Ingredients: Cacao Nibs Brandy Agave Nectar Mint (optional) 1. Take two big handfulls of cacao nibs. If you have one of those fancy coffee grinders or something, grind them. Otherwise just put them in a bag and bang on them with a rock or hammer to smash them up a little. 2. Put the nibs… Continue reading A Winter Recipe
Category: Wild Food
The great thing about Alaska
I got up super early yesterday (like, after three hours of sleep), and went walking through the cold morning woods with a friend to check his burbot lines. There was a burbot! I don’t know how I’d managed to get through life without knowing about them before, because now that the world of burbot has… Continue reading The great thing about Alaska
Once upon a time…
Woops, I disappeared…
Hobo Stripper Materia Medica: Lavender
Lavender is the other herb that I use regularly even though it doesn’t grow wild anywhere that I ever am. Lavender is also how my mom got into herbs. She called me one time complaining of a headache. I happened to know that she had received a bottle of lavender essential oil for Christmas, so… Continue reading Hobo Stripper Materia Medica: Lavender
How to make herbal infusions, tinctures, oils, and salves.
I’m going to make this really quick and simple. To make an infusion: Put a good amount of herb in a jar (fill it maybe 1/3 full, half that or less for roots). Pour hot water over it and put the lid on the jar. Strain and drink when at least four hours has passed.… Continue reading How to make herbal infusions, tinctures, oils, and salves.
Hobo Stripper Materia Medica: Ginger
Ginger is one of my favorite herbs. It has so many uses, and it’s so gentle, and so warm. It’s one of the two herbs that I don’t wildcraft myself (Lavender is the other one and I’ll do it soon). Ginger is anti-inflammatory. You can use it in a tea or infusion for arthritic pain,… Continue reading Hobo Stripper Materia Medica: Ginger
I'm in food heaven!
I’ve been canning and smoking and canning and smoking all day and I’m only halfway through the cooler. So far there are: 10 jars of blueberries 5 jars of crowberries 15 jars of ground caribou sausage a bunch of smoking salmon still in progress. I canned the berries in half pint jars, but I could… Continue reading I'm in food heaven!
As the caribou thaws…
I got to leave my meat and fish overnight in someone’s freezer last night and now it’s in my cooler, which is now all souped up with reflectix. I thought the cooler was going to be a pain in the ass to have in the van. When I first set everything up, I didn’t want… Continue reading As the caribou thaws…
Hobo Stripper Materia Medica: Plantain
Plantain is the perfect hobo plant, and the first plant I tell people about if I’m introducing them to wild plants. It grows almost everywhere, you can’t hurt yourself with it, it’s good food, and it’s good medicine. Plantain is easy to identify. Pluck a leaf and pull it gently apart near the base. If… Continue reading Hobo Stripper Materia Medica: Plantain
A Hobo Stripper's Materia Medica: Devil's Club
I have been stripping the bark from Devil’s Club stalks, and I am heady from the smell. Pieces of the thorny outer bark are scattered all around me and in my hair. My fingers know it now, like a lover, know how to skim over the thorns and separate the inner bark from the outer… Continue reading A Hobo Stripper's Materia Medica: Devil's Club