Last Sun 15th June forage was a quiet but fun one, showing off June’s full glory. We wandered through sunny vistas of fragrant water meadow, cool beech and chestnut woods, and balmy towpath.

(The child is not dead, by the way, or even unconscious!)

We sampled a new recipe for Nettle seed. I’ve been using a falafel recipe, but it tends to drown out the earthy, iron-rich flavour of the nettles. So today I used mashed potato, onion and garlic, salt and pepper instead, rolling the nettle seed balls in flour and frying in oil and butter.

Nettle seed is packed with omega oils good for hair and skin, protein, and iron. It is said to have aphrodisiac qualities and was used by Gypsies to improve the condition of horses before sale. (Harvesting and drying is best done with a gardening glove.)

I also make an electuary out of powdered Nettle seeds and honey. A tablespoon of this each day is a great breakfast addition with plain yoghurt.

The wild kimchi I made from Cleavers/White Deadnettle/Common Hogweed and a Korean kimchi recipe with spices and gochujang paste. It keeps for ages and is great if you want to preserve wild veg and enhance the flavour of your food.

See below for some ways to use wild kimchi… omelettes, hazel/lime leaf sushi, soups, sandwiches.

The Elderflower Jelly I forgot to take pictures of before we ate it all (my son loves it). so above is a picture of the cordial while the flowers and citrus were still steeping for 3 days. Black Elderflower (Sambucus nigra) blossoms and berries contain antiviral compounds and help sweat out fevers.

There’s 2 courses coming up in the next few weeks for new venue Blue Lagoon, MK – with all new plants and tapas. See below posts for links.

xx Hedgewitch Kat xx