Wild leeks and foraging

[WLLady]

mmmm wild ginger and wild garlic are both fantastic. if you are near a river you may have honeysuckle too....we have a couple of bushes.

okay, wild violet jelly: pick JUST the flowers of the plant, when fully open. You will need ~2 cups of flowers (or more if you like more flavour). Steep overnight in water-boil the kettle, pour 2 cups of boiling water over the flowers, let cool, put plastic over the top and put in the fridge overnight to steep. Pour into sauce pan, removing the flowers. Add 4 cups sugar, 1/4 cup lemon juice and bring to boil. add one package of pectin and follow the boiling/cooking instructions on the pectin. You can strain through cheesecloth for jelly, or leave it a little cloudy. Process your jars in a boiling canner....the flavour is gentle, but very pleasant. To increase flavour just increase the amount of flowers you use in the steeping stage, while keeping the water the same (2 cups).

[Ontario Chick]

Sounds a bit like Dandelion Honey,
200 dandelion blooms boil for 15 min in 1L of water.
Let sit for 2 hours
Pour thru cheese cloth, squeezing out the blooms
add 1 KG sugar and juice of 2 lemons, boil for 1 hour
pour in to warm Mason jars.
Grandmas recipe, I didn't believe it would be Honey-like, but it is, of course it assumes you don't fertilize your front lawn :)

[Ontario Chick]

I am really tempted on the Violet jelly, we have them in yellow purple and white. :)

[JP*]

Cook the leeks in the pan with a bit of avocado oil, salt and pepper.......fresh eggs....good snack right there.

We are lucky to have a patch in the yard. Each year I pick some for eating and a few for transplanting. I plant them at the top of a small hill so when they seed themselves they have a chance to grow in open territory.


I know someone who won't eat them though. They grew up with leeks on the farm....problem was, the dairy cattle that supplied their milk would eat them and the resulting milk wasn't very sweet. Should have made good garlic butter though :)