Celebrating Spring in the Wild Woods

I recently spent a week at the wonderful Wildways on the Borle http://wildwaysontheborle.co.uk/ to celebrate the ancient Celtic spring festival of Beltane with White Horse Camps http://whitehorsecamps.co.uk/ The woods were burgeoning with spring growth, full of verdant green and delicate spring flowers in shades of white, blue & yellow.  I spent some of the time working in the camp kitchen.  We supplemented the food bought for the camp with fresh greens from the kitchen garden and from the woods - Fennel, Nettles, Wild Garlic, Dandelion leaves, Sorrel, Cleavers, Lemon Balm, Mint and others.  These were added to salads, soups and dips and were much appreciated by everyone sharing the camp meals.

During the camp we explored and celebrated our connection with plants, nature and the wild woods in various ways.  The well-known pagan historian Ronald Hutton gave an entertaining and informative talk about the traditions of Robin Hood and Maid Marian and their roots in history.  Ronald's partner Ana Adnam led a session called Fifty Shades of Green in which we all talked about herbs we feel a particular connection with at this time of year.   Then in pairs we stroked each other with sprigs of Fennel, Lemon Balm, Mint or Sage, feeling the gentle touch of the foliage on our skin and smelling the aromatic scents with our noses. 

For the heart of the camp we spent several days divided into smaller groups to do deeper work.  A group of men competed in challenges of skill, strength and wisdom to select someone to represent them as Robin Hood.  A group of women spent time living in the woods, eating wild food and learning skills such as archery, selecting someone to represent them as Maid Marian.  A mixed group spent time connecting with various totem plant and animal species in the woods through shamanic journeying.   Then we each created a mask to help us manifest our spirits to speak at a council of the Wild Woods.  The spirits of the Wild Woods shared their different ways of seeing the world and invited us as humans to share these ways and to learn to live in harmony with the wild.  This was a deep and powerful process.

The three groups rejoined to weave our energies together by dancing round a tree as a living Maypole.  On Beltane eve we kindled the Beltane fire and divided it into two fires to step through to empower ourselves for the summer to come.  This is a tradition practised by our ancestors who drove their animals through the Beltane fires to bless them prior to their journey to the summer pastures.  On May Day we did circle dancing in a meadow of wild flowers connecting with each other and the place through the meditative movement of the dance.   By drawing on the traditions of the past and spending time working together in a beautiful wild place we empowered ourselves to become stronger, wiser and wilder human beings.

Wildways at Beltane

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Following the camp I have spent time in our own woods near where we live for the first outdoor picnic and first night spent of the year, as the days become longer and warmer.  Members of our local druid grove came to celebrate Beltane in the woods.  We did a simple ceremony meditating in silence then making sounds with drums, voices & other instruments, feeling the energy of life rising through our bodies and rippling out through the woods.  I picked and cooked Nettle tops, Bramble shoots and Cleavers on the fire dish and tossed these with chopped boiled eggs in a little oil, herb vinegar, salt & pepper to make a dish to share for our Beltane Feast, plus an infusion of Nettles and Bramble Leaves.

 The woods in May

Fire Dish with kettle & Nettle & Bramble Leaf infusion

Nettles, Bramble shoots & Cleavers with boiled eggs

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The light and warmth are bringing forth clusters of blossom on our Crab Apple and Bullace (Wild Plum) trees.  I made Crab Apple flower essence by placing a bowl of water collected from a local spring in the branches of a Crab Apple tree and floating some flowers on the surface of the water and asked the tree to bless the water with its essence.   I left the water to infuse in sunlight for several hours then poured it into a sterilised bottle using a funnel and muslin, half-filling the bottle then filling the other half with brandy to make a mother tincture.  This is for invoking self worth, valuing our own abundance and counting our blessings.  It can be used on the skin or in the bath to cleanse the skin and wounds.  It can also be taken in water to help lift a hangover.

Bullace Tree in bloom

 Crab Apple blossom

 Making Crab Apple Flower Essence

I also picked Ground Ivy which is in flower at the moment, to take fresh or dried in teas & infusions or as a tincture.  The tincture can be taken to improve appetite and digestion, cleanse the blood, tone mucous membranes and relieve ear congestion and tinnitus.  Infusions can be drunk or used externally as an eyewash for irritated eyes.  The infused herb is useful to encourage expectoration in chesty coughs and for urinary problems such as cystitis.   It is particularly useful for hayfever and sinusitis.  The fresh herb can be used as a poultice for bruising. 

 Ground Ivy

Ground Ivy tincture

Drying Ground Ivy in dehydrator

Ground Ivy infusion

References

'Letting in the Wild Edges' Glennie Kindred

'Practical Herbs 2' Henriette Kress

'Wild Drugs' by Zoe Hawes.

