Tag: recipes

By Alison Steele I’m at the beck and call of spring sunshine as the earth warms and the sweet scent of berry blossoms wafts through the garden. It’s time to free up the blueberries as they intertwine with the nettles in a delicate dance of time and space. At the peak of their nutrition, I pull the nettles as the… Read More

By Alison Steele Every year for my birthday I bake egg custard pies. It’s one of my mama’s favorites and seems to tickle fond childhood memories. Treats like spoon bread, egg custard, bread pudding, and cream pie were readily made on their small backwoods farm from fresh eggs, freshly skimmed cream, raw milk, and day-old bread. Becoming harder and harder… Read More

By Alison Steele The elderberry tree (Sambucus nigra) is native and to both Virginia and California. It waves its abundant white flowers in processions along mountain roads and stands watch in the corners of cultivated gardens in early to mid summer. My mother’s Mennonite Community cookbook, from 1950, offers recipes for pies, jams, jellies, vinegars, cordials, and wine including this… Read More

By Alison Steele If you’ve been following along, you’ll notice that I love harvesting edible flowers to flavor our food. Reeling us in with color, then aroma, and capturing our taste buds with the melding of essential oils, flowering herbs are a complex flavor addition to any meal. Continuing the edible flower theme, this week’s recipe is nothing short of… Read More

By Alison Steele Spring can’t help but lure one out with its flowers and trees loaded with blossoms and birds. Finding an adventure in nature has been essential for relaxation now more than ever. With summer just around the corner, a picnic is the perfect way to extend your day outside relaxing in the sun. Whether you’re heading to the… Read More

Recipes from a Mountain Garden By Alison Steele Coming into Spring, the hiking paths are lined with nettles, miner’s lettuce, wild garlic, and  plantain. It’s fun to forage for wild greens, adding nutrients to our bodies when we need it most! Mother Earth knows how to grow mineral rich food even if our gardens are still too shady to grow our… Read More

By Alison Steele When February comes to an end, I start dreaming of the garden. The collards, kales, lettuces, and herbs are thriving, but the thought of round plump fruits and vegetables keep me pulling my seedbox down and fingering the envelopes of home-saved seeds of summer last. I start to notice the new spring crops in Wild Roots Market…… Read More