The 3 Foragers

Mushrooms in Hawaii

2012-02-08T17:45:00.000-05:00

Our vacation in Hawaii took us through several different habitats: beach, open fields, alpine environments, lava fields, wet forests, and dry forests. After many roadside stops and a few off-trail hikes, we were surprised that we did not encounter more mushrooms. So many of the places we explored were wet and filled with decaying plant matter, we expected to find many mushrooms. Perhaps we were too dazzled by the myriad of fruits to spend a lot of time looking for mushrooms.

I did read that most of the mushrooms in Hawaii are wood decayers and recent introductions with building materials and imported plants. I also stumbled on plenty of information about hunting for "magic" hallucinogenic mushrooms on cow pies in the fields on Maui. There is one book dedicated to the mushrooms of Hawaii, but it would be a pricey addition to our library. Robert did photograph a few mushrooms, and I suppose we have an incentive to return to the islands to search for more fungi.

These clusters of mushrooms were found at a higher elevation in a wet forest on Maui, in Poli Poli Springs Park. They were growing in disturbed dirt under casuarina pines (Casuarina equestifolia). They made a spore print on the tops of some of the mushrooms, and it was a very dark, olive green. The flesh did not bruise at all when cut, gills were decurrent, no ring or volva present.

This small mushroom (less than 1" high) was found in a wet forest on Maui, growing from the moss and trail under many strawberry guavas (Psidium cattleianum) and blue gums (Eucalyptus globulus). The stem is very thin, brittle and hollow and has a very small ring. The cap is covered in dark scales.

These were also found in a wet forest on Maui growing from mossy mud. The gills appear to be very slightly decurrent, no ring visible. There appears to be a white, fuzzy "foot" or mycelial down at the base of the stem.

This white, fleshy mushroom was growing in a wet forest in dirt under eucalyptus trees. Gills were attached, and the stipe was shaggy but I don't believe a ring was present. The base of the stem was bulbous with mycelial strands. This was a sturdy mushroom, about 3" tall.

These last three were all growing on wood. One is a jelly, one appears similar to a gilled oyster, and the third is a polypore shelf. Any identification suggestions are welcome!

Wild Edibles in Hawaii - Mango, Avocado, Blackberry, Nene berry

2012-02-07T10:39:00.000-05:00

The 3 Foragers on the slopes of Haleakala, Maui

Plants on Hawaii have many different origins, some indigenous, others alien. Endemic plants are those species that evolved in isolation on the Hawaiian islands and are found nowhere else. Indigenous plants are those that colonized the island before the arrival of humans, such as those that arrive on the winds or over the ocean. Plants introduced by the first travelers to Hawaii, the Polynesians, are regarded as native. Most of these plants have important uses for food, fiber, medicine, and spiritual significance. Alien species are the plants introduced after the late 1700s since contact with European explorers. Some plants were brought purposely, many were accidental weed introductions. Many alien species are escaped cultivated plants and fruit trees, and many are causing damage to the native and less hardy Hawaiian plants.

Mango (Mangifera indica) is a fruit tree native to India and introduced in Hawaii in about 1824. It is mostly grown in gardens and yards for its delicious fruit, but there are trees out in the wet valleys and forests that are likely left over from an old garden, or have grown from a discarded pit. Mango trees are very attractive, tall with a rounded crown of evergreen foliage. The leaves are dark green and oblong, 6"-12" long and pointed. The mangoes grow in clusters and ripen in summer, from June through September, depending on the variety. The flesh is wonderfully sweet but sometimes fibrous, and there is a single, flat seed in the center. We saw many trees full of green fruit, but no ripe mangoes. Some people may have an allergic reaction to mangoes, they contain the same chemical that causes poison ivy sensitivity, urushiol.

There are over 200 varieties of avocados (Persea americana) grown on Hawaii. Native to Mexico and Central America, avocadoes grow very well in orchards, but also wild in low elevation wet forests. It was likely introduced in the early 1800s. The tree has large, evergreen, alternate pointed oval leaves, and is easily recognized when bearing fruit. The avocados can be pear-shaped or round, mostly dark green, with smooth or pebbly skin. The ripe fruit is bright green and not sweet, more of a buttery, nutty, and smooth flesh. There is one large, oval seed in the middle of the fruit. We saw many trees in the forests of Kauai, but the best place to find some fantastic avocadoes is at the Sunshine Markets around the island of Kauai. There were several different varieties to sample and buy for $1.00-$3.00 each, incredibly cheap for local, truly ripe fruit.

