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!
I just put this in my amazon cart before reading here!
this book looks amazing – thanks for the opportunity xx
looks like a great book!
I love that you shared an elderberry recipe! My husband’s family has a patch on their land that we are looking to transplant to our home next year. This book would be a welcome addition to our library!
the gummies look like so much fun!
This book looks beautiful. I love herbs and would like to inspire my children to like them more. Thanks for the giveaway!
This book sounds wonderful! I would love to add it to my library.
We’d love this!
I would love to incorporate herbalism into our every day, but haven’t found a way to make the topic accessible to my kids- this book would do just that!
I would be so thrilled to win this giveaway!!Fingers crossed! Thanks for the chance to win.
Always looking for good things to share with my children/grandchildren! Thank you for the idea!
What a great resource….thanks for the offer!
I would love to win!
As someone who loves herbal remedies, I would love this book! Always enjoy your blog!
this book looks great, my knowledge of herbs and herbal remedies still has room to grow…
Looks like an awesome book. Thanks for the chance to win it!
What a neat book!
This sounds like a super fun book! My kids and I would love it, and my husband (an herbalist, but in the eastern canon) would be in heaven! Thanks for the giveaway!
This would make a great gift!
WOW! This books sounds really good. I would love to share it with my granddaughters!
We love books about herbs at our house!
Oh my, this would be a wonderful book to own!
Looks beautiful and so much fun for the kiddos!
What an amazing book. My daughter would love this!!! Thank you so much for the chance to win it.
This looks like a wonderful book to learn from.
Thank you.
This sounds so awesome! Would love to read it.
Left a comment with a typo in my e-mail address, so here we go again ?
This book looks like an amazing addition to our library. Adding it to my wish list right now!
This book looks fantastic! I want to make Elderberry Gummies this week!