You are cordially invited- The sequel!

More Gorse appreciation...now what?

Gather it! Don't forget to don your gloves first as these little bushes might just have the most spikes per capita!

Bring your bags of tiny yellow flowers back home and make a delicious drink with it! How you ask? Well, follow this recipe and the result is a colourful concentrated cordial that you can mix with water, soda or something saucier like vodka or coconut rum! This sweet syrup is slightly coco-nutty and oh so fresh! The process of making it was painless, despite a couple thorn poked thumbs, and yielded many small bottles of the sunny looking liquid.

Making something from Mother Earth in Edinburgh was very rewarding! Also, that lemony colour of you newly made juice is naturally occurring, so you can feel good about what you are consuming!

The original inspiration for this post came from an episode I saw about gorse champagne, and on account or my love for all things coconut, I could not help myself! I did however help myself to those tiny little flowers without getting caught by the Queen no less! And you should too!

Just a hint- don't scrimp on the cheese cloth or you will end up with little bug legs in your spring time spritzer!

You are cordially invited!

I grew up in a northern town in Canada. Not unlike many small northern towns, mine was once fueled by the pulp and paper mills ie. the forest industry. Mine was the kind of town that though it totes over one hundred and twenty seven parks, it would be better known for cutting down trees and then naming streets after them! Name a tree, go ahead i'll wait.....name a tree and Prince George had a street of the same name (I myself lived on Oak street for a spell in my youth).

It is Gorse street though that inspires our adventure today!

I am now living in Edinburgh, Scotland and have finally encountered the namesake for a street in an older subdivision of my home town. Upon walking around Arthur's seat which is situated within Hollyrood (or Queens) Park, one is confronted with rock faces, rolling hills and walking trails, all lined with yellow flowers. Enter Gorse, a highly spiney native evergreen shrub that is as common here as bagpipers in shopping malls. Gorse spends most of its year flowering and when it is not providing protection for birds and insects or helping out with hedging for farmers, it is successful in scenting the air with a coconut like fragrance and adding some colour to the rugged hillsides.

Gorse, a fine name for a street and a fine find for a forager like me.....