Dandelion Wine

Bottled Dandelion Wine

Fermented Dandelion Wine

Enjoying a glass

This year the exploration with Dandelions went beyond jelly and dried leaves and roots into fermenting a wine.  What a wonderful experiment it turned out to be.  I explored two ways of processing these flowers.  One with yeast added and one left to ferment naturally.  Pictured is the natural ferment which pulls in yeast from the environment.  This batch was put to ferment on April 18th, 2020 and it was left to sit until June 10th, 2020.  Almost a full two months.

Upon straining the liquid from the brew the smell of wine alcohol was evident.  I was surprised by the inner excitement and amazement I felt.  Since leaving the food and beverage industry wine hadn’t been a big part of life once having kids that was followed by pursuing focused awareness on somatic learning and connections.  Now in this adventure I couldn’t wait to try a glass.  It turned out to be a very good glass of wine.  A week before filtering it I had a sample and it was still too sweet for my liking.  Someone who likes sweet wine could decant it sooner than I did.

After filtering it and putting it into bottles for another few days before pouring a glass I was met with a pop upon opening the bottle.  It was as strong as opening a corked champagne bottle.  This means it was still in a fermenting process. I wouldn’t want to leave these bottles capped much longer without letting some air in!

After working late in the garden and sitting down at my desk with this glass was a treat.  Adding to the experience was the connection to picking the dandelion flowers myself, processing them, and then adding them into a mixture for a  fermenting process.  Very satisfying.

The second experiment with added yeast is not ready to be filtered and bottled yet.  I will compare the two once it is.  Until then I will continue to find pleasure at the memory of pleasure from success with a new recipe adventure.

For me a difference between this wine and commercial wine is the aliveness of it.  It seems to activate my mouth in away that enlivens it as the liquid first makes contact.  I am curious if the added yeast dandelion wine will give the same reaction.

For more on the recipe for Dandelion Wine……….

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Read more:

Wild Winemaking: Easy & Adventurous Recipes Going Beyond Grapes, Including Apple Champagne, Ginger–Green Tea Sake, Key Lime–Cayenne Wine, and 142 More by Richard W. Bender 

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Traditional uses and properties of herbs are for educational purposes only.  This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.  Every attempt has been made for accuracy, but none is guaranteed. Any serious health concerns or if you are pregnant, you should always check with your health care practitioner before self-administering herbs.

Copyright 2014 – 2020  Living in Nature’s Love by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP,

Feldenkrais® Practitioner since 2007, Communication & Empathy Coach since 2004, Art of Placement  since 2000

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#Homemade Dish-soap

by Renee Lindstrom,GCFP–Living in Natures Love Lifestyles insideawareness.com

Homemade dish-soap suds

Experimenting  on ways to create homemade dish-soap has finally led to a recipe that works well and that I enjoy.  This particular recipe creates the suds I want to have and does a splendid job of cleaning the dishes of all oils and residues.  This is important for cleaning  the jars that end up in the sink everyday from fermented foods and drinks!  This is the first dish soap that makes cleaning up after dough easy.

There are three main ingredients in this recipe:

• Water – 1/4 cup
• Castile Soap – 1 cup
• Veggie Glycerin – 2 tablespoons
• Optional:  Essential Oil 10 drops

Due to seasonal sinus stuffiness I added a few drops of Eucalyptus Essential Oil drops.

The Glycerin is available in liquid or solid form.  I have a solid form so a small amount was cut to melt over low heat.  Once melted into a liquid the other ingredients where added and mixed.  The last step was to pour this liquid soap into it’s own container until it was time to use it.

In the Greater Victoria Community drop into Borden Mercantile located at 3960 Borden Street to find lanolin and glycerin.

