Glorious Mulberry Jam

Mulberry Jam!  Mulberry Jam!  Mulberry Jam!
I'm super pumped that it's time for mulberries - the ignored and forgotten fruit.
If you want to learn how to identify and locate this fruit, I've already posted about that in my Lakewood Patch blog, Urban Foraging:
http://lakewood-oh.patch.com/groups/urban-foraging/p/marvelous-mulberry

For Spittle and Lawn Grass, I want to talk about some of the health benefits of these lovely berries and about the jam I made!
For starters, they are FULL of antioxidants which are great for lessening the damage caused by free radicals.  These antioxidants come from the anthocyanins, which give fruit (not just the mulberry) it's color.  It is thought that anthocyanins, in addition to helping fight free radicals, are also good for improving eye sight, helping to fight off cancer and to help with overall health improvement.  Sounds good to me!
**while both the fruit and leaves are edible, only the ripe fruit and cooked leaves are used.  Unripe fruit and uncooked leaves are toxic and mildly hallucinogenic.**
Mulberries also contain a significant amount of protein, in addition to vitamin C, iron and potassium.  They make a great pick me up snack for those mid afternoon lulls. 
Mulberries are also great for boosting your immune system, increasing a healthy blood sugar level and in Chinese medicine mulberry is used for inflammation.
One more thing about eating/using mulberries; if you pick them, you'll notice 1. an annoying little green stem that is impossible to remove without destroying the berry and 2. a large amount of seeds.  Both are edible and best left intact.  There is quite a bit of nutrients packed into that little green stem!  I don't even bother with a food mill or cheese cloth when making jam, I leave everything in there.
Mulberries are quite good dried and they make an excellent addition to granola - the seeds will give you a satisfying crunch.

While all the health benefits are well and good (and I certainly appreciate them) my favorite thing about mulberries is making jam! 
The first thing I did was go out and pick my mulberries.  This can be done be either picking them individually off the tree, or placing a tarp down and shaking the branches. 
I then brought the berries home, washed them and began simmering them on the stove with sugar! 
 I brought it to a boil, added some pectin and tada!  Mulberry jam!  I also have plenty of berries in my freezer to make another batch of jam and to add to baked goods later in the year.  I'm thinking a mulberry pie for Thanksgiving.....

This little guy dropped out of the tree when we shook it.  It is a male Clubionid and he was kind enough to stand still so I could get a photograph.  (Clubionids are more commonly known as sac spiders - I'm sure you've seen the yellow sac spider in your house once or twice.  If you look closely, you can see two "boxing gloves" between his front legs.  Those are his pedipalps, which are swollen because they contain sperm.  The females, while they also have pedipalps, they are not swollen.  This is a sure fire way to sex a spider.  Try it next time you see one!)

If you are interested in making your own jam, I used 9 cups of fresh berries to 6 cups of sugar.  I brought it to a rolling boil and added 1 packed (3 oz) of liquid pectin.  I then canned and processed in a hot water bath. 
If you just want to taste and buy the jam already made (pretty please!)  I will be at LEAF Nights 5:30-8pm Thursday nights on the front steps of the main branch of the Lakewood Public Library on Detroit Ave. 
Thanks for reading this!

Chenopodium - A Lovely Weed

The heat and humidity are finally here.  My tomatoes and peppers, if they could, would be jumping for joy.  I will do the jumping for them.  It finally feels like summer. 
And with that, it's time to get back to what this blog is supposed to be about - wild plants!  Thanks for sticking around and reading while I dealt with my wisdom teeth, the neighbor's dogs and my dog (who is vastly improving ever day!)

I want to talk today about Lambs Quarters (Chenopodium album).  This is a "weed" that I can almost guarantee you have growing in your yard, your sidewalk or your garden.  Maybe check that forgotten patch of overgrown plants behind the garage?
Once you see it, you will forever be seeing it (and once you eat it, you'll forever be looking for it!).

