Yedikule is a white-seeded romaine-type lettuce that can be grown close together in rows, or the plants spaced out more to form large heads. The leaves are bright green and have a pleasantly mild taste. Leaves grow more pointing upright than outwards. Thanks to the high levels of natural oils present in the plant, the…
Use some foraged early spring greens to make a lovely little lip balm! Violet leaves, purple deadnettle, and chickweed combine with sweet almond, tamanu, and castor oil to create a soothing balm for chapped lips. Infused Oil First, you’ll want to make an infused oil to use in the lip balm. You will need: 1…
Learn how to make naturally pink lemonade using redbud flowers, lemons, and your sweetener of choice. It’s that time of year around here where the sweet pink mist of redbud flowers is visible around the edge of the woods, and it won’t be too much longer until they’re gone! So while they’re still here, why…
When spring has arrived and the forsythia flowers are in full bloom, head outside with a container. It’s time to pick those lovely blooms to make some delicious jelly! Forsythia bushes (Forsythia suspensa, F. spp.) are non-native shrubs that produce bright yellow, edible flowers in early spring. They’re commonly found planted around homes or in…
Sweet buttery brown sugar and fragrant spicebush berries simmered together with slices of apple make for a delicious autumnal dessert (or snack!). (Don’t know what spicebush is? Check out this video at 5:18!) A quick note The spicebush flavor in this recipe is very subtle- it’s more there to add just a hint of depth…
These two plants have the same common name, but are very different! One plantain (Plantago spp.) is a leafy weed used to make things like a lovely first aid salve, while the other (Musa × paradisiaca) is a starchy fruit that looks like a banana. At a Glance Don’t want to read through the whole…
It is hot, I am suffering, and I have many alpine strawberries. Clearly the only thing to do here is to make ice cream! This recipe is a custard-style one, which means there will be much stirring of a pot over a stove and a considerable amount of chill-time required. It’s also gluten free, and…
Rosewater’s an easy enough project if you have a bunch of roses to spare and just a little patience. And since the method to make it’s the same for any number of fragrant plants, why not indulge in a little experimentation? Rosewater Rosewater (or the closest one can get without having specialized equipment) is pretty…
Learn how to make your own celery salt – it’s super easy! Do you need some things to do with extra celery? Here’s a way to use up a lot of it- celery shrinks pretty dramatically when it’s dried, and even more when it’s rendered into a fine powder, so you can fit a lot…
(Raphanus sativus) Radishes: you love them or you hate them. Either way, these spicy little roots are one of the quickest growing vegetables you can plant in your garden, some varieties ready to harvest in as few as three weeks! Basics Plant your radishes in a location that gets at least 6 hours of sun…
Learn how to make beautiful redbud jelly using foraged redbud flowers, reduced sugar pectin, sugar, and lemon juice! Redbud flowers bloom for a very short time each year in early spring, so if you want to make redbud jelly, you’ve got a narrow little window to do it! Collecting & Preparing Redbuds This recipe uses…
Hear me, ye who be blighted by the heavy gloom of winter’s passing; there be four things you must find to lift your curse most foul- Just kidding. No curses being cleaned here, just faces. You will need: Violets Thyme A few sprigs of sage Forsythia flowers (if you don’t have access to forsythia, dandelion…