May offers an incredible bounty of beautiful, sweet and delicious edible flowers – both wild and ornamental. While the magnificent magnolias have mainly passed, we are being greeted with new flowers that offer a wide variety of options for enjoyment.
With mother’s day around the corner, it is the perfect time to go outside and explore nature’s bounty! Continuing on with monthly themes, my May public foraging events will highlight the numerous wild plants, flowers, trees and roots that are perfect for pickling! Each walk will conclude with a tasting of some of my most recent recipes including quick pickled magnolia flowers, dandelion capers and pickled spring onions with ramps, and a discussion on how to make your own at home.
Magnolia flowers are easily in my Top 5 favorite wild foods. In addition to being stunningly beautiful, they are insane flavor bombs of citrusy, gingery, cardamom goodness. And so versatile! Magnolias work in a wide array of recipes and concoctions – from the classic quick pickles and vinegars to jellies, sugars, tea mixes, shrubs and cocktails.
In April, I’ll be trying something new at my events. I like to think of it as a kind of theme, based around the month’s abundance. Up first? Drinks! Inspired by April’s flowers, herbs and syrups. In addition to spring foraging, I will be discussing how to make your own wild crafted sodas and shrubs (drinking vinegars) at home.
Spring seems to have come early this year and I couldn’t be happier! This month, I am offering two public foraging walks, both focused on edible and medicinal plants and trees that are available right now.