In ancient times, the Celtic festival of Samhain was celebrated as a mandatory holiday that lasted three full days and nights…
Samhain today in the Northern Hemisphere began last evening (October 31) and will end tonight (November 1)…
As Samhain occurs at roughly the midpoint between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice, it was to mark an ending to the harvest time and the beginning of a new cycle…celebrating, honouring and connecting deeper with nature’s transition from lightness (summer) to darkness (winter)…
Today and right now, is a good moment to reflect on what we have learned during these past months,…What lessons, gifts and wisdom do we wish to take forward into winter…? What are we most grateful for?…🙏
We might also recognise beliefs that we have outgrown or any other limitations that we can now freely let go,…
Seeing ourselves not separate but “in sync” with Mother Natures rhythms and cycles, means we harness the energy and opportunities to move forward lighter, more free, and trusting our journey…
Our energy can therefore expand to encompass new experiences and ways of being and sharing more of our true self and gifts in the world…
Our ancestors and guides are always nearby and offering their support when needed! 💓 . . . . . Sharing some foraging summer moments in the forests and mountains, where I was truly being in my flow, grateful and “in sync” with the abundant healing medicine and nutrition of Wild Nature 💓🙏💓
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Dandelion Spring Tonic: Apple Cider Vinegar with chopped dandelion roots, leaves and flowers
As I am making this Dandelion Spring Tonic from the roots, leaves and flowers of Dandelion – I am being reminded of how wonderful it is that Mother Nature shares her abundant medicinal wild plants to support us on our healing journey through life.
For many beautiful and magical reasons, my love friendship began with dandelion as a small child. However, it was not until later in my mid-twenties, (feeling burned out, and having developed digestive imbalances and food allergies), that I began to reconnect with the ancient medicine of this remarkable healer and plant ally.
My Swiss partner had the herbal wisdom and knowledge of dandelion instilled in him from childhood and throughout his adult life. Often he would go with his Grandparents to collect dandelion in spring, even if they lived inside the city. An example of a delicious, typical and simple springtime dish in Switzerland is a dandelion, walnut and egg salad.
When I met Juerg 19 years ago, it was springtime in New Zealand. He showed me the many dandelions growing on his land, and we gathered the leaves and flowers for salads every day. Over time, I got so used to the bitter flavour of dandelion leaves and I found my body craved it!
During Autumn, we collected dandelion roots for tea. We also cleaned, dried, roasted and ground the roots with Juerg’s Grossmama’s antique coffee grinder to make coffee. Often, we stir-fried dandelion greens mixed with other wild weeds in garlic, turmeric, a bit of soy sauce, lemon juice and sesame oil.
Stir-fried dandelion greens mixed with other wild weeds in garlic, turmeric, a bit of soy or tamari sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil and sesame seeds.
Especially in springtime, dandelion is a wonderful natural tonic to stimulate your liver and your immune system – building up strength, shifting and filtering out any toxins from the body, flushing out kidneys, supporting the function of your pancreas and generally bringing your digestive system back into tone and balance.
Tasting dandelion before a meal, (whether in salads, a few drops of a tincture made of the root or a tablespoon of the dandelion vinegar tonic like I have made) helps to stimulate digestion, which in turn can help you to get more vitamins and break down fats in your food because it supports and enhances your stomachs beneficial and natural acids.
I believe that dandelion’s medicinal and overall effect for me was – slow and steady – on my body’s immune and digestive system. Overtime, my heartburn, indigestion, allergies etc balanced out and disappeared. Like a loyal and true friend, dandelion supported me to feel safe and inwardly strong – so that I could dive deeper in my own healing process.
Some of my core wounds related to savouring food came to light for me to face and heal through love, understanding, forgiveness and compassion. I am now confident to say that dandelion medicine enhanced and supported me to begin to truly savour life again – connected to the vitality and joy of my playful inner child.
I began to reconnect again with a world of magic in nature around me – a magical world I had felt intricately a part of as a small child. Since then, my favourite “being-time” in spring has been watching and photographing bees and other pollinators while they collect the pollen of the dandelion – one of the first and most important food sources for bees after winter hibernation.
If you are collecting dandelions in spring, please always make sure you leave plenty of flowers for the bees and other pollinators. Also, be aware and very carpeful of areas that may be polluted by poisons like pesticides or harmful fertilizers.
It has been said that the flowers of dandelions have higher levels of antioxidants than the leaves or roots! Other possible benefits include relieving pain from headaches, backaches, and menstrual cramps, stomach cramps and depression. The flowers also contain Vitamin A and Vitamin B12, which are both good for eye health.
In spring (when there are enough flowers), we love to make syrup from the bright yellow flowers together with young pine shoots. Some people also make dandelion wine from the flowers but I have never tried this!
