Acorns: Gathering, Eating, Ancient Lore

with herbalist & forager, John Slattery

Willow Bend Environmental Education Center

Flagstaff, AZ

Sunday, October 29, 2017

1:30-5:30p

Class Fee - $42

*Early Registration - $35 (before Sep. 15)

Interested in acorns but feeling intimidated about what to do with them, or how to make them edible? In this information-packed, hands-on workshop, herbalist, forager, and author, John Slattery, will take the participants through all the steps of processing acorns for food, and provide recipes for preparing your leached acorn meal. Join John for this unique workshop!

We’ll take a walk through an oak grove, fully process acorns to prepare them for cooking, and enjoy a delicious acorn treat to wrap up the class. All participants will get hands-on experience with processing acorns, and everyone will leave with the knowledge and experience to properly process all acorns for food.

The virtues, history, and ethnobotany of oaks and acorns is vast and diverse. We'll begin our workshop with some time with the oak trees as John guides us on a walk through the history of oaks in the ancient world highlighting why oaks were so important and highly revered by our ancestors of the northern hemisphere - and why they’re so important here in Arizona, “the Land of the Good Oak.”

A presentation given at the Arivaca EcoFest 2017 entitled "Un 'Pueblo Magico' de los Belloteros: Emory Oak and its Acorns." John Slattery is a bioregional herbalist and forager helping people develop relationships with wild plants. John works toward keeping traditional knowledge alive through his writings and experiential education.

Next we’ll take dry acorns and turn them into a ready to use flour using basic tools and techniques. There are so many ways to utilize acorn flour in your everyday home cooking, and John will provide a variety of suggestions for you to take home.

There is no equipment or prior experience necessary to participate in this class. Just bring an open mind and willingness to learn. Each participant will receive handouts detailing the procedures we'll cover in class.

Feel free to bring your sun-dried acorns to class for processing if you have them.

Please contact Willow Bend Environmental Education Center to register - (928) 779-1745

Or visit this link: http://willowbendcenter.org/adult-education/

John Slattery

www.johnjslattery.com