• Rail Trail - Stamina Potion Lite - Tea - Valley Hills

    Pine Needles: What They Are, How We Use Them

    Pine needles, and conifers in general, have a very mixed review of their safety versus toxicity online. When we first began foraging, we brought with us various misconceptions about what was and wasn’t edible. For example, I grew up being told that Mountain Ash was poisonous, but information is coming out saying otherwise and that its great for use in cooking meat! I haven’t tried it yet because I plan to do more research before harvesting that berry. But when you spend so much of your life being told one thing and then another pops up, you have to be…

  • Rail Trail - Tea - Valley Hills - Warm Hug

    Chokecherry: What it is, How we use it

    The very name of this berry is enough to make anyone stand back three feet and go, “you’re not eating THAT are you???” Yet anyone who has tried the fruit after proper preparation generally enjoys it. So why the scary name?! Chokecherry gets it’s name because of the very tart flavour it has. This tartness is caused by a compound known as hydrocyanic acid. This hydro-cyanide compound is also known as anthocyanin and occurs not just in chokecherries, but in the pits of domestic cherries as well as almonds. In fact, crushing dried chokecherry adds an almond flavour to sauces,…

  • shop - Valley Hills

    Tea: Valley Hills

    Description: Savour the aroma of the Okanagan hills and receive a shot of Vitamin C as you sip this flavourful wildberry tea. Why The Name: The hills around the Okanagan grow an amazing array of enjoyable flavours from berries such as Chokecherry and Hawthorn, to Rose Hips, Ponderosa Pine Needles, thistles and more.  While the photo is very golden in colour, this tea takes on a darker hue in your cup, and if you let it steep long enough, the colours from the fruit begin to add their reddish tones as well.  This tea truly does remind one of the…