Mindful foraging for stress reduction and anxiety calming presence.

Mindful foraging for stress reduction and anxiety-calming presence.

Useful herbs & berries info for your brain food fix, & autumnal colours for eye candy.

I love this time of year, abundance is bursting out at your senses.

1. Sloes - Sour/dry on their own, but amazing used for jellies, syrups, cordials, vinegar reductions & even chocolate. If you drink they are good for flavouring gin, wine & whisky.

2. Alder Buckthorn - The berries are a stimulant laxative & best avoided. The wood is incredibly strong & great for making wooden nails, shoes, arrows & skewers.

3. Rugosa Rose - The hips can be used for jelly, tea, jam, marmalade, sauces, soups & seasoning. You can make wine with them or even fruit leather.

4. Common Dogwood - The berries are edible, useful in smoothies, muffins, pies, bread, jam, wine, they taste similar to persimmon or pawpaw & pair well with chicken or tofu.

5. Lambsquarters (Fat Hen) - Edible vegetable, all parts can be used. The leaves can be used like spinach in stir fry, salad, pesto etc. The flowers can be treated like purple sprouting broccoli. The seeds can be rinsed & used like quinoa. The roots are a good emollient & can be used to make soap.

6. Hawthorn - Use the berries to make fruit leather, jelly or ketchup, to give good flavour to gin or brandy.

7. Apples - Some different things you can do with apples include making savoury apple butter to eat with cheese. Add grated apples to rubs & marinades to tenderize meat. Apples are a great leather & silver cleaner.

8. Sweet Fennel - Sautée the leaves & stalks with onions, slice & mix into salad, roast the bulbs for a caramelised treat, add the seeds to cakes & tea breads. The seeds are essential for pilau rice & curries too.

9. Dog Rose - The hips can be used in the same way as the Rugosa Rose mentioned above. These take less time to dry if you're making herbal tea with them.

10. Salad Burnet - Use in salads, soups & pottages, sauces, sandwiches, garnish, seasoning etc. It has a spicy, nutty flavour.

Please make 100% certain of identification before consuming wild foods.

#presenceismedicine #foraging #autumnberries #foragerchef #wildfood