Blackberries (Rubus species) on Hawaii are non-native alien pests, and in several places they are considered highly invasive and need to be controlled. We came across some enormous, ripe berries in Poli Poli Springs on Maui. They tasted great, but the blackberry canes were very large, and very spiny. On Kauai, people were hiking at Kokee State Park and covered in scratches from the blackberry canes. Hikers are encouraged to report the blackberry infestations to the park employees for removal and control. Blackberries are spread by birds and by underground growth of the roots. While they make a great trailside edible, they do not belong in Hawaii and we can see how they could easily take over whole areas. Blackberries like to grow in disturbed areas like trails and open fields.

Ohelo 'ai flowers

Ohelo 'ai berry

A true endemic edible plant to Hawaii is ohelo 'ai, or the Nene berry (Vaccinium reticulatum). Ohelo 'ai is a shrub with alternate, oval, leathery and often toothed leaves that grow in the lava fields at higher, alpine elevations. It bears many tubular, waxy flowers in clusters that vary in color from pink to red or even yellow-green. The berries have a 5-petaled crown at the bottom, and ripen to red or dark purple. There are many small seeds inside the berry, and the taste is a bit tart. Flowers and fruit is often present at the same time, while most of the fruit ripens in late autumn. Ohelo 'ai is an important food source for the Hawaiian goose, the Nene, and we saw a pair of the geese out foraging for berries on Haleakala in the late morning. This berry might look similar to wild blueberries, as it is botanically related.

Wild Edibles in Hawaii - Starfruit, Noni, and Java Plum

2012-01-31T10:25:00.000-05:00

Starfruit tree

Starfruit (Averrhoa carambola) is a tropical fruit you might be able to find in the supermarket at home. It is native to southeast Asia and India. It is likely a recent introduction to Hawaii as a fruit tree that has escaped into the wild. It is evergreen and will produce fruit all year in tropical, wet forests. We encountered one tree in the woods on Maui, and saw several planted on Kauai in people's yards, as well as the ripe fruit for sale at the local Sunshine Markets. Starfruit is a bushy tree has compound leaves with 5-11 leaflets that are sensitive to light and will fold up at night. Each leaflet is bright green, ovate, smooth on top and slighly hairy and lighter colored on the underside. Purplish-streaked flower clusters and fruit are present at the same time, continually producing. The fruit has a thin, waxy skin that is edible, and ripens to yellow from a light green. The taste is difficult to describe, depending on the ripeness of the fruit. It can taste like grapes, apples, or citrus with varying degrees of sweetness. Starfruit is eaten raw, sliced along the fleshy midribs to display its star shape, or made into chutneys or juiced. The fruit are high in vitamin C and contain oxalic acid.

Ripe Noni and Noni leaf

Noni fruit and flower

Robert recognized the noni (Morinda citrifolia) fruit I pointed out to him at once. He is familiar with some of the medicinal claims of the juice of the noni, while I remain skeptical. Noni is a Polynesian introduction to Hawaii, originally from southeast Asia. It has many medicinal uses, its roots are used to dye fibers, and it can be eaten as a famine food. Noni grows in shady, wet forests and among lava-strewn coasts as a shrub or small tree. It has large, glossy green and deeply veined leaves that seem much too big for such a spindly trunk. It produces white flowers and fruit all year. The fruit looks like a giant mulberry, a lumpy oval about the size of a grapefruit with spots on the outside in each many-sided section. The fruit ripens to white from light green, and smells awful when ripe, like vomit or bad cheese. The Hawaiians only ate the fruit as a last resort, since there were other, better tasting fruits available. Robert did add a bit of a ripe one to a smoothie, but I thought it was too gross to drink.

Java plums

Java plum (Syzygium cumini) was likely introduced to Hawaii in the 19th century for its fruit, and is now considered an invasive. It is spread by birds that eat the fruits and spread the seeds. Java plum is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Indonesia. It makes massive amounts of purple fruit in autumn and winter that stains the roads and any unlucky car parked beneath a tree. It is a fast growing tree with lance-shaped leaves that provide plenty of shade. It produces small, white flowers in March, and fruit in June. The fruit is abundant, ovoid, ripening to purplish-black from green. All of the Java plums we sampled were incredibly astringent with a bit of a resinous aftertaste, but it was suggested to us that different trees have different levels of sweetness. The ripe fruit can be eaten raw, or juiced and made into ice cream.

