The Blue Voice: Damsons, Elderberries & Finding Your Expression
Updated: Aug 30
A Note on Eating Blue
This week we're opening the Throat Chakra (Visuddha) with deep blue and purple foods. Blue cornmeal, blueberries, elderberries, damsons, and blue cheese bring the colour of communication and expression to the table. The Throat Chakra is the centre of truth, voice, and authentic self-expression — the bridge between what we feel and what we say. Here are this week's recipes:
Download This Week's Resources
Download this week's Recipe Card (PDF) and Shopping List (PDF) to take with you to the kitchen or the shops.
Where to Meditate
The Throat Chakra (Visuddha) is the centre of communication, expression, and truth. Its element is Sound, its colour is blue, and its seed mantra is Ham. Lorna's Sunday morning chakra workshops are a beautiful starting point for each week's meditation practice — find her at https://www.instagram.com/lorna.mckey Edinburgh has a Hazel tree at the Royal Botanic Garden (location D08) — our Ogham tree until September 1. The Vine (Muin) begins September 2, and you can find grapevines in the Botanic Garden's glasshouses and wild brambles — a vine cousin — across Arthur's Seat and the Pentland Hills. For the Throat Chakra, try meditating at Arthur's Seat — the summit is a natural amphitheatre where the wind carries your voice. Sit facing the Firth of Forth and hum your seed mantra, Ham, into the wind. Or try Calton Hill, where the monuments are open to the sky and the city stretches below you — a place for speaking your truth aloud.
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The Vine (Muin)
In the Celtic Ogham calendar, the Vine month (Muin) runs from September 2 to September 29. The Gaelic name is Muin, and its Ogham is the eleventh letter. The Vine is the tree of prophecy, poetry, and inspired speech — a fitting companion for the Throat Chakra, the centre of expression and truth. In Celtic tradition, Muin represents the winding paths that lead us exactly where we need to go. The Vine brings us into September — a time of gathering, fermenting, and transformation. Grapes are ripening on the vine, and the first damsons are ready for picking. The Vine teaches us that the sweetest things take time: wine needs months, jam needs patience, and our own voice needs practice. The Hazel (Coll) is still with us until September 1. The nuts are ripening across Edinburgh's parks — at Inverleith near the Botanic Gardens, along the Meadows, and at Hailes Quarry Park. Next week we are fully in the Vine.
A Sacred Table in Blue
Pack a picnic this week and let blue do the talking. A jar of damson gin liqueur, blue cornmeal pancakes wrapped in wax paper, a tub of smoked mackerel with blueberry relish, and blue cheese and walnut stuffed chicken in thick slices. A bowl of elderberry and blueberry fool for dessert, kept cool with a cold pack. Find a spot on Calton Hill overlooking the city, pour a little damson gin, and let your voice carry.
Breakfast: Blue Cornmeal Pancakes with Blackberry Compote
Blue cornmeal gives these pancakes a deep indigo hue and a satisfyingly earthy, slightly nutty flavour. Stacked warm and topped with a quick blackberry compote — blackberries simmered with a little sugar and lemon juice until glossy and jammy. A breakfast that looks stunning and tastes of late summer hedgerows. Recipe from allrecipes.com.
Lunch: Smoked Mackerel with Blueberry Relish
Smoked mackerel is one of Scotland's best larder ingredients — rich, oily, and deeply savoury. Here it's paired with a bright blueberry relish: blueberries cooked briefly with red onion, balsamic vinegar, and a touch of honey until they burst into a sweet-tart sauce. The combination is unexpected and brilliant — smoky fish meets fruity, acidic berry. Recipe from lovethekitchen.co.uk.
Dinner: Blue Cheese & Walnut Stuffed Chicken
Chicken breasts stuffed with a mixture of crumbled blue cheese, toasted walnuts, and spinach, then baked until the cheese melts into a creamy, pungent filling. The walnuts add crunch, the blue cheese adds depth, and the chicken stays juicy. A dinner that feels indulgent but is simple to put together. Recipe from taste.com.au.
Supper: Elderberry & Blueberry Fool
A fool is the simplest of desserts — fruit folded through whipped cream. Here, elderberries and blueberries are simmered briefly with sugar until they release their deep purple juices, then cooled and swirled through softly whipped cream and Greek yogurt. The result is light, creamy, and intensely berry-flavoured — a spoonful of late summer. Recipe adapted from foodnetwork.com.
This Week's Brew: Damson Gin Liqueur
Damsons are just coming into season — those small, dark purple plums with their tart skin and sweet golden flesh. Prick 500g of damsons with a needle, place in a sterilised jar, add 250g golden caster sugar and 500ml gin. Shake daily for the first week, then leave in a dark cupboard for 2-3 months. The result is a deep purple liqueur, sweet and tart, with a gin warmth — perfect for sipping as the evenings turn cooler. Recipe from bbcgoodfood.com.
What the Land is Offering Right Now
Late August in Scotland — the hedgerows are heavy. Damsons are starting to drop from the trees. Blackberries are at their peak, dark and sweet, the best picking of the year. Elderberries hang in heavy purple-black clusters, ready for syrup or fool. Hazelnuts are nearly ripe but not quite ready. Wild apples are beginning to fall. The first bramble vines are heavy with fruit — a wild cousin of the cultivated vine, and a reminder that the Vine month (Muin) is almost upon us. Gather what you can, leave enough for the birds, and mark the turn of the season.
Medicinal Herbs in Bloom
Vervain (Verbena officinalis) has been revered since Celtic times as a sacred herb of prophecy, speech, and divine inspiration. The Druids called it the enchanter's plant and used it in rituals of purification and divination. Its slender purple flower spikes are still blooming in Edinburgh's wilder corners this month — along the Water of Leith, in the rough grass of Holyrood Park, and at the edges of the Meadows.
For the Throat Chakra, vervain is a perfect match. Traditionally used to soothe sore throats and ease coughs, it also has a long history as a herb for clear communication — the Romans used it to cleanse temples, and the Celts used it to bless their speech. A gentle vervain tea, made from the aerial parts steeped in hot water, is anti-inflammatory, calming, and mildly sedative. It's said to help you find your voice — not by making you louder, but by helping you speak your truth with less fear.
Cook in Colour - Series 2
Cook in Colour is a 7-week series exploring the chakras through colour-coded nutrition, paired with the Celtic Ogham tree calendar. One chakra per week, matched to whatever Ogham tree month is active. Recipes selected each week by Sharon for thenofussgourmet.com. Next week: Third Eye Chakra — Indigo foods.
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