This Week's Woodland Grocery Specials
Elder Flower, Milkweed Flower, Cattail Spikes and Pollen, Mulberry, and Wild Strawberry
Elders commonly grow along small streams and roadside ditches. Elder flowers are beautifully fragrant. Many people like to make elder flower fritters out of these large flower heads. If you prefer not to fry them, try sprinkling the flowers into baked goods or using them to decorate cupcakes. They dry nicely, and readily impart their delicate fragrance to teas. The flowers also ferment well, and will make a delicious cordial or "champagne".
Like elder flowers, milkweed flowers can be made into fritters, dried for teas, and fermented to make cordial and wine. But for a really special drink, try fermenting milkweed flowers and elder flowers together. This is what happy tastes like. (But what about the monarchs?!?) Although the adult butterflies will use milkweed nectar, they do not require it. Only the monarch caterpillars need the milkweed, and they consume the leaves, not the flowers. Since milkweeds a) reproduce primarily through cloning and patch expansion, and b) produce several flower heads in succession on each plant, it would require a conscious effort to keep a milkweed from reproducing simply by picking the flowers. So don't worry. A single harvest of flower heads from your favorite milkweed patch won't hurt the milkweeds or the monarchs.
Some patches of cattail are farther along than others, so cattail pollen and spikes are both prime right now. The pollen is a beautiful, nearly neon yellow. It is high in protein and can be used in the same way you would use nuts and grains- add and handful to granola, muffins, or other baked goods. Cattail spikes, the immature male portion before the pollen is released, are delicious steamed or pan fried. So take two containers with you when you go out into the cattails to harvest: one for the pollen and another for immature spikes.
Mulberries are nearing their end. If you haven't collected them yet, there isn't much time left. Mulberries are excellent for fermentation. (Here is my recipe for mulberry vinegar.) Because they are easy to collect in quantity and produce a fair amount of juice, they are an ideal fruit for jelly and syrup. I use the syrup with seltzer or club soda all year to make "red pop". The berries also freeze well, so don't forget to put a few cups away for a pie later.
Wild strawberries are one of my favorite June trail snacks. Wild strawberries are tiny compared to their domesticated cousins, however, they make up for their size with an immense amount of flavor. They are only around for a couple of weeks. But you can extend your enjoyment of them by collecting a few handfuls for drying. Dried wild strawberries are absolutely wonderful in oatmeal in January. In most years, collecting enough wild strawberries to make jam or a pie would take forever and is not worth the effort. This year, thought, the wild strawberries are fruiting heavily in many areas. So you just might luck out.
