I’m spinning into thread the nettle fibers that nature grew and I harvested this summer. (Head over here if you want to read Part I about harvesting and processing stinging nettle fiber.) What I had at the end of the summer was a bundle of wispy fibers extracted from stinging nettle stalks. Because I was …
We’re seven months into the One Year One Outfit challenge, and wow — I’m half impressed, half intimidated by the progress some of the other participants have already made towards their locally sourced wardrobes. I’m nowhere near having entire items of clothing finished at this point myself. But I will, I will… Since finding locally …
In honor of midsummer, I have for you a recipe for the perfect summer drink, should you be so lucky as to find elderberry bushes where you live. The elderflower (Holunderblüten) cordial is something I always associate with these mountains of Central Europe. I first tasted it when I was on a solo train tour …
Foraging for nettles is a sure sign of spring in our home. I bring nettles home by the bagful and use them for tea, or grind them into pesto, or use them instead of spinach in a feta quiche. This year’s variation was using wood nettles instead of the regular nettles. Wood nettle, or Canada …
The theme of this weekend was local food — both cultivated and wild. Farm-to-fork and, hmm, forest-to-fork food, if you will. Urban wild food foraging is something I’d already been introduced to when we were still living in Portland. I’ve written here before about my adventures with nettles, dandelion and cat’s ear, and elderflower. Alas, …
Elderberry (Sambucus) flowers always reminds me of the times when, visiting friends in Austria or staying at Dan’s grandmother’s childhood home in Northern Italy, I have enjoyed glass after glass of elderflower cordial mixed with mineral water. It’s the perfect summer afternoon drink, with a unique flavor. There’s nothing quite like drinking flowers. We do …
While I was away, spring came to Portland with a color palette so vivid and days so warm that the promise of summer is already in the air. What stands out to me from that burst of color more than anything else are the plentiful bright yellow dots of dandelions everywhere. And today it was …
I’ve written here quite a bit about growing, but less about the gathering side of things. That is about to change, though, especially as the spring season for one of my favorite forms of gathering — foraging wild edibles — is now in full swing! This morning I went to harvest the stinging nettle, which …