Resources: Identifying Wild Edible Plants in Hawaii

2012-01-22T13:07:00.000-05:00

When the weather in Connecticut is cold and dreary, we like to head out to someplace warm and lush. Robert and I are not luxury-seeking travelers, looking for pristine beaches with personal butlers and jacuzzis. We like to rough it a bit, and find some small, out-of-the-way lunch joints and hidden paths, meander without schedules through forests and play on secluded beaches without umbrellas and chairs. Foraging on vacation is just a perk for us, visiting tropical islands with new environments and finding fruits and trees we would never encounter at home. It is difficult to prepare for what we might find, but we did find some resources to help.

After taking the long, winding sunrise drive up to the volcano on Maui, we stopped at the station of the Haleakala National Park to warm our chilled bones. We picked up a souvenir, and saw a book on the shelf called "A Pocket Guide to Hawaii's Plants and Shrubs" by H. Douglas Pratt that we grabbed. The pictures are a bit small and the information is limited, but this is a good starting point to identifying many of the trees and shrubs on Hawaii. It is arranged by environment from the high alpine hillsides of the volcanoes down through the wet forests and onto the beaches. There is not really a lot of information on edibility, but this book provides the Latin names and I was able to use the Latin names to look up more extensive information on each plant. The book is small in size (13cm x 18cm x .5cm), which makes it convenient to carry. This is also a reasonably priced pocket guide. I referenced the pictures in this book many times in the two weeks we were in Hawaii, and is proved useful immediately after we bought it as I recognized the edible 'ohelo 'ai or Nene berry (Vaccinium reticulatum) growing on the alpine lava flows of Haleakala.

We visited the Kokee Visitor Center on Kauai and found a second useful guide, "A Hiker's Guide to Trailside Plants in Hawaii" by John B. Hall. This is another light, small guide(13cm x 20cm x 1cm) that is convenient to carry. It contains a bit more information, as it covers greens, herbaceous plants and vines in addition to shrubs and trees. This book also discusses the invasive nature of many of the plants you would find while hiking along the many trails in the wilderness. Again, the pictures are small and the plants are arranged by environment. The descriptions and histories of the plants are much longer in this book, but there is still minimal information on the edibility of the plants so you will still have to do additional research. This book is very helpful with the vines in the wet forests, which are incredibly abundant and beautiful.

Matt Kirk

The best resource we found was a human guide that we found by chance. Kauai Nature School runs educational programs for children and adults about wilderness skills, nature tours, and nature connection and appreciation programs. We chose to take a private tour with Matt Kirk to a site along the shore of Kauai that we would have never found on our own. In a very short walk, he showed us some edible flowers and herbs, how to eat tropical almonds and sprouted coconuts, and helped pry some opihi limpets from the rocks at the beach so I could eat them raw. This is the kind of tour we were looking for, and would recommend it to anyone who wanted a personal experience with the wild edibles of Hawaii. This vacation was a fantastic introduction for us to the wild food adventures and experiences we can look forward to in the future.

Tropical almonds: from green to opened

Wild Edibles in Hawaii - Edible Flowers and Spices

2012-01-17T19:10:00.005-05:00

Sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica) is only found here in Connecticut as a greenhouse curiosity, but on Hawaii it is a common weed. It is native to South and Central America, and is now so common it is considered naturalized. It grows along roadsides, in agricultural areas, and edges of the forests, preferring full sun. It is a small creeping herb with pinnately compound leaves, with 10 to 26 pairs of oval leaflets along the stem. When touched, the leaflets droop and fold up along the stem, happening right before your eyes. The leaflets also close at night. The sensitive plant produces a pink puff-ball flower that is edible. While pretty, it is a bit bitter, and is mostly used as a garnish or for Ayurvedic medicinal treatments.

Another much tastier flower we tried was Jamaican vervain (Stachtarpheta sp.), also known as porterweed or rat's tail. It is native to tropical Central America, and there are several species found in Hawaii. It grows along roadsides and disturbed areas at lower elevations, we found plenty on seaside cliffs. The leaves are opposite and toothed, with a rough surface. The plant produces a long, spindly flower spike about 12" above the leaves, and there are a few tubular, 5-petaled, blue or purple flowers blooming along this flower spike at a time. This flower tastes like shiitake mushrooms, and Matt explained to us that the flowers have a slight sedative effect when eaten in quantity.

