September: A month for nature’s best medicine

The month of September offers medicinal plants including nuts, berries and more.

Acorns, Black Walnuts, Hickory Nuts, Elderberries, Wild Grapes

The season changes as the green color on the forest and farm fades and is now turned into gold. It is the time when fruits and nuts ripen as they were silently growing during the summer season. There is a generous harvest you can find everywhere. On the Framer's Market, their table has large quantities of their harvest. Orange pumpkins would decorate the farm and sweet corn would also give color to the squashes along the roadside. The women have the kettles steaming as tomatoes fill the kitchen and the increase of sweetness coming from the apple orchard. All these happen on the month of September.

This time of the year is what I love the most. There is that feeling of urgency in our spirits, as the season progresses we can see beauty and goodness everywhere.

This verse always reminds me about the goodness of harvest "as nature puts on her grandest display right before dying into the cold and silence of winter, and the blessed assurance of the certain resurrection beyond. Oh, but let's keep our thoughts here in the woodlands of autumn, where the bounteous wild harvest beckons."

Edible greens are visibly abundant in the spring. Our bodies would need something fresh after winter to restore its value and life. Berries and fruits grow during summer which gives us energy to work during this season and quench our thirst under the heat of the sun. Nuts ripen on the season of autumn, which is rich with calories, fats and other nutrients to sustain the upcoming winter. These nuts; Black Walnuts , Acorns and Hickory Nuts are all over the land rich with nutrients. Black Walnuts and Hickory Nuts are feasted by many and Acorn is most of the time forgotten. Other berries also ripen late in September, these include Wild Grapes , Elderberries , High bush Cranberries, Chokecherries. Most of the times these berries have are quite difficult to find because you have to search for them on hedges.

I am always thankful to the Creator who provides us nourishments ready on the table.

The 'Acorn'

One of the signatures of autumn is acorns. All the nutrients of the oak are concentrated on the acorn. Acorn is the seed of the oak tree, where the nature's elements sun, moon and rain combined forces to create the seed. Acorn is the future of the Oak tree. There was a verse on the Bible Genesis 1:11,12, which states that each Acorn is carefully made from the beginning until the time it bears a fruit according to its own kind in which the seed is itself.

Acorns have been misused by humans as food. Animals also have not used the acorns accordingly as planned by the creator. Since acorns are all over the place and there is much for everyone, the main purpose which is to strengthen the lineage of the oak family has been forgotten by many. Acorns were considered an important plant that cultures is centered on it before, especially the Indians that reside in California. Baskets have been made beautifully for the exclusive use of harvesting and processing of Acorns. Now, only few have tasted an Acorn but many have the idea that Acorns are edible. Acorns have a very bitter taste when eaten fresh from the shell unlike the other nuts, Black Walnuts and Hickory Nuts that has a sweet taste yet difficult to get. There are things that you have to do to remove the bitter taste of acorns so that it can be eaten raw.

Acorns have a high fat content, as well as carbohydrates which may be the reason why Acorns are not really that famous when it comes to its use. A cup of acorn flour would consist of calories up to 500,30 grams of fat and 54 grams of carbohydrate. Acorns also have high vitamins and minerals that can be considered a food for survival.

I usually harvest acorns every September. Grassy parks are the best place to harvest them because it is difficult to get them from the woods or grass meadows. The Oak tree has a production cycle. An oak that have produced plenty for a year might not produce again in the next few years. It is a game of luck when harvesting acorns and you have to find a good spot to harvest. I stock up for the entire year when I found the harvesting spot.

All Acorns can be consumed, some which are big has less tannic acid and are easier to process. Oaks have two main varieties, the red and white oaks. Oak with pointed tips are red oaks while those with leaves that have rounded lobes are white oaks. The biggest and best Acorns come from the family of the white oaks.

