Friends jokingly call herbalist Anna Afanasyeva a witch, and three sons adopt mother’s attitude to nature

In the kitchen of Anna Afanasyeva in the village of Novoye Pashkovo, Mogilev district, nettle does not burn - it stains the dough in a juicy green color. From forest herbs, the hostess mixes not only fees and teas: they become the ingredients of the usual dishes. Dumplings with nettle, green paste... A young villager turns the gifts of nature into a part of everyday cuisine, which already has many fans. Anna Afanasyeva’s talent combines her father’s love of cooking and her grandmother’s gift of feeling nature. Today, she boldly experiments with recipes, constantly studying the properties of various plants. As you can guess, the heroine of this issue is a herbalist. Happy mother of many children every day reveals the secrets of nature, and we, having visited the wizard, tried to find out the secrets of her green magic.

Since childhood, Anya was hanging out with her father in the kitchen, and with her grandmother she often went to the forest for herbs. I especially liked to collect the silk with her. Interest in plants, we can say, is a generic addiction.

- My great-grandmother used them to treat both people and animals, Anna explains. My grandmother also collected herbs, my grandfather was a famous oncologist. I'm an economist by training. When I was young, I wanted to become a psychologist, but I listened to my aunt’s advice. After receiving the diploma, she worked in the MIA system for three years. I quickly realized that this is not my story. Yes, and life suggested: you need to find your way to become happy.

Fate has repeatedly tested Anna for strength. In 2019, my mother died, and my father died in 2022. By that time, she was already seriously interested in studying wild plants: she studied with an Altai herbalist for two years, then continued her studies with specialists from Belarus.

- The departure from the life of parents was the starting point, the interlocutor recalls a difficult period of life. I began to listen more to my own desires, to think about my physical and spiritual health. So I came to herbs. And then I wanted to share my knowledge with others. Anna is not limited to teas and herbal collections. She wants to show that plants, which many consider common weeds, can become part of the daily menu. For example, the hostess gave us dumplings with ... nettles.

- And it's not some fusion. I use local wild plants for normal functional nutrition, she explains. I had a symbiosis of herbalism and cooking.

In the house of Afanasiev guests are not released without food. Anna adopted this tradition from her parents: her father especially loved to cook and treat friends with her mother. I confess: Anina nettle dumplings, perhaps, were the most delicious in my life, and green dough even warmed the appetite. Nettle is added not only to the dough, but also to the filling.

- My children do not know what is a purchased tea, laughs the hostess.

Juniors help to collect plants, participate in the preparation of homemade dishes. So far, this is primarily a family history: dishes are prepared for themselves, not for sale. The husband also supports the passion of his wife, sometimes goes with her for herbs. However, Anna jokes, she collects them more actively. For her, the forest is not just a storehouse of nature. It is associated with childhood memories, family history and a special sense of closeness to their native places. The family nest of the family is located in the village of Small Intersnik of Shklovsky district. Four generations of relatives are buried in the local cemetery.

In the land of her ancestors, the herbalist met her love. I met my future husband when I visited my grandmother. Later it turned out that both went to the same spring and loved the same meadow. Sons adopt mother's attitude to nature. Anna recounts how her husband once lost an expensive knife in the woods, and she was able to intuitively find it. She explained it to the children in her own way: she asked the forest spirit to help. After that, the middle son began to turn to the forest to show where the mushrooms grow, and really began to find them more often. And when the children asked their mother to talk to the tree to find the nest of the little bird, she suggested they try it themselves. And it worked. For Anna, such stories have their own almost fabulous magic. It consists in the desire to notice the world and feel part of it.

Interest in herbs requires special knowledge. Anna continues to study, reads special literature and is attentive to how plants are used in everyday life. She is especially wary of accepting random recommendations from social networks: not every plant is easy to identify from a photo, and a mistake can be dangerous.

- The main task of the herbalist is not to harm. This is the most important, the first rule, emphasizes the interlocutor. Even the usual plants are not suitable for everyone. It is important to take into account the state of health, individual characteristics and possible allergic reactions, and not consider any natural product to be absolutely useful. Before you practice something, you need to know your condition well. Remember that herbs cannot replace doctors. Only professionals should be treated.

Now Anna has a dryer for herbs in the attic. She harvests raw materials and thinks about new products. Among the ideas are honey pastes with tavolga and pine pollen, blanks with chaga, nettle seeds and mint. In the future, he wants to master other areas, including the cosmetic use of herbs. Her small business develops gradually. The youngest child is still small, so it is not possible to fully devote yourself to work. But Anna already has recipes and plans she's going to return to when more time comes.

I'm sure it will. Perhaps this is the peculiarity of her kitchen, so tasty, enveloping the most incredible aromas. And at the same time familiar and simple. The hostess puts a deep and boundless love for her roots, family, native land, which became her main inspiration.

Our ancestors, who knew a lot about medicinal plants, were respectfully called healers or herbalists (from the ancient word "grains" - medicinal herbs). It is noteworthy that in Polesie and other regions of Belarus this sacred knowledge was almost never recorded. The secrets of collection, proportions and recipes of infusions were transmitted exclusively orally along the female line: from grandmother to mother, from mother to daughter.

NAME MYSTERY

In the language of flowers, the talisman of women named Anna is a pink astra, meaning mercy and loyalty, and the name itself translates as “God’s mercy.” It is symbolic that the heroine of our report found herself in herbalism, because to give people health with the help of the forces of nature is true grace.

RECIPE FROM ANNA AFANASIEVA

Dumplings “Forest secret, or the benefits of nettles in every piece”

• wheat flour - 500 g;

young nettle leaves - a large handful (50 - 70 g);

• 1 egg. ;

• water - 100 ml;

• vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. l. ;

• salt - 0.5 tsp.

For the bogatyr stuffing:

• homemade minced meat - 500 g;

• smallly chopped nettle leaves - a small handful;

• onion onions - 2 pcs. ;

• cream or cold water - 2 - 3 tbsp. l. ;

salt and pepper, to taste.

Preparation

1. Prepare the nettle. To the leaves stop stinging, pour them with steep boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then immediately pour ice water. That's how they keep the color bright. Tip on a sieve and dried with a paper towel.

2. Mix the green dough. Grind the nettle in a blender with water until uniform. Soak the flour, add the egg, salt, butter and nettle mass. Mix the steep elastic dough, wrap in film and leave for 30 to 40 minutes.

3. Prepare the filling. Finely cut or rub the onions, cut the nettle very finely. Mix with minced, add salt, pepper and some cream or cold water for juiciness.

4. Blind and boil dumplings. Roll the dough into a thin layer, cut the mugs and form dumplings with filling. Cook in boiling salted water 6-8 minutes after surfacing.

Tip: Collect young top nettle leaves away from the road and contaminated areas. Use only plants that you can confidently identify.

yakovleva@sb.by By the way, the video with Anna can be viewed in our TikTok-account “Village in the Network”. There you will find other videos about people who live and work in Belarus.