In this video we use wildflowers' (Forget-Me-Nots - Myosotis sylvatica and Dandelions - Taraxacum) beautiful vibrant colours to decorate delicious biscuits. The wildflowers are foraged from our organic garden. Ensure that you collect from pesticide and pet fouling free areas. This activity encourages connection with our local natural surroundings and plants and therefore benefits you and your family's wellbeing. Enjoy doing this activity alone or with your wonderful family and why not share your biscuits with your neighbours and wider community and discuss the flowers that you have used! See below for basic biscuit and buttercream recipes or use bought supplies from the shops.
Whilst using this nature activity to inspire learning, know you are helping you and your family's wellbeing like this:
1) Get Active - Get moving by going for a walk to find out where you are able to source petals or leaves for use in areas that you know or strongly suspect are not chemically sprayed.
2) Keep Learning - Learn the names of the flowers that are on your journey either by photographing and looking them up, or consider using an app on your phone to help you identify the plant - we prefer the latter but we would still recommend checking again once home as amazing as these apps are.
3) Be Mindful - Clearly not all plants, leaves and petals are edible, and in fact many are poisonous to us however lovely they may look. Please, if in doubt about a plant - do not taste to find out. Many plants have variations so what might look like one plant may in fact be something else. Always double and triple check before eating.
4) Practice Kindness -Remind yourselves and family that these flowers are not there for us only, they are a source of food and shelter and home to many other insects and wildlife too. Only take what you need.
5) Think Community - if you have the resources to hand, why not cook some extras for your neighbours to enjoy. Share your recipes, tips and beautiful outcomes in the comments.
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Basic Biscuit Recipe: Heat oven to 180 degrees
150g flour 50g butter/marg of choice
50g sugar
1 tsp baking powder
75ml milk of choice
1 tsp vanilla essence (or cinnamon or mixed spice)
Mix all the dry ingredients together thoroughly (flour, baking powder, sugar and spice if using) and then add the wet ingredients (butter, milk and vanilla essence if using). Mash and mix together until of an even consistency.
Roll the dough out thin between pieces of grease proof paper and cut shapes at will - we used an angel and heart shaped cutter amongst others.
Lay onto a baking tray and cook in the preheated oven for 10-15mins, cooked once golden and browning.
Basic Buttercream Recipe:
50g butter/marg of choice
200g icing sugar
1 tsp of vanilla essence 1/2 tsp of milk of choice if required Mash and mix the butter and the icing sugar together thoroughly in a bowl until achieving an even consistency. Add the vanilla essence and continue to mix. You can also add 1/2 tsp of milk to the mix if it is too stiff for your liking but be careful not to add too much otherwise your buttercream won't hold together well. Add to a piping bag or create one with a greaseproof paper cone.