This plant has many common names - lambs quarters, pigweed and goosefoot.  The name "goosefoot" comes from the thought that the leaves resemble a goose's foot.  As a matter-of-fact, Chenopodium actually translates to "goose foot."  Another interesting "feature" of this plant that is reminiscent of the goose is the white, mealy underside of the leaf.  This is commonly mistaken for either a pesticide/herbicide or mold.  It is in fact neither, but a nifty feature of the plant that allows water to just roll off the leaves (like water running off a goose's back!). 

Here is the underside of the leaf - which you can see is has a white hue to it.  (If you encounter some  Chenopodium try spraying it with the hose or splashing it with water.  The water will just bead and roll off.)
This plant usually grows between 3-5 feet tall and has a slender, grooved stem.  The stem can be tinged red, most often near the leaf joints. 
This plant is a favorite of foragers because it is quite tasty (has a spinach like taste), prolific, easy to find and nutritious. 
According to "Wild Man" Steve Brill "if you begin learning wild foods with only a few wild plants, this widely distributed, easy-to-identify, tasty, nutritious and long in season plant should be one of the first on your list."
To prepare this tasty treat, trim the leaves off the stems and use it anyway you would spinach.  Raw in salads, steam it, saute it, add it to soups and stews. The leaves are full of beta carotene, calcium, iron and potassium and it dries well so you can save it for winter time soups or powder it to add nutrients to various dishes.  The seeds are also edible providing calcium, protein and potassium.

One thing to be cautious of when dealing with lambs quarters is that it will absorb nitrates from the soil and can make you sick.  If you suspect the area you have located your lambs quarters to be contaminated, move along and find another spot.

And..... don't forget I also started blogging for the Lakewood Patch!
 http://lakewood-oh.patch.com/groups/urban-foraging/p/prolific-purslane

Thanks for reading!

Birthday, Solstice and Dogs

Yesterday was the official first day of summer.  I found it fitting that it was finally "hot" out.  Today it's pretty warm and humid too - we are supposed to get thunderstorms later :) 
I haven't been good about taking pictures this week - but a lot of epic things have happened.
Wednesday night I got a frantic call from Mr. X informing me that Roxy (our Shepard mix) was unable to walk, she was drooling and her eyes were twitching.  I left work early and came home to find my dog basically acting as if she was drunk.  Vertigo, vomiting, unable to walk or stand.  Scary stuff.
We did some research and took her to the vet.  While it could be a number of different things, given the sudden onset and how greatly she has improved over the last 72 hours, I'm going to go with option number one - Vestibular Syndrome.  What is that you ask?  Well, for some reason, doctors/vets have no idea what causes this or how to cure it - the Vestibular nerve (located near her ear canal) becomes inflamed - typically in older dogs.  This inflammation causes twitchy eyes, drooling, vertigo, and ultimately the inability to stand or walk.  The only way to really deal with it is to give your dog Dramamine to curb the motion sickness enough that they can eat and drink.  We've had to carry her up and down the stairs and keep her harness on in order to help her walk and basically feed her by hand because her head is tilted so much.  Recovery can be in as little as a few days to as long as a few weeks.  After barely 3 days, she went from complete immobilization to standing and walking on her own.  She is still wobbly, her eyes have a slight twitch and her head is still cocked to the right, but she has vastly improved since Weds.  Hopefully by Monday she will be back to her old self.
So that happened.
Then Thursday was my birthday!  Woooo!  After getting the vet out of the way and learning what was going on, I had to get ready for the farmers market!  My friend Kara surprised me with an awesome handmade (and beaded!) necklace of a spider with a sugar skull bead!  Very awesome!  My brother showed up and gave me a new trunk that he had made to house all of my wares!  There are slots for all the jars of jam and shelves that fold out to hold my ZombieSocks!  And, it has wheels!
My evening concluded with pizza and some Arrested Development.
Yesterday I had the fam over, and my mom made her famous cheesecake and we played Cards Against Humanity.  All in all it was a good time.
And.......I also learned that I am now going to be blogging on the Lakewood Patch website about urban foraging and wild edibles!
I also, hopefully, will have big news soon, but that will have to wait!
Thanks for reading this!
Happy Summer :) 

Favorite Days

Today was one of my favorite kind of days.  I love getting up early and savoring as much out of my day as I can, and today was no exception.  I was up at 6:30am this morning because today we were going strawberry picking (we being my friend Morgan and myself).

