I’m all about wild picking these days. I saw some people making all sorts of things things from Elderflowers and I loved it! Most recipes I found had lots of sugar in it and I don’t really like using sugar myself, so I created this refreshing recipe myself. It’s definitely my favourite summer drink now. It’s super easy to make, with only a few ingredients and best of all.. you can get one of the ingredients for free: the Elderflower! The big umbrellas, filled with tiny white flowers, on the Elder tree smell beautiful. The Elder tree blooms from the end of May until mid June. So, be quick to make this! Also make sure you are picking the right elderflower (Sambucus Nigra) and not the poisonous one (quite essential!!).
ELDER SUN
Makes: 1,5L
4-6 big elderflower umbrellas
1,5 L water
10 strawberries
2 big lemons
2 limes
Maple syrup/Sugar (optional)
Ice (optional)
-Make sure that there are no insects on the elderflower umbrellas (shake it!).
-Soak the umbrellas in 1,5 water for at least 2 hours (longer is better!).
-Use a nut bag, cheese cloth or tea towel to filter out sand, insects (hopefully not) and little flowers.
-Put the strawberries, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 lime and a bit of the elderflower water in a blender and blend until smooth.
-Again use the nut bag, cheese cloth or tea towel to drain the juice, so you do not have bits in your lemonade (if you don’t mind, like me, you can skip this).
-Put the elderflower water and the strawberry juice in a big jug.
-Slice the other lemon and the lime and add this to the jug.
-Add maple syrup/sugar water to sweeten your lemonade if you want it sweet.
-Add ice if you like your lemonade cold.
Some tips for wild picking:
-Be absolutely sure that you have the right plant. You do not want to ingest something that makes you end up in the hospital or worse..
-Don’t pick along roads or places where dogs are walked. A pinch of pollution or wee are not the ingredients you want to go for.
-Pick from an area where there are a lot of the specific plant you want to pick and only pick what you need. We need to share and be mindful.
-Try not to disturb wildlife.
Are you going to make this recipe? Please let me know or show me on instagram via @freedomevermore. I’d love to see it and hear what you think. Thank you! X
I went to Camden to do some hotspot hunting. I had lunch at Club Mexicana and whilst I was waiting for my order to be made and whilst I was eating my burrito, I kept seeing people passing by with delicious looking lemonade. It was super hot that day and like every Saturday in Camden, there were like a billion people! A cool lemonade was very welcome and after eating a burrito with beans and rice it would be very refreshing. So I followed the people and not far from Cub Mexicana (a few stalls to the left) I saw a big queue. All people who had the same idea as me. It was called Square Root Soda Bar and they had a few types of soda drinks. I really liked their stall, with the painted wooden signs.
You could choose between a few types of sodas, but I went for the regular lemonade. I love lemonade, but I never have it unless I make it myself. Because there is a lot of sugar or sweetener used in them. Here at the Square Root Soda Bar they use sugar from beets in their lemonade, but unfortunately I couldn’t find anywhere how refined it was. All their sodas are hand-made though, in Hackney. It was a very tasty lemonade (and yay for the paper straws) and a perfect combination with my lunch. Exactly what I needed. Their flavours change regularly, depending what is in season, something I really like. On their 
Planet Manel 