Ti (Cordyline fruticosa) is a common plant in Hawaii, brought by the Polynesians for its many uses. It is used in traditional Hawaiian cooking as a food wrapper, and thereby food flavoring, and it is useful medicinally. The roots of mature plants are starchy and also edible. Ti is planted in yards for good luck, and is a common landscaping addition with its many possible color varieties. It is found in shaded areas of wet forests in mountainous areas of Hawaii. Ti has a long, spindly stalk topped with a whorl of long, oval leaves, 18"-30" long. It can produce sprays of white 6-petaled flowers from the center of the leaf whorl. The leaves were once used to thatch the roofs of houses, in the making of skirts, twisted into cordage, and to wrap and cook food in the traditional volcanic rock ground oven. The mature roots can be cooked into a sweet treat, or fermented into a potent liquor.

Finding a cinnamon tree (Cinnamomum sp.) was not at all on our list of expectations, but it may be one of our favorite finds. There are several species on Hawaii, each with varying levels of the essential oil that gives cinnamon its distinct flavor. Cinnamon is a recently introduced alien native to southeast Asia and Indonesia. It grows as an understory tree in wet forests and has the potential of becoming a pest. It has dark green, glossy pointed elliptical leaves with 3 prominent veins running from the stem to the tip. New leaf growth is coppery red. What I noticed first were green, unripe berries on a tree that led to closer inspection. The bark is light brown, and Robert peeled off a chunk. All parts of the tree are aromatic, with the distinct spicy-sweet smell of cinnamon. We dried a bit of bark and are grinding it to use fresh at home on oatmeal and in drinks.

Cinnamon bark

Wild Edibles in Hawaii - Breadfruit and Banana Poka

2012-01-11T18:24:00.000-05:00

Waimea Canyon, Koke'e State Park, Kauai

breadfruit leaves and male flower

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a fruit we have encountered before on a few Caribbean islands. It was one of the trees brought to Hawaii by the Polynesians as a food source, as lumber, and its sticky latex sap was useful as a glue. It grows in the forest lowlands where it was most likely planted on now-invisible homesteads. It can be a tall tree, up to 60 feet. The leaves are very large, hairy, deeply lobed, and glossy dark green with light green veins. All parts of the tree will exude a sticky, white latex when cut. The breadfruit tree produces two types of flowers, male and female on the same tree. The female flower develops into the fruit, which is about the size of a cantaloupe when fully grown. The flesh of the ripe fruit is light green, and it is starchy and needs to be cooked before eating. The tree produces the fruit all year around on Hawaii. It is closely related to another tree we spotted on Maui, jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus).

sprouted seeds in breadfruit!

Most literature we have read on the Hawaiian breadfruit states that it cannot produce viable seeds, and all breadfruit trees have been planted. We found several fruits in the forest, and inside of one of them, we found 3 large seeds, one which had sprouted and was starting to grow! We also questioned this bit of information when we spotted breadfruit trees growing in impossibly steep ravines off the side of the road. Who would have planted a food tree there, where you can't pick the fruit?

breadfruit

Breadfruit tastes a lot like potatoes, so we boiled up some we foraged from a large tree in Hana, Maui. Robert served it with a sprinkle of soy sauce, and Gillian gobbled it up. On Kauai, we purchased a breadfruit at the Sunshine Market, and Robert boiled it to mash. It may have been more ripe than the ones we found, since it was a bit sweet like a pumpkin. In Barbados, we ate breadfruit at a restaurant scalloped like potatoes.

ripe poka

One of the many destructive alien plants on Hawaii, banana poka (Passiflora mollissima), is a variety of passionfruit. It prefers to grow in wet forests at a higher elevation. Banana poka is spread by pigs and birds. It was originally introduced from South America as an ornamental plant for its beautiful pink flowers. Banana poka is a vine that can climb trees very easily, often smothering the plants below. Its leaves are 3-fingered and veined, and the vine uses tendrils to grab and climb. The 10-petaled pink flower dangles from a long stem, and develops into a green, cucumber-shaped fruit, about 3 inches long. The fruit ripens to yellow, and inside is an orange pulp with black seeds, tasting like a tart passion fruit.

sliced banana poka

We saw thickets of banana poka in Koke'e State Park on Kauai and Polipoli Springs Recreational Area on Maui. As we drove up the mountainsides into the wet forests, we noticed the vines over large areas, and then noticed the pretty pink flowers. We stopped to examine the yellow fruits hanging from the trees, and sliced one open to see the orange pulp and seeds, and the smell was fragrant and sweet. The taste was a bit tart, it needed a bit of honey to make a good juice. Some people don't like the flavor, but we thought it was fine for juice.