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Copyright 2014 – 2020  Living in Nature’s Love by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP,

Feldenkrais® Practitioner since 2007, Communication & Empathy Coach since 2004, Art of Placement  since 2000

 

Making Cottage Cheese @ Home

by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP–Living in Natures Love Lifestyles insideawareness.com

Enjoying home-made cottage cheese curds, fermented salsa and pickled cucumber from home-made apple cider vinegar

Getting the knack of creating yogurt from a carton of milk it was time to explore making cottage cheese.  Discovered it is as easy to make as yogurt and as enjoyable to eat knowing exactly how it was made with no added expense on the pocket-book.  It can be flavoured with spices from the cupboard and herbs and edibles from the garden.  The most rewarding it that food has become fun and most importantly, rewarding!  Gone is the inconvenience of eating.

The simple recipe I follow is:

Ingredients

• 1 gal of Milk
• Small amount of cream, milk, sour cream or kefir to moisten
• 3/4 cups Home made Apple Cider Vinegar
• Flavouring:  Herbs, spices, garden edibles

Equipment:

• Pot
• Thermometer
• Cheesecloth , cotton or strainer
• Bowl

Bring milk to 180 Degrees Fahrenheit and slowly add apple cider vinegar.  Milk will curd immediately.  Let sit for 10 minutes before straining curds to separate from whey.  Put into bowl to cool and then add spices, herbs and use dry curds or moisten with cream, sour cream, kefir or milk.   Use whey in smoothies, other recipes or use to water your houseplants!

More daily recipes from Living In Natures Love:

• Creating Yogurt at home is amazingly easy and inexpensive 
• Making Cream Cheese from Home-made Yogurt!
• Fermenting Kefir Grains at home

Follow Fermenting news on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook

 

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Read more on:

• Fabulous Fermenting
• Colour Spectrum Diet – Eating for our Chakras
• Living Foods:  Fermented Salsa, Fermented Kimchi, Fermented Sauerkraut

Recommended:

• Cottage Cheese (Paneer): Exotic Indian Recipes by Author Simi Sachar

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Copyright 2014 – 2019  Living in Nature’s Love by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP,

Feldenkrais® Practitioner since 2007, Communication & Empathy Coach since 2004, Art of Placement  since 2000

Refreshing Black Bean & Cilantro Salad

by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP–Living in Natures Love Lifestyles insideawareness.com

Black Bean & Cilantro Salad

3rd & 1st Chakras (Solar Plexus & Root Chakras)

This is an easy and healthy salad that can be a main dish or goes well  with other dishes.  I love eating it over quinoa and add salsa to compliment it.

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 can  or 1 cup home-made Black Beans 
• 1 cup freshly peeled, frozen, canned Corn 
• 1/4 cup diced red or Green Pepper
• 1/4 cup diced Tomato
• 1/4 cup diced Cucumber
• 1/4 cup diced Celery
• Fresh Green Leaves (Spinach shown in picture)
• 1/4 cup minced Cilantro 
• 1/2 cup Crumbled Feta Cheese 
• Handful Fresh Bean Sprouts 
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Dressing Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons Oil
• Crushed Garlic Cloves (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon Vinegar
• Minced Parsley
• Salt & Pepper to taste

More from Living in Natures Love:

• Colour Spectrum Diet: Rejuvenating Chakra Centers with Food

Follow Living Food news on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook

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Recommended:

• Beans: Simple Bean Recipes Using Dry and Canned Beans: (Beans – Dried Beans – Cool Beans – Legumes) by Author Tamara Karbowski

Cooking with Lesser Celandine

by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP – Living in Natures Love Lifestyles @insideawareness.com

Lesser Celandine

 

This little plant has been labeled an invasive in #yyj’s Greater Victoria Communities.  I imagine that it isn’t well-known as a culinary, medical and cosmetic herb.  I found that it was very much like eating spinach after trying out some ways of cooking with this tenacious plant.  I had read some old recipes and interested in giving it a go.  There was no taste eating the raw leaves, however that changed after steaming.  Frying the stems and bulb-lets and eating with olive oil was tasty and easy to make.