We got to Fitch's early and it was still cool and overcast - some of the best weather from strawberry picking in my opinion.  We picked 8 quarts of strawberries total.  While checking out they had a few quarts of "preserve" berries that were a little over ripe so I bought one of those too.  I also got a quart of berries last night with my CSA share, so we were up to 10 quarts of berries.  Not bad.  I currently have 1 quart sitting on my counter for munching, 2 quarts macerating in some sugar and vanilla for jam making tomorrow and 3 quarts in my freezer for later use (Morgan took her 4 home to meet similar fates).  I'm beyond pumped that fruit is finally in season again.

After arriving home and prepping the berries for their various duties we set out to find some red clover.  Red clover is currently in bloom EVERYWHERE.  I had a small patch in my yard I was hoping to dry for infusion making, but the resident rabbit decided he/she wanted to eat it instead.  Better the clover than my veggies!

For today's purposes, it's convenient that I live near the freeway* - there are all kinds of wildflowers, edibles and medicinal plants growing along the freeway.  We found tons of Crown Vetch (not edible nor medicinal but beautiful non the less):

Chicory, which makes a wonderful coffee like beverage - we will be returning in the fall to collect the root to roast. (Those yellow flowers in the background are Trefoil.)

 Curly Dock :

Day Lily :

And, the shining star of the day, Red Clover:

We are currently drying the red clover on screens

I placed the screens on the back porch for about an hour to allow all the little critters we inadvertently brought home with us time to scamper away - and not in my house.
I've talked about infusions before, but just a quick tutorial, you take about an ounce of dried herb (which is equal to roughly a cup) and place it in a jar, cover with boiling water, steep over night, strain and drink.  It's a very vitamin and mineral rich beverage.  Red clover is good because it is full of phytoestrogens and phytosterols so it is an excellent anti-cancer herb as well as good for women dancing with menopause.  Ancient peoples used Red Clover as an herb of immorality and protection and according to Old Wives, placing a blossom or two in an amulet bag would insure good health and a strong spirit.  You can tincture the fresh blossoms in alcohol, mix them with honey for a Red Clover Blossom Honey, or dry them like I do and use them for infusions.
During our travels today, we also found some Sumac with berries that will be very ripe soon - Sumac-ade!  About 6 pear trees with young pears nearing maturity and a mulberry tree with berries that will hopefully be ready next week!


*When I say "along the freeway" we are actually below the freeway, where large areas of grass and wildflowers, which are regularly mowed by the city, but not sprayed, are located.  We are not right on top of cars, exhaust and other debris.

No Thank You Western Medicine

My life has been pretty boring these past few days - it's amazing how much having your wisdom teeth removed takes out of you. 
While I do have health insurance, I use it primarily to have my teeth cleaned twice a year and get my bi-yearly eye exam and new glasses.  I'm not a fan of Western Medicine at all.  I don't understand it. 
I do indulge in the occasional ibuprofen, it doesn't upset my stomach, doesn't contain any caffeine and it get's the job done. (nobody wants to be at work for 8 hours with raging cramps, waiting for the cramp bark and raspberry tea to kick in.) - beyond this however, I don't rely on any prescription or over the counter medications. 
I wouldn't go so far as to say I was terrified of having my teeth taken out, but I'm 28 (or will be on June 20) and I've never broken a bone, never had stitches, never had any form of anesthesia, I've never been to the ER (for myself) or experienced any sort of medical emergency or issue.  This was all completely new to me. 
In order to have my teeth out, the surgeon prescribed a 10mg Valium to take prior to my surgery.  I decided, despite my misgivings toward Western Medicine, that I would "follow the doctor's orders", at least at first, and see what happened.
The Valium was ridiculous.  My friend sent me a text message and I couldn't even coherently respond.  Dislike.
The surgery went off without a hitch.  I will hand it to Dr. Goldstein, he knows what he is doing.  I wasn't even in there an hour and a half.  I had essentially no bleeding and no complications.
Upon leaving the office, I was given a prescription for Prednesone and Percocet.  The first day home I took 3 Percoet.  The last one made me vomit.  I nixed those.  I continued to take the steroid to help with the swelling, but after 2 days I just felt "weird."  All I wanted to do was sleep, I felt spacy and couldn't focus.  I nixed those as well.  I've basically relied on a fairly healthy diet ("fairly" because let's face it, I can't eat shit right now so I'm going to indulge in the ice cream, pudding and mashed potatoes) my Plantain rinse, my warm salt water rinse and the occasional ibuprofen - I didn't have any pain until about 4 or 5 days after, at which point I had a dull ache in my right jaw. 
After getting all the "drugs" out of my system, I feel a million times better.  I felt more inclined to eat, drink a f*ck ton of water, get outside, get some sunshine and do a little weeding and yard work.  THAT is what has made me feel better and helped heal me.  Today marks six days since having my teeth out.  I'm still tender, sore and ever-so-slightly swollen but I'm feeling like a normal person again.
That being said, I think I'm going to continue to stick with my herbs and healthy diet.

