Gather 2 cups of the yellow florets
add ½ cup of fresh lemon juice
3 cups of water
One package of Certo or equivalent
At least one tablespoon of grated fresh ginger

washed and chopped roots from the wild ginger but
take only a few not to deplete the patch. Grated commercial ginger can
be used to supplement the taste.  (It is now recognized that  the
Canadian Wild ginger  has medicinal properties, use in moderation).
Before bottling, taste and add more ginger as needed.  The commercial
species is not related to our wild ginge
Mix all together and bring to a strong boil.
Add 6 cups of sugar or equivalent
Stir well
Bring to a roiling boil for one full minute....longer if a cloudy day.
Taste at this point, more ginger can be added if desired and the mixture brought again to a boil.
Bottle in sterilized jars while hot as directed in Certo recipes
Serve on dark rye bread.

NB  Flower heads are gathered and florets separated before boiling.
The underlaying green bracts can be left for added texture without
changing the final taste.  Do not use stems or leaves or roots at this
time.  This recipe was originated by Madeline Kallio, we added the
ginger.  Her purpose was to provide incentive to eliminate toxic
sprays and to respect  heritage plants.

Martha's Spider Bread

Note: Iron frypans used for baking in an open fireplace had three legs for support. In New England, these were called "spiders" and that name was continued for black iron frypans used on the wood cook stove where my mother prepared food. I was taught never to use detergent on a frypan, just boiling water to clear the surface which then needs a minimum of oil for the next use.

This bread is for special diets and lacks yeast, wheat, dairy and is sweetened with raisins..

One small egg, about one tablespoon of sunflower oil, mix together with fork. Add two cups of liquid, water plain or mixed with fruit juice, Add 2 cups of flour. (Vary the mixture, but at present I add one and a half cups of barley flour, a handfull of spelt flakes and brown rice flour) with one teasp. cream of tartar and one half teasp baking soda. Soak about half a cup of raisins in hot water briefly, and add to above. I use a whisk to mix ingredients.

Use whatever ripe fruit is available, but my favorites are diced pear , orange, rhubarb or grated carrots with grated fresh ginger root, (I like to cook with ginger, especially with wild ginger root which can only be obtained where it grows in abundance..like my neighbor's ground cover for her flower bed.) Half a cup of tart applesauce is good , grated zuccini the same. Wild berries excellent.Too much juice with fruit makes a moist pudding type bread. Experiment Mix well, Pour into large greased "spider", top with grated coconut, or apple slices and black elderberries sprinkled with cinnamon, bake at 350 degrees in preheated oven for one hour. Top should be brown and firm, lower crust the same. .(Note, if final mix is too stiff to pour into pan, add more water. Result is a lighter textured bread.).

Serve hot or cold, buttered, with maple syrup or dandelion flower jam (recipe on website)

for topping on bread, add sesame seeds. for intro, no wheat, dairy, yeast,..(nuts optional)