Get fresh acorns in the summer, before they wither or get buried on fall. Either green or brown when they fall, it is still good for collecting. I store them first when I arrive home. I don't shell them when I get home, but by doing this moth would lay its eggs on the acorn and if it stayed too long, the nutmeat may have been eaten by the larva. Using a cookie sheet, I spread the acorn and put them in the oven to roast for thirty minutes with 325 degree temperature to kill the eggs. Once done, it can be store longer for further processing.

Shelling the acorns is the next step. Unfortunately, there is no other way to shell them but to crack them one by one using a nutcracker. They would look like coffee beans. After shelling the acorns, the bitter tannins have to be removed. Boiling them can remove the bitterness. But before boiling them, use a food processor to easily chop them in order to expose more area when boiling.

It is much faster this way. Boil them using a cooking pot for 5-10 minutes with a ratio of 2:1, where 2 is the water. After that pour the dark water and add water again then bring it to a boil again. Do the process six times until such time that the acorn will taste mild.

After boiling, rinse and spread them on clean towels to dry. They should be dry enough to be made into flour. Roasting them on the oven again is another option to remove any moisture left. Roasting the acorns also give a great flavor.

Making them into flour is the next thing to do. Acorns are oily that they may get stuck on the grind mill. Coffee grinder can be used to make the flour since they are more like coffee at this stage. Use a mesh strainer to sift out any large crunchy meat. After grinding, the flour can be stored on jars and can be used anytime.

Even when it is stored for a long time, the flour can still be used. The flour has the same texture of cornmeal. I use acorn flour when I bake any cornmeal recipes. Acorns can be made into cornbread, delicious muffins and yummy pancakes. A Boston brown bread can also be made from Acorn flour. A roasted dandelion root can be made using the flour which is coarser. Other recipes you can made out of acorn flour includes but not limited to the following: Acorn Pancakes Acorn “Cornbread Boston Brown Bread Acorn Molasses Cookies Acorn Gingerbread Acorn Muffins w/Wild Apples and Hickory Nuts

You can store the acorns after they have been leached by freezing them or dehydrating them. Whole acorns are like look like beans and they also have the same texture which can also be used as a substitute of meatloaf. Whole acorns can be made into the following: Acorn Hot dish Acorn Burgers Chili Con Acorn Acorn "Meatloaf So if you can find an acorn as you stroll in the park, bring it home and do some exploration. Acorns are very tasty if you have the patience to prepare them. On this link, Processing Acorns Step by Step , you would know the different step and procedures you have to make to process acorns.

The 'Black Wallnuts'

In Wisconsin, Black wallnuts re everywhere. Black wallnuts are planted intentionally because the wood can be used in many ways. Black wallnuts are very easy to identify with its large nuts and leaves that turn yellow during fall. You can easily spot them even when driving or walking down the street, you cannot miss those large green fruits that are scattered underneath the trees. You don’t have to go far to get a good harvest of Black Wallnuts. Unlike acorns that have a production cycle, black wallnuts bear nuts every year. A large sack can be easily filled with these nuts but shelling the nuts is another issue. A device was invented to harvest Black wallnuts without bending over. Shelling the Black Walnuts requires a lot of creativity. Gadgets have been invented to shell the Black Wallnuts easily but it consumes time. Luckily, there are still those who value the meaning of the nut and would still do the nut cracking by hands.

The Black wallnut is enclosed by a thick and green hull. The hull makes the wallnut as big as a tennis ball when you start, but the nut is only about the size of an acorn. There is a green rind on the outside of the hull but the inside is pitch black that stains just about anything it touches, so be very careful. The stain can wear off at least two weeks. So before you handle them, study first on how to remove the stain. Dye makers have used this stain to breathe a beautiful brown color.

The hulls are also used as an herbal medicine. It is used to cure external ailments that include ringworm, athlete's foot or any fungal infection. It is also used by others to drive parasites away. You should be careful when internal intake of the hull is done because it could be toxic.

