#oreserving

Part 2

Part 3: preparing and cooking with the fruit

The mayapple in the second picture is not quite ripe yet. Because of toxicity you don’t want to eat it if it’s at all green. That one was soft though, and popped off the stem so I brought it home, put it in a paper bag and it ripened in a couple of days.

Recipes:

It’s been a busy St. John’s morning. I started my St. John’s wort holy oil when the sun was barely up. I don’t really have a sunny window so I did the quick method in the pot I’ve been using as my cauldron, letting it simmer (double boiler method) all morning. Meanwhile I gathered herbs that were completely dry from the stave basket I use as a hanging rack and removed flowers and leaves to jars—I needed to make room for my St. John’s Night plants. I also went through the big baskets that I use as drying racks. Once the herbs were all stored, I strained the cherry cordial. It was nice and fizzy, but still slightly bitter, so like last year, later today I’ll make some elderflower syrup to sweeten it a little more. I loved the flavor combination last year. I reserved a small handful of the cherry pits for magical purposes.