Savouring wild foods of Mother Earth

by Jaymie

   

Cental Otago Wild Fruit Tart and Wild Weeds, 2006

Mother Earth’s Sacred Gifts

Can we slow down - listen, see and feel
Mother Earth’s wisdom and love 
all around us?

She needs no barriers,
builds no fences,
hides behind no walls

She never discriminates or judges,
but shares her abundance and beauty

freely with all

In return, she only asks that we embrace her
with the innocence of a child
and our open, feeling heart

Can we be humble, grateful

and honour, every day,

her gifts of sacred life?

Can we open our heart and being
to be One - again -

with our sacred Mother Earth?

Jaymie & Juerg, 2008

 

Birthday Cakes for Sybill & Dominik (Juerg's children), 2005

When I first began to cook together with Juerg, it reminded me of my childhood “creative experiments” with my sister in our family garage. This involved gathering as many different combinations of plants and weeds from the garden and mixing them all together with anything colourful and interesting we could find in our kitchen or washing room cupboard! 

Of course, we never dared to eat our creations! However, when cooking with Juerg, I found myself re-discovering the same enthusiasm, spontaneity and joy, which every time resulted in a mandala of flavours and colours.

Juerg's style of cooking is very spontaneous, intuitive and a lot of fun!

"Autumn soup" 2008

with nettles, dandelion leaves, flowers and stems, yarrow, 
chickweed, comfrey, hawthorn berries and leaves, rosehip, 
porcinello and puffball mushrooms, garlic, onion, 
oregano, tarragon, sage, wild thyme, bay leaves, cloves, 
nutmeg, balsamic vinegar, red wine, mint, lime 
flowers, bear root and more...yumm!

Wild mushroom/herb ravioli, 2006

Today, wherever we can, Juerg and I spend time in nature, gathering 
and cooking wild foods and herbs. We love to make small open fires where possible and cook fresh seafood, mushrooms, herb pancakes 
and omelettes.

In New Zealand, (throughout the warm spring and summer months) we love to gather mallow, plantain, chickweed, yarrow, dandelion and other herbs for salads. 

We collect wild forest and meadow mushrooms for soups, risottos, pizzas and delicious pasta dishes in autumn. We love to harvest elderberries and make jams and chutney’s with local Central Otago fruit such as plums, apricots, walnuts, apples and much more from wild trees. We dry and roast dandelion roots and healing herbs for teas and collect nettles, baby thistles, cooch grass and other wild plants for delicious soups, pestos, stir-frys, etc.

Chickweed, plantain, yarrow, mallow, 
dandelion and carrot salad, 2006
                  
    

Rainbow Trout with St John's wort herbs 
for smoking over wood fire, 2006