Others would sell the whole Black Wallnuts to wallnut mills to earn. Companies that buy them have a hulling station where the hulls are removed on the spot before it is sent to the mill. The pay is between $10 per a hundred pounds.

If you use the nutmeats, it should be hulled as soon as they are harvested because the hulls easily decompose where it is affect the nutmeats inside. You have to be very patient when cracking the hulls because it is very hard. You might as well invest on equipments to help you with the nut cracking if you plan to harvest every year.

This link, Processing Black Walnuts , can help you with the step by step procedures on processing Black wallnuts.

You can also buy already processed Black wallnuts from the store to save you time. It usually cost around $10 per pound. You can easily find them on yard sales. Local newspaper would sometimes post a small ad for advertising.

Once the nutmeats are ready, you can spend more time in the kitchen preparing the nuts. Black Wallnuts have a strong flavor but it can easily get used to the strong flavor. The nuts cannot be compared to other nuts because they are very far from the taste of the Black Wallnuts.

There are many recipes for Black Wallnuts. You can find them is search engines. You just have to experiment to satisfy your own palette. My family likes the nuts in cakes, salads and rice. Others find it delicious in ice cream. Others even made a flavoring out of the Black Wallnut.

The 'Hickory Nuts'

Hickory Nuts are filled with nutrients including protein, carbohydrates, iron, phosphorus, potassium, trace minerals and vitamins A and C. Just like any other nut, they have high quality oil with fatty acids that are good for the heart. They grow throughout the woodlands. They grow very slowly and would bear nuts until its 75th year but they have a long lifespan up to two hundred years. Through its leaves, Hickory Nuts are very easy to identify. Having a shaggy bark makes it easier to identify from the rest. It is not easy to find a Hickory tree that provides plenty of nuts. Even those people who have taken special care of the tree can have difficulty in having a sale. There is this old man who busies himself with cracking Hickory Nuts and I invest in him for a good supply of these nuts every year. Hickory Nuts are not cheap. Fresh ones in the market would cost $30-$40 per pound of $2 a cup. The nut is a rare commodity. Hickory nuts are harvested from the wild; there is no agricultural source for these nuts. They are the best wild nuts there is. Hickory Nuts is related to pecans which also have the same taste. Anything made with Hickory Nuts would turn out very delicious.

You have to look for the nuts if you cannot find pre-shelled nuts. You can find them in the woods while doing a hike or even in parks or graveyards you can find them.

Hickory Nuts also have a few varieties, but only Pignut is the only one that is inedible and it is bitter.

Hickory Nuts grow inside thick hulls, just like the Black Wallnut. The hulls are divided in sections and fall apart when ripe and less labor is needed for these nuts. Just like all other nuts the shell is hard so you would need some good tools to help you with shelling the nuts. It would take 220 nuts to get a pound of meat and it would take four hours to get this one pound. You can also lave the nuts unshelled for a long period of time or even forever, they would go bad, and only crack them when needed. I store the nuts on the freezer to avoid preys like mice. Hickory nuts can be used as substitutes for any recipes that would need wallnuts and pecans. Examples include: Maple Hickory Nut Apple Crisp Hickory Wild Rice Salad Hickory Pie Hickory Sandies Maple Hickory Granola Wild Rice Hickory Nut Stuffing Hickory Nut Pemmican

Hickory Nut oil is available in the market as well. Hickory trees also produce sweet syrups just like maple trees.

The 'Elderberries'

Elderberries can be found in most farm countries. They grow on open sunny fields. June is when the flower bloom. In September, they are noticeable again because of their clusters of magenta colored berries. Elderberries have two varieties in Wisconsin. Red elder has a bright red cluster of berries. The Red elder is poisonous. Those colored purply-black are edible berries.

I get plenty of flowers when they bloom for medicinal use especially during winter for the treatment of cold and flu. The flowers are also good to be used as tea once dried and infused oil can be extracted from the flowers that end up as an ointment. You can use the flowers in many ways. It is used as a drink by many.

