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Field Notes from Jess ~ Rewilding in 2021 | Week 40/52 | Fall

oregon grape berries salal berries wild foraging wild harvested health tonic Sep 26, 2021
Rewilding | Wild Foraging | Healthy Lifestyle
Field notes from Jess ~ Rewilding in 2021
Week 40 of 52
Oregon Grape & Salal Berry Elixir ~ September
Trail Foraging Pack List:
Foragers Basket (made this basket, you can too with Wildkind Academy)
Gloves
Pendleton Blanket
Hat
Snacks (sprouted nuts & seeds)
Water bottle
I was in search of Wintergreen but instead found that the forest was offering the last of the Oregon Grape and Salal berries. August and September is the harvesting window and these beauties were ready. The Salal is sweet and juicy, an awesome antioxidant, while Oregon Grape tastes tart but is high in vit. C.
I decided to mix them together to create a Sunday, rainy night Elixir! This was so simple…cover the berries with water, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 min. I mashed them down while cooking and they have a natural pectin, which thickens the juice. After straining in a jelly bag, I added fresh squeezed lemon and raw honey.
The Elixir was no doubt delicious and magical. I diluted the juice with half water and sipped it on the porch this evening while taking in the fall feeling.
With each changing season nature shares with us these timely gifts. Harvesting what is being offered in abundance is a sweet exchange with these native plants. It is a communion shared with the natural world and brings me into a deep sensation of belonging. Amazing to think that these plants produce exactly the medicine and nutrients we need seasonally and that our bodies were perfectly created to ingest and nourish from these plant offerings.
With love and gratitude to all things Wild ~ Cheers!
Recipe was inspired by Karen Sherwood from Earthwalk Northwest
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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