Wild Edibles in Hawaii - Common Guavas and Strawberry Guavas

2012-01-08T19:40:00.001-05:00

The 3 Foragers on a black sand beach on Maui

Every winter we take a trip to some warm, tropical location to escape New England winters. This year we headed to Hawaii, which we thought would become a once-in-a-lifetime trip experience. It turns out, we are already planning to return to this fantastic environment, lush and filled with edible plants, vines, and trees in every forest, beach, and mountainside. We did partake in many typical touristy activities, but we also got just a sample of the wild adventures that we hope to find on future trips.

Plants on Hawaii have many different origins, some indigenous, others alien. Endemic plants are those species that evolved in isolation on the Hawaiian islands and are found nowhere else. Indigenous plants are those that colonized the island before the arrival of humans, such as those that arrive on the winds or over the ocean. Plants introduced by the first travelers to Hawaii, the Polynesians, are regarded as native. Most of these plants have important uses for food, fiber, medicine, and spiritual significance. Alien species are the plants introduced after the late 1700s since contact with European explorers. Some plants were brought purposely, many were accidental weed introductions. Many alien species are escaped cultivated plants and fruit trees, and many are causing damage to the native and less hardy Hawaiian plants. Two alien species we found very often were these guavas, the common guava and the strawberry guava, both edible.

The common guava (Psidium guajava) is a small tree usually found along roadsides in wetter areas, in disturbed habitats, and in wet forests. Guava is an alien pest on Hawaii, spread by pigs and birds, and often growing in single species thickets crowding out other plants. It is native to the tropical Americas. It has smooth reddish-brown bark and bears opposite leaves that are oval with blunt points, 2"-6" long. The leaves are a matte green with many prominent veins. The fruit is green when unripe, turning yellow and about the size of a lemon when ripe. When cut in half, the inside is pink or white, filled with many seeds. The taste is tart, but wonderfully aromatic. The skin and seeds are edible, adding a touch of bitterness and crunch to the fruit. The fruit is used to make juice, jams, and jellies, and the small tree has some medicinal properties.

The first time we saw this tree, we thought is was a lemon tree on the side of the road in Maui. Robert stopped the car, and I got out to pick a fruit. Immediately I noticed the fruit was not a lemon, since there was a crown at the end of the fruit. I sliced one open to see the beautiful pink flesh dotted with many seeds, and the aroma was pure tropical perfume. We scooped out the flesh with a spoon and Gillian adored the tartness, we all enjoyed the exotic tropical flavor. We picked many of these during our stay in Hawaii, eating them raw as dessert after dinner.

Strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum) is the second guava we encountered in great quantities on Maui and Kauai. This small tree is found at higher elevations than the common guava, in damp forests and dry roadsides alike. It is spread by wild pigs and birds, and the tree produces soil chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants. It is native to Brazil and tropical South America, and was introduced in 1825. The bark is light brown and smooth, and the leaves are shiny, smooth and lance-shaped, without veins. Unripe fruit is green, ripening to bright pinkish-red, and about the size of a quarter, often growing in clusters. The inside flesh of the ripe strawberry guava is creamy-white with many yellow seeds, and the flavor is like a tart strawberry. The skin and seeds are also edible. The leaves can be brewed into a tea.

The Koke'e State Park and the trails at Waimea Canyon in Kauai are sadly turning into mono-forests of strawberry guava, but we were able to pick many of these as a nibble. We first encountered them in Maui on the Waikamoi Ridge Trail, where the forest was thick with strawberry guava trees. There were so many ripe guavas fermenting on the forest floor, Robert said it smelled like someone was making wine.

Sassafras Recipe - Sassafras Root Beer

2012-01-02T19:45:00.001-05:00

This was the second time we tried to make sassafras beer, and the result was outstanding. I accidentally left one bottle in the fridge while on vacation, but it actually kept its fizz and tasted even better than it did three weeks ago. The beer was bottled in 4 quart sized hinge-lock bottles. The flavor was spicy and earthy, and the color was an odd orange. Adding in a few spicebush berries (Lindera benzoin) to the brew really added some character, and the lime juice added a good acidic taste. We used a commercial beer yeast, Munton's, available at the local brewing supply store. The roots are boiled to make a decoction, rather than steeped to make a tisane.