Here are some old recipes:

• The small bulb-lets of the root are cooked for a few minutes in boiling water and served with olive oil and course sea salt.
• The leaves are boiled and eaten as a vegetable.
• The bulb-lets and tubers can be fried, boiled, or roasted.

The leaves are best eaten before they go into flower.  Once they flower the juice is too strong and can become toxic.

Read more on Lesser Celandine 

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Traditional uses and properties of herbs are for educational purposes only.  This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.  Every attempt has been made for accuracy, but none is guaranteed. Any serious health concerns or if you are pregnant, you should always check with your health care practitioner before self-administering herbs.

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Copyright 2014 – 2018  Living in Nature’s Love by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP,

Feldenkrais® Practitioner since 2007, Communication & Empathy Coach since 2004, Art of Placement  since 2000

OMG best Spring Green Soup ever using ‘Hairy Bittercress & more’

by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP – Living in Natures Love Lifestyles @insideawareness.com

Bittercress Soup

Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta)

In a hurry before class I ran out and gathered some of these weeds that I had noticed growing in the pathway.  Easy to pull and clean in the wetness of recent winter rains.  Pulling the rosettes from the roots and adding them  to veggie stock to leaving cooking for a couple of minutes was easy.  Once soft and wilted into the blender to mince up greens before pouring into a bowl.  Tasting this soup I have to admit that  this was the best soup ever!  It is tasty and nutritious and took less than 10 minutes from start to finish!  It would go well with a spoon of yogurt or sour cream added before serving.

Ingredients

• Hand full of Hairy Bittercress rosettes
• Two cups of veggie broth liquid
• Salt & pepper to taste

Add freshly picked and wash rosettes to veggie broth, add salt and pepper,  and then bring to boil.  Boil until Bittercress is wilted and soft in the liquid and pour into blender.  Mix and serve.  Add garnish and enjoy.

Optional additions to enhance flavour and goodness:

• Baby Swisschard & Kale
• Chickweed
• Wild Onions or Garlic

Optional spicy and tasty garnish:

• Calendula Flowers
• Borage Fowers
• Forget-me-not Flowers

 

More on Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta)

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Copyright 2014 – 2018  Living in Nature’s Love by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP,

Feldenkrais® Practitioner since 2007, Communication & Empathy Coach since 2004, Art of Placement  since 2000

Chickweed Pesto

Fresh Chickweed

Chickweed pesto is delicious, fresh and nutritious!  Pick fresh from your garden or area that you know has not been sprayed.  If you are picking in public area be sure to wash it in a vinegar bath to be on the safe side.

Chickweed Pesto on Egg & Fresh Swiss Chard

1/2 cup Olive Oil

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup of fresh chopped chickweed
2 cloves garlic
1/4 Pine nuts
Salt and pepper (try fresh ground)
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Chop your chickweed first before adding into the blender with other ingredients.  Blend together and enjoy!  Chickweed pesto can be used in the same ways you would use traditional pesto made with basil.  Try over noodles, dipping sauce or with eggs or sandwich spread.

 

More on Chickweed (Stellaria media)

Chickweed Medicine

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Copyright 2014 – 2018  Living in Nature’s Love by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP,

Feldenkrais® Practitioner since 2007, Communication & Empathy Coach since 2004, Art of Placement  since 2000

Winter #yyj Wild Salad from the Garden

by Renee Lindstrom,  , GCFP – Living in Natures Love Lifestyles @insideawareness.com

When the greens start emerging it is time to begin finding novel ways to include them into your diet.  One great way is to start adding these greens and flowers to your salads.  They pair well with Winter veggies that you may have growing like lettuce, kale, spinach and swiss-chard.  Other veggies could be beets and slivers of red onion.

