Harvest What You Have - 5/30/23

Hello!  If you have been to our website (www.preppedliving.com), you already know that I try to incorporate the "harvest what you have" idea into our lives.  You may ask what there is available to harvest in North Idaho in May. Well, here is a peek at what we have done this past week:

Tarragon - We planted tarragon last year and it was one of the first things to come up this year in our garden.  It grew so much that we already harvested our first cutting. One batch went into the dehydrator and another batch is hanging to dry in the attic.  This is an herb I never really used until about 2.5 years ago.  I since discovered that I really enjoy the flavor of tarragon in beef soup. It adds just a touch of sweetness and depth of flavor. I have since been wondering what other culinary uses tarragon has. Do you have a favorite use for this herb?  If so, feel free to share in the comments below. I would love to add more ideas to my repertoire.

Lilacs - Our lilac bush was in bloom last week, so I picked blossoms, washed them, and made an infusion to turn into lilac jelly.  I didn't have time to actually make the jelly on the day that I picked the blossoms, so I put the infusion into the refrigerator until I was ready.  The scent of lilac it gave off while cooking was so lovely! Since our bush is rather small and the blossoms were beginning to fade, I only harvested enough for one batch.

Currant Jelly - We didn't actually harvest currants (it isn't the right season yet). Rather, we were given a jar of currant juice a family member canned earlier, so I made currant jelly out of it as well. Sometimes harvesting what you have means using the harvest others share!

Plantain, Chamomile, Mullein, Wild Rose Petals - Each of these have come up around our yard, and since we do not spray or use chemical fertilizers, I have been collecting them to dry.  They will eventually become a tea, a tincture, or an infused oil to use in salve.

Sheep sorrel - I mostly ate what I found since it is a favorite of mine, but I did collect a few leaves to throw into the salad we ate for dinner that night.

Here are some other things I look out for this time of year: dandelion, violas, oxeye daisies.

What do you harvest this time of year?

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