Nettles & Apocalypses
Two months into 2021, how are we all feeling?
As we edge towards the astrological new year (mid-march) we can find ourselves looking at the space of the last 12 months. Reflecting. Re-assessing. This time last year the severity of COVID-19 was finally hitting home, changes had taken root, it all felt a little apocalyptic. To quote Loba from the amazing Wild Weeds Podcast “We have survived many apocalypses”, indigenous people and those under the rule of colonialism have within their lifetimes experienced many apocalyptic events.
The privilege I have meant COVID-19 was my first apocalypse. One year on it’s clearer than ever that events like these do not drastically change the way things are done, they just hold up a magnifying glass and ask you if you can sit with it. The ongoing apocalypses for various communities, be it AIDs or US-orchestrated coups, UK enforced famines, segregation, enslavement, imperialist drone strikes om Syria 37 days into office. All of these are apocalyptic.
The way things have been till now, I have never been able to deal with, but in all honestly, I have never known what to do. But the thing is I don’t need to, there are those older, wiser, much much smarter than me who can lead the way. Lending my hands, my voice, my time that’s what’s needed.
It seems strange to then go on to environmental ideas, plant-plans, garden tips, things to forage, scraps to save. Mainly because this should never be all your work, all my work. Tackling climate change means focusing also on racism, sexism, accessibility, sovereignty and support. But it also feels redundant to say Black Lives Matter in the same breath as “save your scraps” or “start a garden”. They are not equitable, they never will be. Black lives still matter.
But the support of equality is a daily practice. It’s in choosing who your money goes to, be it supporting Black business or activity boycotting those like Nestle (which I won’t go into now but boy is a tirade coming). It’s about readdressing your own internal biases on the regular, about direct action and restorative justice. Re-learning, re-distributing and vitally regrowing. An amazing resource for those beginning anti-racist work, and how it all ties into environmentalism is the work of Isaias Hernandez, particularly his Instagram page. Hell, even Vogue is talking about this, check out a brilliant piece from Leah Thomas on why every environmentalist should be anti-racist. Or even this Tiktok from my fave Alexis Nikole A.K.A BlackForager, all about the intersection of race and foraging, summing it up more beautifully than I ever could.
My point in all of this is that no, of course, saving scraps is not enough. But until we slay the beast of capitalism/imperialism/racism, we still need to survive its claws. We need to protect others from its claws. This reclamation of knowledge is essential in adapting to the climate crisis and hopefully mitigating its effects. The addressing and tackling of inequalities are essential for fighting climate change. Within this, I offer to you that the garden is a space of hope. Community building is praxis, growing together, quite literally is how we strengthen non-financial ties. Doing something purely for joy and for free, to provide food for those around you, to support them however you can. That is how we survive apocalypses. That is how you change the world
This week’s tarot card is Temperance, with one foot on the earth and going with the flow in a stream. Ask yourself What does balance look like to you? How can you both give and receive? How are you staying on track? What steps help you to realign? What does patience look like to you?
The seasons, whose whims we bend to, may do as they please. But when it comes to planting we are somewhat their bitch. So strap in. Now’s the time to finalise your plans, check if the seed banks have any spare (unlikely) and get ready to plant. For some things, aubergine, peppers, started inside nearly a month ago the new shoots are popping up, leading the charge into longer fresher days.
On my ever-muddier walks, I have begun to see the flushes of Nettle forcing their way into the light. This is now one of my all-time favourite plants, but as a clumsy child, it surprisingly was not. On rediscovering it as a food, a medicine and a teacher I have such respect for this hardy fucker. Blooming twice a year (or whenever it can really) the young leaves are the best, high in vitamin c and packed with iron, when you look at a nettle patch you are looking at a field of spinach but with teeth. There are, apparently, tricks for picking nettles, only touching the bottom side of the leaf (or picking its non-stingy counterpart, Dead Nettles, identified by its cuboid stem) but these never seem to work, thankfully there are almost always Dock leaves nearby to salve this sting. So once your fingers prickle with needle heat, search for these bad boys. Or just don’t be a fool and wear gloves. I remember hearing a myth about these two plants being brothers, one always cutting, the other healing, tied together forever to counter each other. But I can find literally no source for this, so don’t quote me on it.
Soups, simple syrups (and leftover sweets), tinctures, or even in pies. Nettles slightly minty flavour is so versatile. To create a simple syrup take equal parts sugar (or 50:50 sugar: honey) and water, heat it and allowing the sugar to dissolve. My measurements are never accurate, just mix in sugar until you can’t see the granules anymore and the water seems syrupy. Then take it off the heat and empty in collected nettles (the same day is the best) making sure it’s all stirred in. Let it steep for 45 mins, then extract the nettle leaves, squeeze out any extra syrup and pop them in the oven on a very low heat for 10 mins. The syrup is delicious in cocktails (I recommend gin, lime and syrup, topped up with soda water). The sweets become crisp and slightly minty, a great garnish for said cocktail or a wonderful vitamin C filled snack. I have even crumbled them on top of this leftover-aquafaba mousse at times, making an After Eight type vibe. Decadent or what? On a more, accessible note, use nettle how you would spinach. Once heated, blanched in boiling water, fried or baked the needles that provide the sting will denature and making them safe to eat. Remember though, not to eat them when they are flowering (between June and October) as they can give you the shits.
Nettle Seeds are also amazing and can be picked after flowering. Some amazing recipes have come from The Medicine Circle about how to use these seeds including some funky looking cakes. I like to mix them in with oaty-chocolaty-coconutty balls to give them a herbal kick. On a less edible note, Nettles are an amazing natural fertiliser.
Not only are nettles in season, but more generally so are kale, cauliflower and most root veg you can think of. Kimchi is on the menu in my house as I made a mega batch last week, this can be jazzed up with whatever veg you have laying around. I’ve also been dreaming of this cauliflower cheese from a few years back. For swedes try Singaras, this smoky carbonara or a winter harvest soup. Fruit wise we’re still on the pomegranate, passion fruit and kiwi train. Which is honestly a great train to be on. Why not jazz up your potatoes, make some Sour Cream and Passionfruit muffins, or create a super simple Kiwi sorbet.
The podcast this week is from Mikaela Loach and Josephine Becker about the normalisation of crisis, be it climate or otherwise.
This is getting waaaay too long so I’m signing off.
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Stay scrappy
Magda
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Sooo much interesting stuff...I'm going to get lost down the rabbithole again following those links. Love all this ! x