 

 

Back Yard Salad

Yard Salad – March 27, ’17

pickings for Back Yard Salad

January’s Wild Greens from the garden

• Wild Fennel Self-Starters
• Hairy Bittercress
• Chickweed
• Dandelion Greens
• Wild Garlic Onions
• Delicate Rosemary Flowers

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In February add

• Butterbur Flowers

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In March the choices grow

• Butter Fly Tree Flowers
• Cleavers
• English Daisy Flowers & Leaves
• Dandelion Flowers
• Forsythia Flowers
• Hens n’ chicks
• Polyanthus Flowers
• Purple Dead Nettle
• Wild Violets

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Cut and toss, add whole flowers or flower petals and add a simple & subtle dressing:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of  wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard
• pinch of salt

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Toss and enjoy!

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Recommended Reading:

The Best Dressed Salad World Famous Salads Dressings & Their Origins by Author Jim Long

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Copyright 2014 – 2018  Living in Nature’s Love by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP,

Feldenkrais® Practitioner since 2007, Communication & Empathy Coach since 2004, Art of Placement  since 2000

Lilac Wine Vinegar made easily!

by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP

Lilac Wine Vinegar

Making flavoured vinegar’s are simple and easy.  The most time consuming part is picking your flowers, rinsing them and letting them dry and wilt before processing them!

Once the lilacs are wilted pick some small stems and place in your jar.  In this case I used small gift bottles, however, I usually use a large mason jar and recant after the infusion has set for some time.  In these gift bottles I placed only a few bloom branches.  In a mason jar I would pack the jar 1/4 full.  While preparing the flowers I heat up wine vinegar and just before it comes to a boil pour it over the flowers and fill the jar.

Once the jar is filled the lid is put on and the mixture is left in a cool location for 4 to 6 weeks.  Each day the jar is jostled.    After infusing the large mason jar will be filtered, decanted and enjoyed!

More on Making Lilac Jelly

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Traditional uses and properties of herbs are for educational purposes only.  This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.  Every attempt has been made for accuracy, but none is guaranteed. Any serious health concerns or if you are pregnant, you should always check with your health care practitioner before self-administering herbs.

Lilac Jelly

by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP

Lilac jelly

Lilacs

Making Lilac Jelly is like making Fairy Jelly!  The colour is unique!
The taste even more so!  Anyone with little girls would be giving 
them a wonderful experience making this jelly for their tea parties!

It is such a simple process

Preparing the flowers in 3 easy steps

1.  Preparing lilac flowers for jelly begins with picking stems before noon, rinsing them with a light solution of apple cider vinegar and setting them aside to dry and wilt.
2. Later in the day set some water on to boil and pick the flowers from the stems.
3. Once you have 2 cups of flowers picked and in a glass container cover with 3 cups of hot water and leave them to steep.   Once the infusion has cooled cover and put them in the fridge over night, (you can leave infusion in fridge for up to 48 hours).

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The next day gather your ingredients together and put your jelly jars on to sterilize.

Filter the flowers from the infusion and squeeze remaining water to get as much of the infused water for the jelly as possible.

Ingredients

• 2 – 1/4 cups of lilac steeped water
• *2 – 3 cups of sugar
• 1 box pectin
• 1 tablespoon of butter

*sugar – most recipes call for double this amount of sugar, however, to add that amount would be too sweet for this writer.  Using honey to replace sugar would create a jelly that hides the taste of the lilacs.  

Recipe

Remember put jars and lids in streamer and bring to boil while preparing jelly.  

Combine infused water and pectin and bring to boil.  Slowly add sugar stirring and bringing solution back to a boil.  Add butter and melt to reduce foam and skimming process.  Take off heat and skim off remaining foam.

Take jars out of steamer and begin filling leaving only small air space!  Cover with lids and set aside to cool.  As the jars cool a popping sound will happen as the seal is made between the jar and lid.  Once cooled check lids and re-steam the jars that have not sealed!

The jelly can take up to six hours to become  solid.

Enjoy!

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Traditional uses and properties of herbs are for educational purposes only. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Every attempt has been made for accuracy, but none is guaranteed. Any serious health concerns or if you are pregnant, you should always check with your health care practitioner before self-administering herbs.