Welcome to Wild Things in March! This month is a great big tree party, where we celebrate the food and medicinal potential of trees. You won't see any entries using leaves, fruit, nuts, of pollen this time, as they will have their own months as featured ingredients. This time, the posts will be about bark, sap, resin, catkins, and some of the more unusual trees that you wouldn't normally think of harvesting. This is exactly what you voted that you wanted to see in March, so get out your draw knife and enjoy all of the intriguing knowledge that is so generously shared by the contributors.
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Herbalist Renee, of Gold Roots & Threads has shared what she has learned from the teacher known as Douglas Fir. You find that her article contains information about how to identify the tree, its medicinal uses, and some great ideas for cooking with it as well.
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The Fellow Workers Farm Apothecary shared a posted entitled, Black Haw Kicks Ass. Intrigued? Click through to find out about how to use it to address tension headaches, spasms, cramps, and more.
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My buddies at Survival in the Wasteland have shared a really lovely account of their adventures tapping Silver Maples in Colorado, and also about the joys of getting outside in the late winter.
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Are you ready to have your mind blown? Heather at the Wild Raspberry used pine cambium to make doughnuts. Doughnuts, I tell you!
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Holly, of Wild Blessings, has been busy tapping sugar maples to make syrup. I think you're really going to enjoy seeing all of the pictures from her experience, from tree, through boiling, right up to syrup on sourdough french toast. Also, don't miss her recipe for Maple Butternut Squash Soup.
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My foraging Betty, Wild Food Girl, is a real culinary adventurer. Not only did she use a few twigs of black birch collected on a trip to Connecticut to make Black Birch Caramelized Onions, she was also clever enough to make a Pine Nut Shell Vodka Sauce.
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From Discovering the Worlds at My Feet, you'll find two entries about adventures with making medicine from trees - a willow bark tincture (how do you like that tincture bottle?), and infusing olive oil with cottonwood buds.
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From herbalist Kiva Rose, learn about alder as medicine, and how to harvest and make medicine from cottonwood bark, and conifer resins. And if you've not seen it before, look at her post about how to use conifer and bud resins to make your own incense.
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Here is my own entry about making Cottonwood Salve. I like to use beef tallow to make my cottonwood salve because it absorbs nicely into the skin and is solid at room temperature. You won't believe how quickly this salve can alleviate aches and pains until you try it for yourself.
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Cottonwood trees are abundant in my area, which is part of the reason I was so excited to discover that I could eat cottonwood catkins if I caught them at the right stage of growth. In this recipe, I've fried them tempura-style to create a nice little treat that looks like fried worms (a bonus in my book).
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Sending out a big hug and a thank you to everyone who participated in the tree party this month. I look forward to seeing what you bring to the party next time!
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