Plain Plantain

Today I want to talk about one of my favorite wild plants/herbs, plantain.  It is one of the first plants to make an appearance in the spring (which I have mentioned before) but now it is everywhere and even easier to spot because one species, Plantago lanceolata, is blooming. 

There are two common species of this plant, also known as "ribwort" that you will or should be able to find growing in your yard, narrow leaf and broad leaf plantain.
This is the narrow leaf:

And this is the broad leaf species:

The broad leaf takes a while to bloom, but has similar flowers to the narrow leaf variety.

This is a plant that has been used in herbal medicine for a long time.  It is thought to have come to America by European settlers because the Native Americans referred to it as "white man's foot."
The name "ribwort" which is also commonly used in older herbals comes from the deeply "ribbed" or "veined" leaves on this plant.
What makes this plant so awesome is that it is a great first aid remedy.  Got stung by a bee?  Grab some plantain.  Poison ivy?  Plantain.  Any kind of skin irritation, sore or wound, plantain is what you want. 
It is most commonly used to heal topically, traditionally by making a poultice and then placing that on the affected area.  This is most easily done by grabbing a couple of leaves, chewing them and then placing the chewed up mass on the wound.  I've done this when I was stung by a bee, as well as the countless times I've cut myself.  Make a poultice, place it on the cut, cover with a bandaid.  No need for neosporin!
Dry, itchy skin?  No worries, try plantain.  Not only can you use it as a poultice, but you could also make an oil/salve/balm from this wonder plant and use that instead.  Over 20 anti-inflammatory constituents have been found in plantain!  You can even dry plantain for winter use, powder the herb and then dust the powder over the affected area.
To quote Susun Weed (one of my favorite herbalists)

"Plantain—the “bandage” plant—soothes and cools. The fresh leaves counter infection, stop pain, slow bleeding, reduce swelling, and quell itching, internally and externally, in both acute and chronic conditions. Plantain has remarkable restorative and pain relieving powers on the skin and all mucus surfaces: mouth, throat, lungs, sinuses, stomach, intestines, kidneys and bladder."

The more I learn about plantain, the more I love this plant.
You can also eat the leaves, they are great in spring salads, or as a pot herb as they get older.  You can even season and dry them the same way you would make kale chips!

Plantain is also really good for teeth and gum health - it is an excellent tonic for pulling out infection and toning gums.  An infusion of plantain can be used as a gargle as well as placing wadded up leaves on the infection site and biting down to draw out infection.
Which brings me in part to why I wanted to talk about plantain today.  Since I had my wisdom teeth out on Friday, I decided to make an infusion of dried plantain to use as a rinse to help the healing.
I went out earlier in the week and collected a bunch of leaves and dried them.  The night before my surgery I placed the dried leaves in a quart mason and jar and filled it with boiling water, let it steep over night and then strained it in the morning.  Infusions are only good for about 36 hours, but I used it multiple times to help my mouth.

I've taken great care in icing my face, drinking plenty of fluids and I've been on an almost liquid diet as well, but I've had next to no pain (I've required no pain killers save for the day of my surgery) and the swelling has not been to bad (I think the swelling is due in part to the removal of a piece of my jaw bone in order to have access to my wisdom tooth....) so I would say the plantain rinse is doing it's job!

