groovin' with glacier lilies
foraging + entertaining = 😎
The cusp of the summer season in Yellowstone has seen two passions re-emerge into my life: foraging and entertaining. Oh, yes. Delights unfolding.
The first of these two began with the inaugural yellow floral of the season: The glacier lily, aka avalanche lily. It’s the very first I’ve learned to identify down here, thanks to a neighbor and fellow hikers who all shared that the bloom was, in fact, edible! ( ! more on that in a mo ! )
This tilting, recognizable & radiant blossom takes its name from an “early Spring” arisal amidst melting snow banks, which makes a lot of sense around here.
And, also relevant, taking a page from the condensed summer of Alaska life and the high elevation where I live now, “early Spring” becomes late, late spring, in actuality. The glacier lily grows across the Rockies and mountain states, and just like everything else around here, was very much new-to-me.
Cue that glee. Cue moi, reading through my various floral & wild edible books (based on indigenous knowledge), and learning that not only was the blossom itself edible, so were the greens and corm (the underground bulb), which can be cooked or eaten raw, as has been done since time immemorial throughout this region, no doubt. I didn’t dive into that yet, however, I got to grasping a few realities:
..that this lily has a rather fleeting life cycle.
…that my second passion was bursting at the freakin’ seams to reignite…aka my first “house party” since my Portland years (er, eons) was set for the week ahead !
….and along with my largest mesh strainer, I was totally ready to frolick & harvest ! !
Ah, darlings, the time had come. Yellowstone was now green - and yellow. I was foraging in the lower 48 for the first time on my own! Okay, unless you count roadside berry bushes in Oregon, which sure it counts, although that was never more than a few at a time and I really should have washed them.
This was far more intent business. Wild edibles, a fanny pack of bear spray, and dusting off my love of thematic parties that turned into a career as an event planner. Which, deep dive of a side note, allowed me to find purpose & creativity & drive & income, and threw away the social anxiety of mingling in my younger years, which means I’m thinking back to the memory of reading a vampire book at a Sweet 16 - nearly positive a Christopher Pike paperback from the library - and how my classmates, while not cruel, were not amused. Well, they were. In hindsight, that was cool! Or, something like it in the making.
Dipping my toes back into playing super host. No, immersing. Cherishing. The thrill of timelines and to-do lists. Delighting in both the foraging and entertaining. Combining those sorta long lost loves.
True story x 2:
Might I add, if you’re reading this there is a small chance you may have attended one of my “long ago” parties on Division St with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs-heavy playlists, and/or the legit events that definitely required tickets over the years. If so, well, gosh, thanks for coming <3.
And if that very likely does not apply to you, you never know what the future holds! They’re baaaaaack.
‘Cause, helloooo, we’re in a house! We have space! I can move in the kitchen! Two bathrooms and a porch! T-G-I-dishwasher! Again, for the first time since my hipster Portland years, which to contrast that, we then lived without running water in Alaska, sheesh. The authenticity? The irony?
In short, I’m once again inspired. I’m entertaining. And nearly two decades after I threw those apartment parties, I’m now wearing far more sensible yet cute heels while doing so (as of late - thrifted maroon Dansko mary janes via Value Village in Anchorage). Dude, come visit!
I know, I know, back to the glacier lilies. There I was, collecting, rinsing, de-bugging, steeping, straining, and bringing together a lovely honey-tinged syrup that filled the house with the essence of sunny flowers in such a pleasant way. Plus, the end result was a surprisingly pretty pink, which I assume had to do with the ph levels somewhere in there. The bees wish…and I wish for them. Just, keep away from my cats. They’re far too precious to get stung.
The next morning, I had a homemade supply of glacier lily syrup (and I still have an extra bottle in the freezer, of course) which naturally, led me to perusing recipes that called for elderflower liqueur - Lillet - and thinking of a swapperoo in an Italian spritz-esque cocktail for our fair weather “porch party”. It was coming!! Granted, that mid-June evening was more of a wind storm - how very Wyoming - however, the snow and rain held off and our guests were potentially as delighted as I was to host & cook & curate this experience. Gosh.
And while no bears strutted by, the notorious neighborhood blonde fox and bison duo certainly made appearances. Win, win, win.
That evitable evening’s house cocktail was a take on the Northern Italian “Hugo”, which is itself a spin on the classic “Aperol Spritz”. Floral syrup, fresh juice, seltzer, and most imperatively: Italian prosecco. Be still my heart and cocktail glass.
