2022
1. Acacia Juice (Concentrated) – (January – February)
2. Clove / Red Clove Tea (July – August)
3. Pine Needle Syrup (March – April)
4. Portuguese Purslane Soup (May – June)
5. Scandinavian Dandelion Syrup with Apples (November – December)
6. Warming Soup with Bay Leaves (September – October)
7. White Acacia Flower (Robinia) Cake – (January – February)
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER
SCANDINAVIAN DANDELION SYRUP WITH APPLES
(A traditional Scandinavian folk recipe)
Ingredients
Ingredients
50 dandelion flowers (only the yellow petals, use scissors to cut the green off)
500 g of chopped apples (about 3 apples)
1 stalk of chopped rhubarb (optional)
1 litre of water
500 g of sugar (approximately)
juice of one lemon
Method
1. Put the apples, dandelion flowers, rhubarb, juice of lemon and water in a pot. (If you use organic apples, you don’t have to peel them.)
2. Let it simmer for half an hour.
3. Strain so the juice is clear, it’s beautifully yellow.
4. Weigh the juice and pour it back into the pot. Use the same amount of sugar as the juice weighs.
5. Bring it to a boil, until it thickens. Be careful not to let it boil for too long, it must not change colour.
6. Pour the syrup into clean and scalded jars.
Note
The syrup is more liquid-like. It is usually spooned over pancakes, vegetables or put in tea. It’s delicious and healthy!
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER
WARMING SOUP WITH BAY LEAVES (4 servings)
Ingredients
6 small potatoes
1 smaller red onion
2 bay leaves
2 litres of water
3 dl cream
2 cubes chicken broth
salt after taste
nutmeg after taste
black pepper, ground, after taste
For serving
4 slices of bacon (or more to taste)
1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes.
2. Bring to a boil with salt, black pepper, chicken broth, bay leaf, onion (left whole) and water. (The water should cover everything well.)
3. When the potatoes have softened, remove bay leaf and onion.
4. Mash the potatoes.
5. Add cream, season with nutmeg.
6. Cook until it boils again, and then it can be served immediately!
7. When serving, sprinkle with chopped, toasted bacon. We can even take a slice of delicious bread with it.
JULY - AUGUST
CLOVE / RED CLOVE TEA
Ingredients
1 tbsp (tablespoon) dried or fresh red clover flower or leaves or both (you can use common clover as well)
1 tsp (teaspoon) honey or to tast
½ tsp cinnamon, lemon, or mint or all other additives to taste (optional)
1 cup (2½ – 3 dl) water
- Wash the clover or red clover flower heads and leaves (if using them too).
- Bring the water to a rolling boil. Carefully toss in the red clover flower heads.
- Steep for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Strain and pour the hot liquid in a tea mug.
- Stir in honey and any other chosen additives.
- Drink in small sips while still warm.
MAY - JUNE
PORTUGUESE PURSLANE SOUP
Ingredients
3 tbsp oil
1 large onion
1 large carrot
4 cloves garlic
100 g of sausage
2 dl white wine
2 medium potatoes
3 l green herb stock / or chicken stock
50 g rice (2 handfuls)
2 bay leaves
¼ tsp cinnamon (gives a little warmth to the food)
purslane to taste, about 2 dl chopped
juice of ½ lemon
parsley or peppermint to taste
- Sauté onion and garlic in oil.
- After a few minutes, add sausage, carrots and white wine.
- Cook for a while.
- Add stock, then rice, potatoes, cinnamon and bay leaf.
- When thoroughly cooked, puree after taste.
- Finally, add the chopped purslane.
- Boil for another 10 minutes.
- Serve with lemon juice, parsley or mint, and a nice slice of bread.
MARCH - APRIL
PINE NEEDLE SYRUP
It’s really a Scandinavian thing! You can see people in Sweden, Denmark but also in Finland, during pine needle picking season pulled off to the side of the road foraging pine needles… It’s really as common as picking juniper berries or rosemary.
Any branches or tree sap will affect the flavour, making it a bit “woody” or “sauna”-ish to the taste. You may use a small fork to strip the branches for needles.
You can do the syrup all year long using the needles. However, you get the richest and fullest flavour by picking the bright green pine buds during spring and use those.
Ingredients
5 dl pine needles
7½ dl water
5 dl sugar
1 tbsp ginger, grated
1. Clean and wash off needles thoroughly.
2. Put them in a pot and add water.
3. Boil for 40 minutes.
4. Strain the liquid. Depending on your sieve, the needles can go through, then it needs to be strained again. Alternately, strain it through a clean piece of cloth.
5. Add sugar and ginger.
6. Have it boil for about 15 – 20 minutes. You want the texture to be a little runnier than normal maple syrup. It will solidify a little when it cools down, and then become a little more viscous
7. Pour in clean jars and seal them. Enjoy!
Note
Great for pancakes and cocktail drinks!
JANUARY - FEBRUARY
WHITE ACACIA FLOWER (ROBINIA) CAKE
Ingredients
12-15 locust flowers clusters, pluck the petals only
1 dl blanched and peeled almonds or pistachios or a mixture of both
3 eggs
1 ¾ dl sugar
1 tbsp honey (acacia if possible)
100 g unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp crème fraiche
1 tsp baking powder
3 ½ dl flour, sifted
¾ dl corn starch, sifted
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp orange flower water / rose water /zest of 1 orange or lemon
icing sugar for the top
Oven Temperature
180 C
Method
1. Ground almonds and pistachios, they should resemble breadcrumbs.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Mix the flour, corn starch, salt and baking powder together in another bowl.
4. Add nuts and stir into the egg – sugar mixture.
5. Add the butter, orange / rose water or zest, honey and crème fraiche – mix well.
6. Fold in the flower petals and gently mix.
7. Butter a cake mould and pour in the batter.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
9. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then unmould.
10. Decorate with flowers all over and icing sugar after taste.
ACACIA JUICE (CONCENTRATED)
Ingredients
5 dl white acacia flowers (only petals)
5 dl of water
5 dl sugar
½ larger lemon, peeled, washed, cut into 3-4 parts
5 – 10 g citric acid
Preparation method
1. Bring the sugar to boil with water and let it boil for 10 minutes.
2. Remove from the stove and squeeze in the juice of the lemon pieces and then put them also in. Stir in the citric acid.
3. Add acacia flower petals as well. Mix gently.
4. Let stand in a cooler place for 4 to 5 days, stirring it once a day. Letting the flowers soak in this way, will give the juice a nice colour.
5. Then filter and fill into jars.
Comment
1. Using this recipe you can make lilac flower, elderberry, violet or lavender juice as well!