Have you found any plantain in your yard?

Farmer's Market Kick Off!

So...the moment I've finally been waiting for!  Thursday night was the kick off to this year's Farmer's Market!  Technically it is a CSA (community supported agriculture) pick up along with several local farmers and vendors slinging their wares.  I've purchased a share the last 3 years and this year I decided I was going to vend there.  I'm so thrilled. 
My friend Morgan and I combined forces and we are calling ourselves "Morki's Wares n' Such" so in addition to seasonal jellies and jams, we also have baked goods and handmade items. 
Of course it was raining, but my friend Colleen of Goody2Shoes Bakery was also vending, so we all huddled under a tent together.  My lovely friend Kara was on hand to take some pictures!

 Rose jelly was the favorite, so I'll be making another batch of that this week.  We also have some fun ideas to mix up our Canooooes (which are just homemade Twinkies.) Within the next week or two we will also have fresh strawberry jam on hand.
All in all it was a great time, a lot of friends came out to say, some I haven't seen in a long while and we look forward to next week, and hopefully some nicer weather.

I'm currently recovering from my wisdom teeth removal yesterday, which wasn't as bad as I thought, but I'm already over the swelling and stitches and liquid diet I've been on.

Coming up in the next day or two, we're going to talk about Plaintain!

Roses

A few weeks ago, it was dandelions.  They were everywhere.  In my neighborhood, they were basically the first "wild" flower to bloom.  I knew spring was coming when I saw the first one.  It all went down hill from there.  Pretty soon, I was seeing field of yellow everywhere I went; fantasizing about making jelly, frying the flower heads and eating the greens.  Fortunately, I was blessed to have quite a few in my yard - which I was able to eat and make jelly with - of which I wrote about in previous posts.

Now is the time for roses - wild roses to be exact.  From the time I spotted the first few buds, I've been anxiously awaiting their bloom.  Two weeks ago, the first ones came.  Only a few at a time.  And then an explosion.

I love this rose bush I have in my yard.  When I first moved here, it was the only thing of color in the backyard besides green.  She was a rather large bush, full and unruly, long tendrils bowing down to the ground with flowers.  I just let her do her thing, I didn't have much experience with rose bushes and was afraid to trim or cut for fear of injuring and ultimately killing this lovely plant. 

Then I came home one day to find my landlord had taken it upon himself to do some yard work.  The rose bush had been hacked to the ground.  It was just a stump.  I felt like I had had the wind knocked out of me.  It was gone.

Or so I thought.
It came back with a vengeance the following year, and has been left untouched (except for a light pruning by yours truly) since.

Besides being beautiful, why are roses important?  For many reasons.  It has been part of stories and lore for ages.  This flower is sacred to Isis, it's the flower of Aphrodite and sprung up from the blood of Venus.  Native Americans used the rose for it's beauty and for medicine.  Remains of roses have been found in ancient burial sites throughout North America that can be dated from 20-40,000 years old.

Roses have also been used throughout history as an aphrodisiac , to east tension and anxiety and to uplift the spirits.  They have a renowned tonifying  and regulating effect on both the female and male reproductive organs.  An infusion of rose petals can relieve menstrual cramps and strengthen bones. 
When working with rose, the petals, leaves, leaf bud and fruit (the rose hips) can be used.

Rose petals can be infused in oil and used for massage to help with the circulatory system and to soothe the nerves.  You can also make a rose water - which makes a wonderful astringent toner.  However, the first thing I like to do with roses, besides prune a few to bring into the kitchen, is to make jelly.

Which brings us back to this year.
Thursday there were more than enough blooms to collect 2 packed cups of petals. 

Isn't it gorgeous?  We've had some wonderful rain storms the last couple of days and now the rose bush is bursting with more blooms.  This is the only thing I hate about gardening/canning season.  The plants don't wait for you to have time to put them up as preserves - it must be done on their time.  Which means I'll be squeezing in another jelly making session this week before opening day at the Farmer's Market Thursday!