Times of Extreme Frugality: We Hit the Road

Sometimes even those of us buying only the necessities like a bit of pizzaz in our diet. So I decided it was time to try a recipe I've had for years and also to revisit one I made years ago.

First up, elderflower presse. 

English lit and tv are big in our house and it seems someone is always offering homemade elderberry wine to visitors. I don't drink wine but I thought a drink made from elderberry flowers sounded interesting. And they are in bloom right now.

So, first step, gather about 25 elderberry blossoms. 

We have two elderberry bushes that we planted last year, but I wasn't willing to give up potential berries. Luckily, they grow wild along our road and it didn't take us long to spy some in a bit of wilderness.

Cut off most of the stems and pick over--there WILL BE BUGS.

Heat one liter of water in a pot (I guess my recipe really is British) and add 500 grams of sugar and four tablespoons of honey. Remove from the heat, add zest and juice of one lemon, the flowers and cover. 

Let sit overnight. Strain and store.

Essentially, what you have made is simple syrup with essence of elderflowers. Dilute one part presse with nine parts ice water or seltzer and pretend you're having tea with Miss Marple.


Years ago, I got interest in wild foods (anyone remember Euell Gibbons?). One of the few that we liked was day lily buds.

Day lilies grow wild along roadsides all over New York and are easy to spot. Word of caution: remember the old cartoons of corpses with white lilies on their chests? Those lilies are poisonous. Be sure you are picking day lilies, Hemerocallis, which have edible buds, flowers, shoots, and tubers.

I opted to saute the buds in some bacon grease. They are also good dipped in fritter batter and fried.

Cheap dinner of day lily buds, homegrown snap peas, turkey burger on a homemade bun. Summer on a plate!

Anyone else gleaned a meal from the wild? I would love to hear your experiences!

Today's botany lesson, class, will be about seed dispersal.

Wearing sweatpants in the weeds--not a good idea.

Bedazzled in the garden

I woke up this morning thinking about the Krebs Cycle*.

The Krebs Cycle, aka Citric Acid Cycle, was part of our photosynthesis studies in botany. Chemistry, however,  will always remain a mystery to me; I managed to memorize enough of the cycle to barely pass the tests then promptly forgot it. In fact, it was a semester of Organic Chemistry that opened my eyes to the fact that I would never get an advanced degree in Plant Science (I later discovered you can easily get a Masters in Library Science and never see the inside of a laboratory).

But I digress.

What the Krebs Cycle really brings home is the absolute marvel of green plants.

Somehow, kohlrabi, which never set foot inside a college classroom, not only manages Krebs but mitosis, geotropism, photosynthesis and all of those other big words we've forgotten from biology lectures. Carrots begin life as a seed almost too tiny to handle and become luscious, orange bunny food. And maple trees! One winged seed somehow germinates in dense forest and eventually takes over the neighborhood as the climax vegetation.

Scientist can explain and strew facts endlessly on the whys and hows and wherefores of nature, that doesn't mean life isn't a wonder. Take a minute and stand in awe.


*The pre-move stress must be getting to me!