The Woodlynch Witch

08/06/2022

Lovely stuff

Saining bundles. Mugwort growing at sea’s edge with thyme and camomile from my little third floor concrete balcony garden. Once dry can be burned for protection, blessing and liminal work…

15/05/2022

True story 😂

27/03/2022

Happy mother's day, witches! ❤️

02/03/2022

This is hemlock water dropwort (Oenanthe crocata), which is also known as dead man’s fingers.

It's quite a common occurrence to find these washed up on Holcombe beach because it grows all down the lane in the stream. However it's best to dispose of it in the bin if you do find some lying around and don't let your dogs, kids, horses, beach dwelling cats etc chew on it.

No need to panic, just be aware. 🙂

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/nov/01/public-told-to-avoid-highly-poisonous-plant-washed-up-on-cumbria-beaches-hemlock-water-dropwort-parsnip

21/01/2022

Happy everyone!

16/01/2022

Spring is starting to spring a little early here, and once again I have an abundance of 3 cornered leak invading every nook and cranny of the garden. I had a little mess around and came up with a really nice pesto recipe, so thoughts I'd share.

Roast as much garlic as you like alongside about 50g of almonds, in the oven for about 5 minutes at 200 degrees.

In the meantime I washed 2 large handfuls of 3 cornered leak and a handful of spinach leaves. Popped them in the blender with the juice and zest of 1 lemon, 8 tablespoons of olive oil (I used one.infused with Basil but ordinary olive oil is fine). Add salt and pepper and the roasted garlic and almonds. Blend until you get a smooth mixture (you can add small amounts of water as you, depending on how runny you like your pesto).

Then I added about 100g of parmesan (this is optional, leave it out if you want a vegetarian/vegan option), chopped into cubes and pulsed the blender until the cheese had crumbles nicely with the pesto. Popped in a jar and in the fridge for later.

I am going to spiralise some courgette and serve the pesto with the courgette, bulked up with some edamame spaghetti for a little protein boost.

Literally can't wait for dinner!



Ps of anyone local to Teignmouth wants some three cornered leek to try, you're more than welcome to come and pick some. It's very invasive and really does take over so it will need to go anyway!

14/07/2021

Excuse the "artisan" quality of these, but I'm experimenting with different ways of utilising my enormous collection of sea glass and wanted to get your opinions. These are little necklace trinkets I've made baking sea glass into polymer clay. What do you think?

13/07/2021

Gooseberry time! This years gooseberries seem to be extra delicious and we have loads of them. I've left a few for our resident Bullfinches, but just a few!

I have whipped up a quick Gooseberry Froyo which is not only delicious but is low in fat and high in protein.

The recipe is:
350g Gooseberries (washed with all stalks removed)
200ml light condensed milk
500ml Skyr 0% fat natural yoghurt

Put the gooseberries into a food blended and blend until they are completely mashed up. Add the condensed milk and Skyr yoghurt, blend together. Transfer into a freezer proof container and freeze. The whole thing should be ready to go in a few hours time. Make sure you take it out of the freezer to sit for about 10 minutes before serving, this will make it easier to scoop.

This recipe makes about 6 servings. Each serving is 178 calories, 12.6g protein, 2.2g fat (0.9 saturated) and 31.3g carbs (20.6g sugars).

10/06/2021

After a little time off for an operation it was good to be back making balms in the kitchen today. A batch of Calm Balm, some deep sleep balm, chamomile and shea butter balm to reduce the redness of my nose (a side effect of wearing oxygen masks) and some daisy balm for my bruises. I forgot to take pictures!

30/04/2021

Delicious wild garlic. You'll find it in damp, deciduous woodlands usually close to ditches. You can eat the leaves, the unopened flower buds, the flowers and the seeds (whilst green). Now is the time to harvest it.
Beware! Collect it one leaf at a time and check that it smells of garlic. The poisonous lily of the valley often grows amongst it and you risk getting very sick if you pick a bunch of leaves and you accidentally eat the wrong one! Arum lily is also often mistaken for wild garlic.
The key is the smell!!

*Always pick responsibly and with the land owners permission.

The short wild-garlic season is underway. From salads to sauces and soups, here’s how to get the best from the bulb’s less pungent cousin

30/04/2021

This is a commission I completed last year, and probably one of my favourites. All the buttons are recycled and hand stitched onto a canvas bag which I hand painted.

Please contact me if you would be interested in a bespoke bag of your own. 😀

23/04/2021

Makes great pesto! :-)