Dandelion is just a weed to some, but savvy foragers know how to use it for free food and medicine. We'll share how, plus tips to get rid of excess plants.
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Chicory – Prebiotic, Coffee Substitute, Health Tonic – Weekly Weeder #5
Welcome to the Weekly Weeder series. Today's featured plant is chicory, Chicorium intybus. The wild and domesticated varieties of chicory have a long history of use for food and medicine, and as a forage crop for livestock.
Chicory is prized for its long taproot, which is roasted and used as a coffee substitute or coffee additive. The roots are also high in inulin, which is used as a sweetener and prebiotic. The plant contains compounds such as flavonoids and coumarins that may help fight disease. [Read more…] about Chicory – Prebiotic, Coffee Substitute, Health Tonic – Weekly Weeder #5
Common Ragweed – Tips to Beat Ragweed Season – Weekly Weeder #7
Today's featured Weekly Weeder plant is common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia. In this post, we’ll explain what ragweed is, identify prime ragweed season, share some ragweed pictures, and talk about ragweed allergies and control.
Common ragweed is also known as ragweed, hayfever weed, bitterweed, bloodweed, crownweed, mayweed and bane of allergy sufferers everywhere. Some other common ragweed species include bur ragweed, giant ragweed and western ragweed.
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Dandelion Wine Recipe – And the Mistake You Don’t Want to Make
This foraged food wine is considered “therapeutic to the kidneys and digestive system”. Don’t forget to watch out for the mistake that can ruin your batch of wine!” />
Wine out of dandelions? You bet! Making homemade dandelion wine is a longstanding family tradition. We don't make it every year, but I do like to keep a few bottles on hand for company. You can use the dandelions from your yard, provided they are free of pesticides, herbicides and other things you don't want to eat. The taste of this dandelion wine is rich, golden and warming – more like a good brandy than a wine. I've had friends who don't normally like wine comment that they do enjoy this “spring tonic”.
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Elderberry Jelly Recipes – Low Sugar and Sure-Jell Options
When we had a banner elderberry harvest, my friend, Tami, and I experimented with a variety of elderberry recipes, including two different types of elderberry jelly. One recipe is low sugar elderberry jelly made with Pomona's Pectin, and the other is a traditional elderberry jelly made with Sure-Jell pectin. [Read more…] about Elderberry Jelly Recipes – Low Sugar and Sure-Jell Options
