Elderberry syrup (and more)

Dear reader, not as inspiring as my cycling blog and a bit late but I want to share with you some, simple yet tasty, findings from nature.

As a beginner this is not much to go by on when one would live solely off the land yet I need to start somewhere (amidst being as self sufficient as can be). These few natural findings are also easy enough to fit into the work load I now took on myself and are indeed delicious.

Tons of information and recipes are to be found online so why bother, you might think? I want to document their multi functionality (without annoying adds all over): fabrics can be dyed with it, powders, syrups or teas are to be derived and generally they’re easy to get by. The biggest benefit however is that I simply like the taste.

Some foraging last year yielded me enough for regular use into all sorts of meals. The nettle syrup in particular is a cheap surrogate for the expensive maple syrup.

Goldenrod is already presenting itself, so you will be in time to incorporate this bright yellow flower. Carob seems to be year round available, the pods are ripe when they are dark, reddish brown.