On Making Glacier Lily Syrup:
adapted from a recipe for fireweed jelly-making in The Boreal Herbal and this dandelion syrup
INGREDIENTS:
3.5 cups flowers
6 cups water
1 ¾ cups raw sugar or whatever
2 tbsp honey or agave
Juice of 1 lemon
DIRECTIONS:
First, pick oh, so, many flower tops. Glacier lilies and a few pretty dandelions, why not. Let sit in a large mesh strainer outside, encouraging the bugs to move on.
Then, immerse them in a bowl of cool water, letting them sit for 10 minutes or so. Gently moving around now and then. I leave the bowl outside during this step. Again, asking the itty and bigger bugs to move on. Go, live your life.
Drain and remove any remaining green portions of those handful of dandelions.
Quickly rinse again, and let sit in your large mesh strainer. Keep the cats away from attempting to eat them. This is not the time or place to have that experiment.
Now, you’ll be making tea. In a large pot, bring the 6 cups of water to a hard boil with the lid on for 1 minute. If you’re me, use this moment to gently and swiftly remove the two different bugs that are making one last rightful attempt at escape and throw those flowers outside. Bug aside, keep at a covered boil for that minute, remove from heat, and steep (covered) overnight in a cool place.
Interlude: Watch the blonde fox trot by.
Breathe it in as you check on the pot. You’re not smelling the roses, you’re smelling the lilies. Contemplate throwing a few more into your next bath. Oooo. You’ll be straining even more seriously on the next step.
Strain again over two layers of cheesecloth across your fine mesh strainer. You’ll be left with 5-ish cups of avalanche lily tea at this point.
Add sweetener(s) and lemon (1 ¾ cups raw sugar or whatever + 2 tbsp honey or agave + juice of 1 lemon). Stir to dissolve.
Bring to a boil, return to simmer, and cook on low uncovered for 1 hour, until somewhat reduced.
Remove from heat, let cool, and bottle in sealed glass containers.
Strain, once more, with feeling…in awe that it’s pink!!
Use the finished syrup within one month or so. Consider cocktails, mocktails, infused in frostings and glazes, or spooned onto baked cakes and cupcakes. Label + freeze with headspace for longer storage. And if this was jess from years past, she’d be using it to make a spirit of her own…hmmm, how am I on jars and high proof vodka….how can I resist?
About the Actual House Cocktail: “Giallo Lago”:
Collecting those glacier/avalanche lilies led to making the above syrup, which led to our evening’s house cocktail (with more than a touch of whimsy intended): the “Giallo Lago”. This translates to “Yellow Lake” in Italian, which is a nod to the region. As I mentioned above, this drink was a gentle twist on the modern day “Hugo'', a Northern Italian cocktail that is an elderflower take on the classic Aperol Spritz, with the glacier lily syrup standing in as the floral, and my go-to orange/pineapple/ginger juice incorporated to lighten things up, this being a grown up shindig & the start of my forties, afterall <3
THE DRINK:
makes 1 drink
cocktail glass of choice
¾ oz glacier lily syrup
3 oz prosecco or other sparkling wine
2 oz pineapple orange juice
2 oz seltzer or other sparkling water
Suggested garnishes: edible flowers, citrus strips, fresh mint
HOW TO:
Chill cocktail glass, if ya dig.
Add the syrup and juice to your glass.
Top with prosecco and seltzer.
Garnish as desired, and Cheers!
In regards to the aforementioned party, I made this in a pitcher x 6, generous with the seltzer.
Okay, Let’s Party...
Let me share some *brief* photo evidence of living a smidge less isolated this summer / party prep:
Human guests not pictured. What, did you think I had a facebook?!?
What a dang delight.
Have you enjoyed the taste of a wild flower?
References + Relevant Links:
7 Facts About Yellow Glacier Lily, Jake’s Nature blog
The Boreal Herbal by Beverley Gray
Homemade Dandelion Syrup on Nature’s Nurture
Mountain States Foraging by Briana Wiles
Recipe of the Day: Falafel, The New York Times February 12, 2008
Since this all occured in early/mid-June and summer really, technically arrived, I’ve pivoted to foraging young fir & spruce tips, which I have such fond memories of infusing into mugs of decent whiskey a camping trip with dear friends out in Eastern Oregon, which fittingly, was timed to “get out there” after some of the more time-consuming conference-planning shenanigans of the time.
More to come, yadda yadda.
Shawarma tots????? What?! That sounds amazing. Also curry nooch popcorn?! Why have I never thought to do that!