Hello foragers!!
I hope you’re all well and feeling inspired by our first class. At the end of class, I announced that week two takes place at Mount-Royal. We will meet at Mount-Royal May 31st at 3pm in the Mordechai Richler Gazebo. (see attached photo for a google map image) It is important to be on time so that we do not begin the tour without you!! We will depart the Gazebo at 3:10 sharp, so plan to arrive around 2:50 to accommodate any transit delays.
Things to bring: water, note-taking materials, your guidebook, brown paper bags, scissors/shears to harvest, gardening gloves if you have (we will find some prickly plants!), rain gear (boots, jacket, umbrella; we will forage rain or shine!), and an additional tote bag to carry your goodies home.
Facilities: We’re at the park so there are no water refill stations, nor any toilets along our route. There is a washroom in Jeanne-Mance located across Parc, down the staircase, and to the left. Otherwise, there is a washroom located in the A&W within the Petro-Canada at the intersection of Parc / Mont Royal.
I can’t wait to see you all this Saturday at one of my favourite spots to forage in all of Montreal, the beautiful and biodiverse Mont-Royal!
Simple syrup – 1 part water, 1 part sugar into a saucepan, bring to a soft boil, add your herbs or fruits of choice, and simmer on low for 5-15 minutes. taste frequently to ensure the herb flavor is being extracted, and not any potential bitterness. strain, jar, and enjoy! choice foragable herbs for simple syrups: lavender, mint, anise hyssop, bee balm, lemon balm, chamomile, purple lilac flowers or white tree lilac flowers, rose petals and rose hips, hibiscus (sometimes found in city planters), and many more.
Some ideas of how to use your simple syrups: added to water as a juice concentrate, tea sweetener, to flavor your kombucha’s second fermentation, mocktails, smoothies, over top of ice cream/yogurt, or to be soaked into a yummy vanilla spongecake, get creative with it 🙂
“Violet lemonade” — Make a simple syrup ^^ in a saucepan with violets (or grape hyacinth, butterfly pea, anything edible and blue/dark purple). Only use the flowers, not the green stems or bracts as they will make it bitter. Another way is to simple add sugar to a jar, add in your rinsed violet flowers, and fill the jar with warm water. Shake every now and then and you will see the beautiful blue colour begin to set. Leave in a jar for about 30 minutes for maximum Anthocyanin* extraction. *the chemical that causes the colour-changing reaction!
– Make your lemonade: water, lemon juice, add sugar to your taste preference
– Add about 3-4 tbsp of your *strained* violet simple syrup into each cup of lemonade for a beautiful magenta colour.
It is important to be on time so we can depart from our meeting point together. I suggest arriving 15 minutes early to each class to give yourself some cushion time to arrive at our meeting point.
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