We also have a spring ritual of making healing massage oils from the dandelion flowers. Dandelion oil is exceptionally soothing for tired muscles and can be simply rubbed into tense muscles or joints for relaxation and pain relief.
Flower Fairy Food! – Super Tasty Dandelion Flower Fritters.
Dandelion flower fritters are so easy to make, delicious and full of healthy vitamins, iron and antioxidants. A wonderful, simple recipe to make with children after foraging for dandelion flowers on a sunny day.
To make these dandelion flower fritters: Prepare a simple batter and replace normal flour with rice flour for gluten-free. I used rice milk. Some recipes use a teaspoon of baking powder but I prefer without it! After gathering, make sure you leave the blossoms for some time out in the sun, to let any insects disappear, but don’t wait too long after picking, as they will close up their petals!) Gently dip the flower blossom in the batter and fry both sides in oil.
Ingredients: Freshly picked dandelion blossoms 1 cup flour (replace with rice flour or other gluten-free flour) 1/2 water or sparkling water
1 cup rice milk or milk 1 egg 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary or (cinnamon if you prefer sweet)! sea salt olive oil or coconut oil for frying
About us
Juerg and I have been journeying together for the past 19 years. While Juerg is originally from Switzerland we have both lived and met in New Zealand in 2005. We have since traveled extensively in New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Nepal, North America, North Africa and Europe.
Both Juerg and I are available for personal guidance and couple sessions via skype. These sessions are for people who long to grow more deeply towards an authentic relationship based on heart and soul love. If you are interested to know more about working with myself or Juerg, please contact us.
One of the main reasons why Juerg and I have spent so much time in the Alpine regions of Europe over the past 4 years, is because we find that all around us is the memory and connection with the old people who lived (and still do today) sustainably with the land and in harmony with the mountains, for centuries.
Mountains are here to remind us to connect, be patient and go SLOW.
But today, the ancient mountains are mainly being used for our modern ways of living,.. which include highways, traffic, tunnels, ski fields, snow machines, helicopters, adrenelan sports like mountain-biking and river-rafting, etc. They quietly observe our apparent need for speed, action and our constant self-imposed stress surrounding the concept of “time” …
In many ways, the modern way of life has offered more comfort and ease, and daily tasks less time-consuming. But within this, I believe that our soul needs time and space in the silence and tranquillity of nature and our heart yearns to feel connected through authentic being and living in harmony with nature.
The heart yearns for connection
and the path of the soul is slow and steady.
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Last night, the evening golden sun was glowing through the pines… I felt it was the perfect time to gather some of our favourite wild spinach – Good King Henry! 😊 (“Buon Enrico” in Italian)
Buon Enrico grows in a cow pasture below where we often park up for the night at an altitude of 1600 meters. I also knew that it was highly likely that the next day the farmer would be moving his cows into this pasture for them to also enjoy the abundance of wild herbs – now bursting with life and good health!
I made sure I had a special moment to connect with the energy of the sun as it kissed the pines goodnight. I watched as two of the resident crows flew over me – their calls brought all the other sounds around me to my awareness.
After having gathered a nice, full bag of Buon Enrico, I decided to take Cento along with me to our favourite “snail” Fontana to give it a wash. This is the Fontana, which never fails to reveal to me that magic is all around me. Here, I find the curiosity of my inner child is always waiting to see what might happen next and surprise me with wonder and delight… It just so happened a beautiful dragonfly flew right past Cento’s nose – almost as if it was teasing and playing with him 😊
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While washing the spinach at the fountain, I admired how all the wild herbs and flowers had grown back after having been cut and made into hay, about a month earlier.
I felt the peace and appreciation for a life together with Juerg and Cento, which has allowed me to live slowly and connect with true and lasting treasures in life. I felt grateful for the traditional and ancient ones of the mountains, whose energy and devotion can still be felt.
These small but meaningful moments throughout the day are where I do feel a connection with my surroundings, and I feel at one with my heart and soul being. This is what sustains me and keeps me authentic and true to the slow and steady path of my soul’s growth.
In this time of great transformation on the earth, where much is coming up from the shadows to be faced, healed, transformed and released – let us remember that we are each going through a similar, and sometimes very challenging, internal process of healing and expansion.
Let us be kind and patient with ourselves – just like the mountains and the old people have been – for centuries. Let us trust that something much greater than each one of us, is at work on the earth and also within ourselves.
Let us cherish those precious moments of our day, which help us to ground ourselves, rebalance and feel our connection with our heart, all beings and the earth all around us.
Buon Enrico is one of our favourite wild herbs growing in the Alpine regions right now. We love to use it in stir fry’s and pancakes but Italian people will often use it to make gnocchi or ravioli. Below is a video we made 2 years ago, where Juerg speaks a bit more about “Buon Enrico” – Good King Henry! 🙂
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