Fritters can be made from the flowers. The flowers can also add a unique flavor into some pastries like pancakes, cakes, muffins and many others. The bush of an Elderberry has many uses. Its flowers, roots, leaves, berries and bark can be used as a medicine. It is used by many as an anti-viral and has been used as an alternative medicine as a syrup to cure cough. Sambucol is the most famous product of Elder. Rubini is another product from Europe, which claims a lot of health issues.

When the berries ripen in the month of September they have to be picked. It has an odd taste right from the bush. It takes time to process the berry depending on how you want them. You can bottle the juice for later especially for the remedy of cough. The syrups are actually expensive on the store.

You can make a jam or pie from Elder but you have to pick all the berries from the cluster. You can use and old comb or fork to make it easier to get all the berries from the cluster. After that, you can freeze them inside a freezer bag. You can also dry them on for teas in a dehydrator. The seeds are very small and can be eaten because it would be time consuming if you have to remove the tiny seeds before eating them.

I am not really fond of Elderberries because they have an odd taste even when sweetened. We just add elderberry in our recipe for apples. A wine can be made from elderberry either from the flowers or the berries themselves.

The 'Wild Grapes'

Wild grapes can be found all over North America. Wild grapes have a lot of varieties, each with a different flavor. Wild grapes are usually made into wines.

I bring home just about any variety I can find in the market. The vine of the wild grapes also has its own production cycle. One grape bearing vine this year may not bear next year, so you have to keep in mind which one bears a lot.

In august the wild grapes start to ripen. I usually let them frost outside first before I get them. Not all clusters are ripe; one cluster may be ripe enough the other may still be staring to ripe. You have to get them when you see the color purple dominating the cluster. You can either use your hand or use hand pruners to harvest the grapes. Harvest as many as you need, to save time.

I use my steam juicer to make them into juice. It is the fastest way to juice the grapes. It kills the living enzymes and the yeast on the juice because it is cooked. Take out a little mount of honey on the jar to bring out the flavor of the grapes.

I use a strainer to make fresh juice out of wild grapes. Wild grapes are very juicy that you can use just about any juicing technique to take out all the juice.

The juice taste as if it has many minerals on it so it is like a medicine by itself. It is not very sweet compared to commercial grapes sold in the market. It has a full flavor on to it. A small glass is enough o satisfies the tongue unlike other juiced that you have to use a big glass to satisfy your tongue. Mixing the wild juice with apple cider gives out a unique flavor of the juice. You can find more information here on how to use Wild grapes.

The 'Grape Leaves'

The leaves of Wild grapes are interesting. It can be used to season rice dishes by wrapping the rice and making small rolls of it. This is called "dolams" in Greek and Stuffed Grape Leaves in English. There are many recipes fro Grape Leaves, recipes would come from Turkey, Greece, Israel and other countries in the Middle East.

The best times to harvest the leaves are on the months of June or July. You have to get the biggest leaves you can find. It should be as big an open hand. It is best to get the leaves when they still have the light green shade because it is tenderer than those with darker shades. I harvest for the whole year so I het a lot of the leaves. The leaves will be kept in the brine for some time. I usually harvest 200 leaves or more. Making the Dolmas takes time than harvesting the leaves.

You can keep the leaves inside a bag on the freezer for a week if you still don’t have brine. I Make a brine recipe and mix it with another.

The leaves are stored in wide opened jars and it can contain up to 36 leaves. I stack 12 leaves then roll them and tie them and put it inside the jar and I put two rolls inside a jar to save space. I full the jar with brine after the rolls are arranged inside the jar. I leave the leaves soaked for 48 hours for fermentation. After the fermentation I put them in the freezer for a month and they can be kept for a year or so.

Open this link for my personal Recipe of Stuffed Wild Grape Leaves .