic holiday Maselenitsa (March 8th) there are going to be plenty of opportunities for ceremonial indulgence! I’ve started off celebrating the season of pancakes […]
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I’m passionate about reclaiming wild plants and “weeds” as the important ancestral foods and medicines that they are, so I’m thrilled people are reconnecting with our oldest and most primal relationship with the earth – foraging. I’m also a little concerned. While books, courses, educational walks, online resources, websites on wildcrafting and foraging are proliferating, […]
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What combines the delicate, yet heady scent of the first spring blossoms with creamy, rich chocolate? Why Plum Blossom Truffles of course! And they are so super easy to make, you won’t regret gifting your palate with this floral-infused chocolate sensation for one instant, I promise! One of Victoria’s most beloved harbingers of spring, the […]
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“May, queen of blossoms, and fulfilling flowers, what pretty music Shall we charm the hours? Wilt thou have pipe and reed, Blown in the open mead? Or to the lute give heed, in the green bowers.”— Lord Edward Thurlow Sacred to fairies, witches, and the goddesses of old, no tree is more central to “Going a […]
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I just love this cheese! Brimming with vitalizing nutrients and gut healthy probiotics, this beautiful “Boursin” yogurt cheese is not only a show stopper at parties, it’s absolutely delicious, easy to make, inexpensive, and really, really good for you. You can make creamy spreadable version (like cream cheese) which is what I’ve pictured here or […]
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“Be cheerful knight: thou shalt eat a posset tonight at my house.” William Shakespeare, Hamlet Dating back to the middle ages, the posset is making a comeback. Like a custard crossed with a pudding, it’s perfect when you want to whip up a special dessert with minimal effort. It’s made with three ingredients, honey, lilac-infused cream and lemon juice – […]
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Oh yes, lilacs are glorious to harvest – but they’re not so easy to prepare. Lilac is tricky and time-consuming (you need to remove each tiny stem from each tiny blossom) but the good news is you’ll have plenty of time for working in a little magical intention. Lilac is a potent spell-caster with the power […]
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“A bomb of flavour. Pungent, piquant and powerful all at once.” – Hunter Angler Gardener Cook We’ve been eating kimchi (fermented vegetables) in our family forever. Derived from the Korean word “shimchae” which means “salting of vegetables “ it most commonly features napa cabbage, radish, scallion (or cucumber) garlic, ginger and fiery red-hot pepper as […]
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