Elderberry fritters

Every year we make Elderberry flower fritters.  I pull out my Blanche Derby book My Wild Friends where she has recipes and stories about local plants.  She lives in Northampton and teaches wild edibles classes.

The girls didn't want to come with me to pick the flowers so I took my time and took a walk through the woods and then stepped over the stream to the lush Elderberry shrub.




Elderberry is a sacred plant, said to be where the Fairy Queen resides and one must ask before you pick the flowers or berries from the shrub. 
 
The flowers are so pretty; they are made up of many tiny perfect flowers, said to be the Fairy Queen's wedding bouquet. 

We mixed flour and milk and the dipped in the flowers and fried them in butter and served them with maple syrup.  I made some gluten free ones with coconut and almond flower.