Onion Honey Cough Syrup.. I learned this recipe from Rosemary Gladstar but evidently this folk remedy goes waaaaay back. So simple, just peel & slice an onion into half moons, put in a pot and pour raw honey over until just barely covered. Stir & heat gently on the stoves lowest setting for 30 minutes. Pour into a clean jar. Keep refrigerated. Take teaspoons throughout the day to thin mucous and help expectorate for a more productive cough. It tastes sweetly pungent, yummy. Keep refrigerated and use within 3 months time.
Lilac syrup, Syreeni siirappi, (Syringa species)… First time making lilac syrup and I can say this is really magical dreamy fairy flower stuff. The scent is heavenly, the taste is otherworldly, and the feeling is that you will lay down on the floor with the cat and sink into the sensual world, feels like floating on soft purple clouds…. Recipe: 1 cup purple lilac flowers (remove flowers from the stem), 1 cup water, 1 cup birch sugar (or white sugar), 5 blueberries. Combine water & sugar and heat on the stove until sugar is dissolved. Add lilac flowers and 5 blueberries and simmer 10 minutes. Strain and pour into a clean jar. Keep refrigerated. Enjoy your syrup within 2 weeks time. Serve over vanilla icecream or pancakes or mix with sparkling water. Enjoy!
I learned from Finns that hot black currant juice is an old folk remedy for colds & flu. And during flu season when half the world is taking elderberry syrup, I thought I would try making black currant syrup. Because I have yet to find elderberries growing in Finland. But black currants grow abundantly here! Well this syrup tastes delicious. I added a little angelica and ginger to help support lung and respiratory health. You can take teaspoons of the syrup as medicine or just eat it as a food. I pour it on warm breads, mix with apple sauce or pear sauce, mix with oat yogurt, or even mix with sparkling water. Recipe: 3.5 cups water, 200g fresh or frozen black currants, 1/4 tsp pure vanilla bean powder, 2 thin slices ginger root, 1/2 tsp angelica leaf or root, 1 cup honey. Put all ingredients in a pot except the honey. Stir. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour until the liquid is reduced by about half. Cover while simmering. Remove from heat and let cool until luke warm. Smash the berries in the pot. Strain out the liquid. Stir in the honey. Stir well until thoroughly blended. Pour into clean glass jar and keep refrigerated. Use within 2 weeks. Enjoy!
Dandelion Syrup tastes amazing, sort of like a nutty honey flavor. And it tastes sweet yet healthy and wholesome on top of Dandelion Flower Yellow Dock Seed Potato Bread. Recipe for Dandelion Syrup: Use only the yellow flower part of the dandelion. 4 cups of yellow florets plus 1 sliced lemon and one-half sliced orange boiled in a pot with 4 cups of water, then reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes. Put a lid on the pot while simmering. After simmering for 10 minutes remove from the stove and strain. Let it sit for 3 hours at room temperature. Then add 3 cups of birch sugar (you can use regular sugar if you prefer). Stir to dissolve the sugar, place on the stove and bring to a boil then simmer 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. It turns thick and golden like honey. Once its at the consistency you like, pour into clean glass jars. Keep refrigerated. If the sugar crystalizes you can warm it up to make it more liquid. Serve on any type of bread or on bread with butter, such a treat! Recipe for Dandelion Flower Yellow Dock Seed Potato Bread: 1 egg, 300g mashed potato, 100g flour, 1 tsp yellow dock seeds that have been sifted to remove the outter layer, 1 TBSP dandelion flower petals or more if you like the flavor of dandelion petals, pinch of salt. Mix ingredients together into a dough and flatten into round patties with your hands. Bake on a baking sheet that has been oiled or lined with baking paper, for 15 minutes at 220C. Enjoy with butter and/or dandelion syrup!
Dandelion Syrup & Dandelion Yellow Dock Seed Potato Bread
When I lived in Oregon one of my favorite things to do in Spring was to collect Cottonwood Buds to make Balm of Gilead. I havent seen Cottonwood in Finland but her relative Quaking Aspen grows here in abundance. I learned from an Instagram friend named Forest Grace that Quaking Aspen salve has similiar healing properties! So I gave it a go and the scent is very similar to a light Balm of Gilead. Another friend named Anna tried the salve on her knee pain and found it helpful. I will continue making this salve as a connection to Spring and the Poplar trees. Recipe: 3 cups of olive oil into a pot. Pour your fresh Quaking Aspen buds into the oil. You want to pour as many buds as you can fit into the oil. But dont put so many buds that some of them are exposed to air. You want all buds to be submerged in oil. Place this pot into a double boiler and add water to the bottom pot. Bring the water to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 1.5-2 hours. Stir the buds occasionally. Remove the pot of oil and buds, strain out the buds and let cool. Put a spoon into the freezer. Place 3 cups of bud infused oil into a pot. Add 4 ounces of beeswax. Heat on lowest setting on the stove. Stir occasionally to help dissolve the melting beeswax. Once the beeswax is dissolved, take the frozen spoon and dip it into your oil. Wait a few seconds while the oil solidifies on the spoon. Then test the consistency of the hardened oil on the spoon by rubbing it between your fingers. If its too oily add a little more beeswax. If its too solid then add a little more olive oil. Once you have a nice salve consistency, pour the oil into tins. Do not disturb the tins and do not put lids on the tins until the salve is completely set and firm. If you like decoration you can push a quaking aspen bud into the salve just as its setting. Keep your salves stored in a cool or cooler room temperature place. Enjoy!
When Spring arrives and the Spruce trees sprout their bright vivid green, it is a happy sight. Spruce sprout pesto tastes delicious and is easy to make! Recipe: 1 cup fresh spruce sprouts, a few fresh basil leaves, 1/4 cup chopped nuts (I have used almonds and hazelnuts but any nut should be fine), 1/3 cup nutritional yeast, juice of 1/4 medium lemon, couple pinches of sea salt, 1/8 cup olive oil. Blend together in a blender until creamy. I add a splash of water or olive oil to help it blend easier and become creamier in texture. Keep refrigerated and enjoy within 1 week. Although it tastes so fresh & yummy that it will probably be gone within a couple days.
Rieska is finnish potato flatbread and its so freaking delicious. I added fresh young birch buds to this traditional recipe and the taste is like a fresh spring forest. Recipe: 300g mashed potato mixed with 1 egg & 100g flour. Add a teaspoon of chopped fresh birch buds, or more if you want an extra birch flavor. Mix ingredients with a spoon and form into thin little patties with your hands. Bake for 15 minutes at 220C, on an oiled cookie tray or use baking paper to cover the tray. Enjoy with melted butter or honey on top… yummm!
Sweet Black Sesame Honey Balls… In Chinese Medicine black sesame seeds are eaten as medicine. They nourish liver & kidney yin, and moisten dry intestines. Black sesame seeds are sweet and neutral in temperature. Liver & kidney yin deficiency can manifest as hair loss, early grey hair, dizziness, loose teeth, fatigue, blurry vision. So eating black sesame seeds will help those symptoms. Honey further moistens the intestines. So if you have dry constipation, these sweet little black balls are for you. Recipe: Dry roast black sesame seeds in frying pan until you can smell the aroma. Let cool, then grind into a powder. Add honey and form into small balls. I use about 3 TBSP honey per half cup of sesame seeds. Then roll the balls in black sesame seeds to coat them. Put in refrigerator to firm up. Afterwards they do not need to be refrigerated. 1 gram of black sesame seeds contain 85 mg of calcium. 1 cup of whole cows milk (240 grams) contains 300 mg of calcium. By comparison, 240 mg of black sesame seeds contains 20400 mg of calcium!!
