Some people call them elderflowers and others call them elderberries. For me, it depends on the season. Either way you look at it, the elder is a generous plant, producing two edible crops with excellent flavors. In spring you’ll find fragrant flowers, and in late summer, you’ll harvest clusters of deep purple fruit.
I will never waste your time with garnish. Yes, garnish is pretty, but if it doesn’t contribute something more, like flavor, scent, or surprise, it’s not worth my time. Or yours.
Who doesn’t appreciate a cool craft cocktail at the end of a hot summer day? (That’s a rhetorical question.) If you live where there are sassafras trees, consider yourself lucky. It’s not only a beautiful tree in the landscape, but its three edible parts make it useful and tasty as well. This sassafras cocktail recipe uses the leaves of the…
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That’s right. Sassafras Leaf Infused Vodka, aka Sassy vodka. It puts the wild in wildcrafted cocktail. Foragers know there’s controversy surrounding sassafras and one of its components: safrole. The FDA deems it a carcinogen, but many foragers and herbalists consider that to be untrue, and continue to use it regularly.
I do not say this lightly: this time I have outdone myself. Rose Petal Panna Cotta is just plain wonderful. The light, creamy panna cotta is the perfect vehicle for the richly spiced flavor of multiflora rose petals. I wish I could feed it to everyone I know, then bask in the glory of their admiration. It’s that good.
