Tag: spruce

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Spruce Sprout Pesto

Something I discovered about Finns is their history of using every part of a tree for medicine, food, shelter, clothing, shoes, dishes, hats, the list goes on & on. For example, I learned from Finns that the young spruce sprouts are edible, and they taste delicious! Fortunately Spruce grows in my yard so I made Spruce Sprout Pesto again this year. The taste is vibrant & fresh and so welcome after months of cold weather!
Recipe Spruce Pesto: 1 cup Spruce Sprouts, a few Basil leaves, 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts, 1/3 cup nutritional yeast, 1/8 cup olive oil, juice of 1/4 lemon, couple pinches sea salt. Blend all ingredients in a blender. Add a little more olive oil or water to make it creamier and easier to blend. Keep refrigerated and eat within a week. But this tastes so delicious it will probably be gone within a couple days! I spread Spruce Bud Pesto on rye bread or dip chips or veggies in it.

Enjoy! ..

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Sea Buckthorn Aronia Berry Ginger Thyme Spruce Oxymel

Sea Buckthorn, Aronia Berry, Ginger, Thyme, Spruce Oxymel. This was an experiment that turned out tasting pretty good. Tangy, Pungent, Savory, Sweet. I wanted to work with Sea Buckthorn because I read they have the highest nutrient content of all wild berries, especially high in vitamin C, E and essential fatty acids. But their taste is so sour! They need to be mixed with other flavors to mellow out their intensity. So I mixed 1 cup smashed Sea Buckthorn berries with 1 cup smashed Aronia berries, thumb sized fresh ginger sliced, 1/2 cup dried thyme, 2 cups apple cider vinegar, 1 and 1/2 cups spruce sprout infused honey. Mix together and let sit in refrigerator 2 weeks. Shake daily. Strain. Pour into clean bottles and keep refrigerated. I use oxymels as food and pour on top of vegetables or whatever food I’m eating to give the food some extra exciting flavors. And oxymels have the added benefit of supporting respiratory health and have been used since the times of ancient Greece for congestion, cough & bronchitis. You can take a teaspoon several times a day and evening for mild respiratory symptoms or just use as a tangy food seasoning. Enjoy!

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Finnish Forest Soda

Finnish Forest Soda fermenting natural carbonated bubbles. Made with herbs picked while hiking in the forest, honey & yeast. So easy and you can make this too for a taste of Your Local Forest. This soda has: Spruce, Pine, Lingonberry, St Joans Wort, Heather, Blueberry leaf, Wood Sorrel, Labrador tea, Yarrow. Tastes like finnish forest. Recipe from Pascal Baudar’s book The Wildcrafting Brewer. Basically you just pick your herbs, clean your jar, utensils & hands. Place herbs in jar, add spring water, honey, yeast, mix. I used 79 g honey per L water. Add 1/2 ml yeast per L. Place paper towel on top to keep bugs out & stir 4 times a day with clean spoon. Wait 1 day for fermentation bubbles to appear. Strain into bottle, seal it, let sit 1 more day to ferment even more bubbles. Then refrigerate. Drink within a few days. So Delicious!! Also contains naturally fermented bacteria that are beneficial to intestines plus all the healing properties of the herbs. And how sweet to taste your own local forest plants while they are in season, a reminder of the time you were there walking through the forest….

Finnish forest Soda
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Spruce Ground Ivy Mint Pastilles

Spruce, Ground Ivy, Mint pastilles. These pastilles melt in your mouth and open up clogged sinuses and soothe sore throat. They are made with spruce infused honey, ground ivy, peppermint, thyme and marshmallow root. Just grind the dried herbs into a fine powder, mix with spruce infused honey, form into balls and then coat with powdered mint. I put them into the refrigerator to ‘set’ and become firm. But they do not need to be kept refrigerated. Oh! And they are also a tastey breath-mint or sugar free candy. They store well in the freezer so you can make a bunch and freeze them for later. … Also! The botanical name of the Ground Ivy is Glechoma hederacea. Its Not the regular creeping ivy. And you can omit Ground Ivy from this recipe if you cant find it. Feel free to experiment with other culinary herbs for different flavors such as Rosemary or Fennel Seeds or Cardamom. Each herb has its own unique properties but the common culinary herbs in the Mint Family are all safe to experiment with. Enjoy!

Spruce Ground Ivy Mint Pastilles
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Spruce Sprout Pesto

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.

Spruce Sprout Pesto