Foraging Event for Food and Medicine
We had a Wild Ones event on Saturday June 13th that was great fun, as well as educational hands on learning.
Amelia South, an herbalist and owner of No BS Herbalist, came to Fairfield to walk the property and educate us on the traditional use of both native and wild plants on my property.
Her plant knowledge was impressive as she could name just about every plant while walking over 4 acres, and then describe how they are utilized to create food and/or medicine. At one point, she found an arrow wood that still had the root intact…..Ok, it didn’t mean anything to me either, but apparently she has been searching for years!
We walked only about half of the property as she kept finding plants and would stop to describe how they can be used.
After almost two hours, we came inside to create a medicinal tincture, an edible and a Shag Back Hickory maple syrup.
All tinctures are a combination of plant material and alcohol. Vodka is usually used as it has no taste. She put mullien and golden rod in the blender and added vodka. We put the mixture in small jars with the date and contents, and instructions to let rest for at least 6 weeks. This tincture mixture is good for dry coughs, and onset of a cold.
She had us scramble some eggs with sorrel and chickweed with a bit of butter. It was delicious.
We then took some fallen bark from the Shag Bark Hickory trees and baked it at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Put in 2 cups of water, brought it to a boil, then added 2 cups of sugar. Voila! Wonderful syrup. The smell of the bark baking reminded us all of grilling meat over Hickory wood.
She lives in eastern CT. Check out her website for events, recipes, etc.
If you would like to join us on other events created here in western CT, send me an email—[email protected] and I will add you to my email list. Or just check the events on our website. Everyone is welcome!