A few weeks ago, my friend, Rachel Wolf, sent me a copy of her new book, Herbal Adventures. (You might know Rachel from her family’s small business, LuSa Organics.) I’d been eagerly awaiting it’s release for many months, having known she was working on this project. The book is geared towards children, but I think it’s great for adults too. It’s full of Rachel’s gentle wisdom and knowledge of wild plants and herbal remedies. There is information on foraging, plant identification, and then chapters on specific plants and how to use them. They aren’t obscure, hard to find plants, either. Many are common weeds that you might have in your backyard, or could easily obtain. Chickweed, nettle, dandelion, and plantains are among those featured.
The book is not only full of highly accessible information, but beautiful photography as well. My girls love it, and are eager to try out many of the recipes. Next summer, I suspect it will be their constant companion.
This week Beatrix made the elderberry gummies, perfect this time of year to help prevent illness.
Rachel offered to share the recipe with you, in addition to offering one of you a copy of Herbal Adventures (read on to the end for your chance to win!)
Elderberry Gummies
Elderberry gummies are a treat for children and adults alike. My kids can never get enough of these jiggly delights.
Tip: Always use dried elderberries for this recipe, as fresh yield weaker, watery gummies.
Active time: under 20 minutes
Total time: 2 hours
Yield: One 8×8 pan of gummies
Ingredients
½ cup (approximately 2 oz) dried elderberries
3 cups water
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, or ¼ cup orange juice concentrate
¼ cup grass-fed gelatin powder
¼ cup raw honey
Instructions
Combine the water and dried berries in a medium pot.
Simmer over medium heat until the volume of water is reduced by 25 to 50 percent. The color will be deep and rich.
Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Add lemon juice, stir, then pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Press or squeeze berries to extract as much juice as possible. Compost or discard the solids.
Add additional water, if needed, to bring your volume back up to 1 ½ cups.
Whisk the gelatin into the still warm liquid by hand, then stir in honey. (Do not use an electric mixer or blender, which will compromise the texture of the finished gummies.)
Pour into an 8 x 8 baking dish or gummy molds.
Transfer carefully to the refrigerator and chill until fully set.
Cut and eat!
To use
Enjoy these gummies as a snack or dessert. Eat a few 1 inch cubes per day as desired. Because these gummies contain honey, they are not suitable for children under 1 year of age.
Storage
Gummies are so delicious that they never last long! Store in refrigerator for up to 4 days.
You can purchase (affiliate link) Herbal Adventures here. And, one Small Things reader will win a copy! For your chance to win, leave a comment on this post. This giveaway has ended, and the winner is Rosie, who commented “My girls would adore that book! They’re already hilariously into foraging, and don’t understand why their suburban friends don’t want to eat their weird herb concoctions when they come to visit ;)”
Thanks, Rachel!
Would love this book! My grandchidren and I would have such fun. Wish I knew a source for dried elderberries. Thanks for this book offer.
Sounds like a wonderful resource! Thanks for the chance!
Looks like a wonderful book! Thanks for the chance!
I should really try these gummies. I read a while ago that she is writing a book, very exciting that it is out!
My nature girl grand-daughter would love this!
What a great and fun book to learn from!
This looks like just the book I have been looking for.
Thanks for the chance to win!
~ So happy for Rachel creating this wonderful book. ~ Thank you kindly for the give-away. ~
Sounds really great…would love to try out and explore
Looks like a fun and very useful book. Love that is family friendly too!
Perfect gift for my grandkids 🙂
I love herbs and think it would be fun to have an herb book like that one.
Crossing my fingers for the book!
What a great addition to any library!
Looks like a great book! I want to try the recipe too!!
This book looks amazing! Definitely on my wish list.
This book is on my wishlist! I can’t wait to read through it.
Looks like a lovely book!!
Such a neat looking book! I have one child left to homeschool and I want herbal knowledge to be a part of it before this practical wisdom is lost in future generations. Thanks for doing a giveaway Ginny!
Hello dear Ginny,
I would love to learn from Rachel’s beautiful book on Northern Hemisphere Herbs to see what knowledge can be transfered to Southern Hemiphere gardening and mothering!
Victoria xx
I’m so exited for this book! Thanks for sharing the recipe and a copy.
Our dad used to point out to us all the wild things we could eat. Just had a look through – what a thoroughly fabulous book.
This book looks gorgeous. My kids would absolutely love this!
This is wonderful! My kids and I have been trying to learn more about herbals. This book looks like a great resource! Thank you for your blog:)
I would love to read this book! My children and I love to identify plants when we’re out walking. Recipes for what we can do with them would take us to the next level!
I think it’s so important to bring knowledge of herbs for children! Thank you for the giveaway!
I have been trying to learn much more about foraging for medical purposes. This would be such a great resource.
Thanks for sharing!
what a wonderful book! it’s going on my wishlist for sure! Elderberry gummies are amazing, although I made some the other day and my teenager ate half the pan in an afternoon!
I just ordered a copy for my book store. This book looks very fun!!
I would love to check this out! I’m the one who buys elderberry gummies at cvs ?
This would be a wonderful book to own.
thanks for the chance
This book sounds wonderful! I ordered one for my daughter to be under tree at Christmas, would love to win a book for me!!!!
Wishing you and your family a peaceful weekend
Oh, this would be a wonderful book for myself and children. Monday is my birthday, so that’d be extra special!
Oh how fun! I am always happy to see new herbal resources and this looks like a very approachable one! Thanks posting this spotlight !
Actually sounds easy to make for my noncooking kids!
Would love to be entered! Love your fb page and your site! Happy holidays! Jessica
Oh we would absolutely love this!
What a wonderful resource for old and young alike! I have a large amount of land around me; it’s forested and I am sure there are an abundance of wonderful things just waiting to be discovered. This book would be a treasure to take with me on this discovery!!!
I would love to share this with my grandchildren.
Rachel has done all of us mothers and fathers a real favor by producing this literary household must – I hope her publisher will run out of copies soon.
Everyone would love this! Thanks!
I’d love this one myself!
My grandkids would love this book!
We can’t wait to try the gummy recipe. This book looks lovely!
My kids would love this!!
This book looks so beautiful and useful as well, right up my street!
I’d love to have this book. Thanks for this !
Both my girls would love this!!