To make 1 liter of this drink, you need to fill about one-third of a jar with edible flowers or spruce tips. Then, add 80-100g of sugar, one liter of water, and one lemon. Stir the mixture occasionally and let it ferment on a windowsill in the sun for 2-3 days. Drain the liquid and transfer it into upcycled glass bottles when the drink looks bubbly. You can store the drink in the fridge for up to a week or longer. At the bottom of the bottle, you may notice some decanted sediments, which is the wild yeast.

An 8-10% sugar content is enough to sweeten the drink and activate the wild yeasts. 

Enjoy!

Lacto-fermentation is an ancient food preservation method that harnesses beneficial bacteria's power to transform ordinary vegetables into flavor-packed delights. At its core, lacto-fermentation involves the breakdown of sugars in foods by lactic acid-producing bacteria. These friendly microbes work their magic in an oxygen-free environment, resulting in tangy, probiotic-rich foods. As the lactic acid bacteria feast on the vegetable sugars, they produce lactic acid. This acid preserves the veggies and imparts that delightful tanginess we associate with fermented foods. Fermentation enhances nutrient availability. Vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants become more bioavailable, making your veggies even more nutritious.

If you're going on a 3-week vacation and still have 2 kilograms of vegetables in your fridge, don't worry about wasting them. Lacto-fermentation is a great solution. By the time you return, the vegetables will be ready to eat, and you'll have avoided any food waste.

The process is simple: Create a 3% salt brine based on the weight of the vegetables and submerge them in it. Optionally, you can add mustard seeds, peppercorns, bay leaves, horseradish, chilies, or other ingredients to create an aromatic brine.

Extracting pigments from wildflowers (and even food scraps) is a fascinating process that enables the creation of natural dyes for various purposes. Here's a simple method to extract pigments: 

First, clean and separate the colored parts, such as petals or leaves. Next, boil the plant material in water and vinegar for about an hour to extract the pigments. Once the mixture cools down, strain it through a strainer, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. For a more concentrated pigment, you can simmer the strained liquid to reduce its volume. Finally, store the extracted pigments in sealed containers in a cool, dark place. This process allows you to create natural dyes from plant materials with different colors, intensities, and hues, depending on the plant type and extraction method.