Food and medicine from the Wild Woods

On Sunday I went on the excellent Spring Foraging day course with Woodland Ways in Leicestershire http://www.woodland-ways.co.uk/buy-online-spring-forage-2.html It was a real treat of a day.  Our very knowledgeable instructor Adam took us on a walk through the woods, pointing out lots of plants with uses for food, medicine and practical tasks along the way.   He took care to make us aware of any potential risks of toxicity or confusion with similar looking poisonous plants, to help give us confidence in what we can pick and use safely.  He also briefed us on the legalities of foraging and showed us a selection of excellent reference books for identifying and using wild plants.

We picked supplies from the woodland larder as we walked along to incorporate into our lunch which was cooked back at the well constructed and equipped base-camp.  We filleted the breast meat from a brace of Pheasants, having been shown how to by Adam, this was surprisingly easy to do.  The breasts were pan-fried in a dash of oil.  We cooked up the Nettles, Bramble shoots and Hogweed shoots we had collected by boiling for a minute then tossing in butter and lemon juice.  We also had mashed potatoes with the addition of chopped Wild Garlic leaves and a salad of fresh leaves including Rosebay Willowherb, Dandelion and Hairy Bittercress.  The meal was absolutely delicious.  I left the day feeling inspired to get out into the woods to forage for wild food.

 Bramble shoots

Bramble shoots picked for lunch

Basket of Nettle tops

 Hogweed shoots


  Rosebay Willowherb 

  

Wild Garlic leaves & roots

Cooking the greens over an open fire

Pan-fried Pheasant breasts, Mashed potato & Wild Garlic, Spring Greens

My lunch - nom, nom, nom

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Back home I made a Spring Green Pie with Nettles & other spring leaves picked in the allotment.   

Spring Green Pie Recipe

Pastry:

8oz plain flour

Pinch of salt

4oz butter

3-4 tablespoons of cold water

- Sift the flour & salt into a bowl, add the butter chopped into lumps and stir to coat the butter in flour.

- Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

- Sprinkle the water over the mix and stir with a round-bladed knife till the mixture sticks together in large lumps, if it is a bit dry add a bit more water.

- Collect the dough together into a ball.

- Knead it lightly on a lightly floured surface to make a smooth dough.

- Wrap the dough in cling-film and leave in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes before rolling it out.

- Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to an even thickness about 2-3 inches larger than the pie dish you will be using.

- Line the pie dish with the pastry, keep some back to make a top for the pie.

- If you have some left-over pastry make some pastry shapes to decorate the pie top with.

Filling:

A colander full of washed & processed Spring leaves such as Nettles, Cleavers, Dandelion, Wild Garlic, Ground Elder, Sorrel

A medium onion finely chopped

2 large Garlic cloves very finely chopped

2 beaten eggs

100g grated strong cheddar

Salt & Pepper to taste

- Steam the Spring leaves for a few minutes.

- When the leaves have softened strain the liquid (keep it for stock or sauces) and squeeze the leaves with the back of a wooden spoon to leave a spinach like consistency.

- Roughly chop up the cooked greens.

- Add to a bowl and mix with the chopped onion & garlic, beaten egg, grated cheese and seasoning.

- Pour the mix into the lined pie dish and cover with the pastry top.  Brush the top with beaten egg and add any decorations, stick them on with beaten egg and brush the tops with egg to make a nice glaze.

- Bake in a medium oven (about gas mark 6) for about 25 minutes.

- Serve hot or cold.

Pastry recipe from the 'Good Housekeeping Cookery Book', filling recipe from 'Letting in the Wild Edges' by Glennie Kindred.

Spring Green Pie with decorations

Slice of Spring Green Pie

I also made Bramble Vinegar with Bramble roots & shoots harvested in the woods & home-made Crab Apple Cider Vinegar made from last Autumn's Crab Apples using the recipe in my Herbwife Apprenticeship mentor Sarah Head's blog at http://kitchenherbwife.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/developing-relationships.html This is a traditional remedy for diarrhoea and for relieving the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  It can be used in salad dressings or in boiling water with honey as a soothing drink.

Bramble roots

 Bramble shoots

 Bramble Vinegar

I also made Chestnut Bud flower essence with Horse Chestnut buds I cut in the woods during the foraging course as these were at the perfect stage for picking to make this flower essence.  I followed the instructions at http://www.herbs2000.com/h_menu/bfr_chestnut_bud.htm to make a Mother Tincture, then made a Stock bottle by putting 2 drops of this into a 30ml bottle of brandy, then a treatment bottle by putting 2 drops of the Stock into a 30ml bottle of spring water.  This is a subtle energy remedy for difficulties in learning lessons from experience, making the same mistakes repeatedly in life.  

 Horse Chestnut buds opening

Horse Chestnut buds being simmered in Spring water

Chestnut Bud Mother Essence, Stock bottle & Treatment bottle