Wild Food and Medicine Recipes!

Here is a small number of medicinal recipes you can create at home (as I promised to deliver after my last workshop!)

Please enjoy, use your intuition, common sense, respect and love for the plant world which sustains us!

Pixie Disclaimer: Please forgive me if some of the measurements in these recipes are off, I am not one to measure much! I am a 'pinch of that' and 'handful of this' type of person, and I have done my best to convey the following in a way that is easy for others to understand!
Also, if you are ever unsure of a plant make sure you do adequate research before making and munching! Some plants demand a respect by making us extremely unwell, they require intuition, research and sense applied in order for a nutritious and not harmful harvest! 

St. Johns Wort Carrot Cake with Hemp Cream

This recipe is one to cheer someone up! St. Johns wort is renowned for aiding depression, lightening spirits, aiding moods swings, assisting coughs and fevers and relieving seasonal attributed depression.
The syrup on its own can be used in deserts, on its own as a medicine or as a sweetener in cakes or cups or tea.
The cake is a wonderful thing to bake as the wheel nears to Autumn!

Ingredients:
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 Carrots
- 1 Cup Buckwheat flour
- 1 Cup Almond Flour
- 3 Eggs
- 2 Cups St Johns Wort Syrup
- 1 Cup Dried white Mulberries (or Sultanas)
- 1/2 Cup Cranberries

To make Syrup:
Collect the beautiful bright yellow flower heads of Hypernicum perforatumn on a sunny day (or they are available from health food stores, online or some organic food stores). You can make as much syrup as you want ans store it, as it can be used for coughs, colds and depression. For this recipe you will need about 5 cups, 3 large handfuls.
Make sure all plant material is dried (there is more potency this way).
Pour about 1.5 Liters of water that is hot (but hasn't quite boiled) over the top of the flower heads, cover and let steep overnight.
Add 2 Cups of organic raw sugar, or coconut sugar, to the water and herb material and gently heat on a stovetop until the mixture has reduced by 2 thirds, stirring every 10mins. The mixture should turn viscous in consistency, if it has not, then add more sugar and keep stirring.
You will need to stir continuously when the mixture starts to thicken to stop it burning.
Jar the mixture and leave for the flowers to steep for 2 weeks to one month.
Strain the flowers out and the Syrup is ready to use!
Note: Star anise, cloves, a touch of cayenne pepper and/or nutmeg all go well with this recipe! Add when reducing to a syrup.

To make the Cake:
Add dry ingredients together (Almond meal, Buckwheat flour, Mulberries, Baking powder, Cranberries) in a bowl, and wet ingredients (Carrots, Eggs, Syrup) together in a separate bowl.
Oil a cake tin, mix the wet and dry ingredients together (make sure the mixture isn't too runny, you want it to be wet, but not runny) and bake on 180 degrees Celsius for 20-30 minutes (or until cooked in the center!).

Can add Hemp Cream or Cashew Icing (with Elderflowers if you want to get completely medicine woman!):
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 1/2 Cup Hulled Hemp Seeds (or Cahsews)
- Pinch of salt
- 4 fresh Elderflower flower heads

BLEND! Serve on top of the cake!


Summer Solstice Salad
Made from a variety of summer weeds and a few things you can grow or purchase at a shop, this salad brings a taste of summer!
Collect the Fat hens seeds from the plant (the leaves can be eaten too, but the seeds are extremely high in amino acids) and lightly toast them in coconut oil.
The rest is simple, chops the leaves and flowers, mix the dressing and blend!

Handful of:
- Young dandelion leaves
- Dandelion blossoms
- Mint
- Fat Hen (Lambs Quaters) seeds (toasted)
- Clover leaves
- Diced snow peas
- Diced cucumber

Small portions of:
- Calendula flowers
- Borage flowers
- Nasturtium flowers
- Spring onion

Dressing
- 4 Tablespoons organic honey
- 2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 Cloves minced garlic
- 4 Tablespoons orange juice


Dandelion Blossom Pancakes


- 3 Handfuls dandelion blossoms (chopped)
- 1.5 Cups buckwheat flour
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Cup milk
- 1/2 Cup coconut sugar

Mix together in a bowl and fry the batter in a pan with coconut oil.
Serve with maple syrup (or honey) and summer fruits!

Elderflower Cordial

20 elderflower heads
4 lemons
2 oranges
1.5 kg granulated sugar
1.5 L water

Mix together the sugar and water in a saucepan over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Zest the citrus, cut off the bottoms and tops and slice thinly and place in a bowl with the flower heads. Pour liquid over citrus and elderflowers, cover and let stand for 24hrs.
Strain and chill. The oranges and lemons can be added to salads as they are infused and taste delicious!
You can add fresh dandelion leaves to this while its steeping to give extra medicine! 


Lush Litha Herrrb Elixir


- Handful of dried Red Clover flowers
- Handful of dried Oatstraw
- Handful of fresh young Dandelion leaves
- Handful of fresh Dandelion blossoms

Stuff herbs into a glass jar and fill 3/4 of the jar with brandy and 1/4 remaining of honey.
Be sure that all plant material is underneath the brandy and honey, or it may oxidize and go mouldy.
Leave for 4-8 weeks and then strain the herbs and pour into a small bottle.
Take 5ml a day as a tonic, or add to juices for a Summer boost!

Hope you enjoy these, there are many more to come and if you have any questions feel free to email me: thepermapixie@gmail.com
Like The Perma Pixie on facebook and checkout my new upcoming Herbal Wisdom workshops!

Many Blessings for the year to come, may we all create a diverse network of Medicine Warriors!