Redbud Syrup

In planting zones 4-9 you can find redbud trees. In the very early spring the redbud springs forth first with a vibrant splash of beautiful pink flowers in the under story edges of the wood line. They are the first herald of springs impending arrival. They start uplifting spirits from the long dreary winter droll.
This spring I discovered that these gems are edible! In our quest to forage more and buy less these little flowers offer a splash of exciting color to our plates. And as the earliest spring edible it's great fun to start foraging again with this one.  The redbud blossoms themselves taste exactly like snow pea  pods very crisp and sweet with ever the faintest hint of what I can only describe as a 'green' flavor. I decided that since I made violet syrup I would attempt the same with the redbud blossoms except I would make more of a pancake syrup instead of a beverage flavoring. I started the same as for violet syrup by starting with clean blossoms only and pouring an equal amount of boiling water over the blossoms and allowing them to steep overnight. Then straining the blossoms and removing as much liquid as possible from them I measured the remaining liquid and added to it a only slightly larger measure of white sugar (1 cup liquid would get 1 slightly mounded cup sugar) this I brought to the boil and boiled over medium heat for about 20 minutes and the resulting syrup was a beautiful gem-like magenta and the flavor was that sweet pea flavor only lighter, less green, and sweeter. And because I am so terribly impatient I had it still warm over buttered toast and delightfully cold Greek yogurt. Yummy.

Redbud syrup

1 c packed blossoms
1 cup boiling water
1 mounded cup sugar
A splash of lemon juice (optional)

In a quart jar place clean blossoms and carefully pour the boiling water over them.
Let steep overnight up to 24 hours
Strain and press all moisture out of the blossoms
Place in a saucepan and add the sugar
Bring to a boil and boil for about 20 minutes over medium heat
If the color seems to turn greenish rather than pink add lemon juice. This will correct the ph and return the pink color.
Pour into sterilized jars to prevent premature spoilage
Syrup will keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks

From the Sunset Homesteaders to you, God bless!

It's Morel Season!! 🍄

The mountain man found morels yesterday!!! One of my favorite wild mushrooms. It's great sautéed in butter with some sliced onions spooned over a nice perfectly cooked steak with a hearty baked potato beside and a freshly picked garden salad also. YUM!!! That's what's for dinner tonight just by the way.
It great in a mushroom frittata or mushroom ragu. Morels do well when dried and reconstituted and if you can find enough you might just be able to have these earthy little gems all year long unless you happen to be like me and must eat mushrooms with every meal. I have no shame.
A word of caution however. False morels can make you very extremely sick.  When looking for morels a hollow stem is safe a solid stem is not. You should be able to see to the top of the cap from the bottom of the stem (as long as the mushroom grew straight that is) if you aren't sure err on the side of caution and don't eat it!

Forage frequently my friends!
From the sunset homesteaders to you, God bless!

Our new bee houses! 🐝

         The mountain man made a bee house for non-stinging bees for me! We discovered the idea while at the store one day and rather than buy it he made one with some of our scrap wood and odd bits of thin bamboo. It's aesthetically pleasing and looks rather folk artsy. I'm very excited to see how well it works for us! My research shows that non-stinging bees are a vigorous pollinator and since we have gardens here there and everywhere we need all the pollinators that we can entice to our property 😁
        So far we have seen some teensy weensy little bees flitting around the house 💕   Does anyone know how to entice them further? I'll be working on a bee waterer this weekend also if I can find a suitable dish and some odd marbles and rocks.

Have a blessed  Saturday!