Hello again …. I know it has been a long time since I last wrote. Life has well and truly had me by the ‘short and curlies’ – as my Mum would say 😉 – and I’m only just starting to feel like I’m getting back on track. At the start of October my Mum passed away, in her home just as she always wanted, and since then just getting through the basics of each day has been the focus. Grief is a strange beast that is for sure!!
Mt Fyffe treating us to a surprise sprinkle of snow in Summer
Our plans needed to dramatically alter as a consequence of Mum’s death and though it was a shock to absorb all the changes it has also brought some unexpected pleasures. Instead of still being in the North Island we are now back in the Kaikōura (South Island) and the way we have been welcomed back has been a real tonic for the soul. Themselves have also been given opportunities to care for animals here, build with the Community shed and re-unit with friends through local groups while I have already been asked about running more Infant Massage courses … Yay! Our arrival also coincided with the all the overgrown and wild Elderberry flowering which lead us to do a little experimenting.
Preparing the mixture
We don’t really get Elderberry growing as well in the North Island so while I had heard that you could turn the flowers into fritters I was yet to try it. After a bit of research on which parts actually are edible, themselves went on a huge flower forage and we began to create. While pictures on most of the blogs for elderflower fritters make it look like you can eat the stems of the flowers in the recipe it is only the flowers that are safe as the stem, if too much is consumed, will create a bit of nausea.
The recipe I have below is pretty much our pikelet/pancake recipe (vegan style) with the flowers added in. Using another recipe as a guideline for any other vital ingredients I may need we added a little bit of icing sugar however the pollen is super sweet so unless you have a very sweet tooth you probably won’t need to add it. We tried this recipe two different ways; doughnut style (spoonful dropped in hot oil) and pikelet style (spoonful dropped in hot pan). The doughnut style were definitely the favourite of themselves, evidence by the lack of photos as they scoffed them before I could clean up and get the camera! However I opted for the pikelet style as the repeat recipe …. less greasy and less cleaning up too 🙂 Sorry if this is a little late for the elderberry flowers blooming in your neck of the woods but hopefully you can remember it for next year 🙂
Half way there
Elderberry treats
1 Cup GF flour (I used Edmonds ‘ready mix’)
1 Cup Rice milk or sim
1 Tb olive oil
1 Tb water
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tb icing sugar (optional)
1 cup of elderberry flowers (just the flower heads not the green stalks)
- Mix everything until a smooth paste is achieved
- Heat a pan then place spoonfuls into the hot pan.
- Wait of the top of the pikelet to ‘bubble’ then flip to cook the underside.
- Enjoy by themselves or with your favourite topping
- If you want the doughnut style then drop small spoonfuls of the batter into hot oil and wait until they are golden before removing. Drain very well before eating … if people can wait that long 🙂
Until next time, when (fingers crossed) I’ll be sharing a Vegan/GF christmas Cake that I’m trying out, I hope this finds you surrounded by those you love and making the most of them.
Arohanui
Y
Becoming Healthy 