The whole story
The Badger's Almanac
Chapter I
Spring Roots
When the hedgerow thaws, Tobias opens his almanac to a fresh page and sets out with a spade and a basket. He digs burdock and dandelion roots from the bank, gathers young nettles from the ditch in his thickest gloves, and adds a knob of ginger and a stick of liquorice root from the larder. By supper a pot is bubbling on the old stove deep in his sett, and he writes: Spring. Roots, and plenty of them.
Where it's from · Nettle, burdock and dandelion grow wild along hedgerows and roadsides right across Europe, and dandelion and burdock has been a British favourite for centuries. Ginger and liquorice root come from further afield: ginger from tropical Asia, liquorice from the Mediterranean and western Asia. Every ingredient in this jar is organic.
Brew this chapterBadger & Burdock →
Chapter II
The Summer Visitor
At the height of summer a stranger lands on Tobias's fence and laughs so loudly the whole hedgerow jumps. He's a kookaburra, blown a very long way from home, and he has brought a bundle of lemon myrtle and lemongrass to thank Tobias for a place to rest. Tobias adds ginger, rosehips from the wild roses and a handful of petals, then pours the brew over ice. That night the almanac reads: Summer. A new friend, and something lemony.
Where it's from · Lemon myrtle is a native Australian rainforest tree from coastal Queensland, famous for its intensely lemony leaves. Lemongrass and ginger come from tropical Asia, and rosehips are the bright red fruit wild roses leave behind once their petals fall. Every ingredient in this jar is organic.
Brew this chapterThe Laughing Kookaburra →
Chapter III
The Winter Hearth
When the frost bites, Tobias packs what's left in his larder (nettle, liquorice root, the last of the kookaburra's lemon myrtle) and carries it to the forge at the end of the lane. The smith already has a copper pot of turmeric, ginger and black pepper on the coals, and she tips his gifts straight in. One by one the whole hedgerow crowds in from the cold, the kookaburra laughing on the anvil. Tobias writes the last line of the year: Winter. Share the larder.
Where it's from · Turmeric and ginger are cousins: knobbly roots from South and Southeast Asia that have warmed kitchens there for thousands of years. Black pepper first came from the Malabar Coast of south-west India, tulsi (holy basil) is grown and revered across India, and the lemon myrtle is Australian. Every ingredient in this jar is organic.
Brew this chapterThe Ember Forge →The end. The best larder is the one you share.