We gathered many sassafras roots (Sassafras albidum) during our mild autumn. This small tree grows in Connecticut abundantly, and gathering the roots, bark and leaves is relatively easy. It is easily identified in the summer by looking for its 3 different leaves: a mitten shaped leaf, an egg shaped leaf, and a 3-lobed leaf. The bark is green on the small saplings, but as the tree gets larger you can see a reddish-orange coloring in between the furrows of the grey bark. Small saplings for pulling roots will grow in dense clusters next to the mother tree. We grab the sapling and give it a slow, steady pull until about 12"-24" of root will come up before breaking. It's the roots that you will need for this recipe, and you can pull them fresh until the ground freezes.

Sassafras Root Beer makes about 4- 1 quart bottles

1/4 lb. fresh sassafras root
1 gallon water
22 oz. sugar
1/2 oz fresh or frozen spicebush berries (optional)
2 tsp. lime juice
0.2 oz. beer yeast
4 tsp. raw turbinado sugar

1.Boil the fresh sassafras roots with the water for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add the sugar, spicebush berries, and lime juice. Allow the mixture to cool to 90°F.
2. Remove a cup of the lukewarm water and sprinkle the yeast over the top, allowing it to dissolve and become a bit foamy. Pour the yeast mixture and the remaining decoction into a 1 gallon glass jar fitted with an airlock. Ferment for 3 days.
3. Strain the roots and berries from the beer. To the bottom of each sanitized bottle, add one tsp. of raw turbinado sugar. Pour in 4 c. of the beer, and close the hinge-lock top.
4. Refrigerate the bottles, checking for fizz in about 5 days. You may have to release some fizz if you store it for more than 2 weeks. Serve chilled.

Foragers, Where Have You Been?

2011-12-30T18:20:00.001-05:00

Some fun things coming up in the next couple weeks:

We just got back from two weeks in Hawaii on Maui and Kauai. What a tropical paradise, with fruit foraging possibilities in every forest, beach, and high altitude-volcano flank! Most of the fruits are introduced species, like breadfruit and starfruit, and we sampled every one we found. We ate plenty of local-caught fish, some opihi limpets raw and freshly pried from the rocks, and a plate of roasted wild boar. We even sampled a few edible blossoms, wild growing cinnamon trees, and Brazilian pepper plants. Lots of pictures coming!

Hopefully we will have a few mini-videos of the fruits up with the descriptions. Robert made some videos, but it will take time to figure out how to transfer them online.

We found very few mushrooms, which was surprising with the humid environment. It turns out most species of mushrooms in the Hawaiian islands were introduced on old wood, and are wood-decomposers. We did find a few, but it will take some research to ID them.

We took a tour with Matt Kirk of the Kauai Nature School, and he showed us some more tropical delights, like tropical almonds, sprouted coconuts, ti leaf, gotu kola greens, and some edible flowers. This was a highlight of our vacation, we learned a lot with Matt.

There is a good possibility of more good news involving some local media. For the past two Novembers we have placed Wild Edibles of Southeastern Connecticut displays in our local library. The response was great, and we may have an opportunity to become more visible in the local community with our foraging experiences.

Joyous Yule and Happy New Year!

Sulphur Shelf Mushroom Recipe - Chicken Mushroom Satay

2011-12-09T22:07:00.002-05:00

Chicken mushroom (Laetiporus sulphureus) is a wonderful mushroom to forage for a few reasons. One is the taste: very meaty, substantial, and similar to chicken. Another is the amount found, usually quite a bit for a single specimen of wild food. It dries and freezes well, and is a fall favorite of ours. Chicken mushroom is fairly common in our area of southern New England on dead or dying hardwoods like oak. It looks like several yellow and orange shelves stacked on top of each other on the trunk of a tree. The underside has tiny holes, or pores, not gills. Fresh specimens are heavy and wet, almost dripping with moisture. It produces a white spore print, and has a few look-alikes, but not poisonous ones. You may mistake a Berkley's Polypore (Bondarzewia berkleyi) or another variety of sulphur shelf depending on your geographical location for this species of mushroom. Older, undesirable specimens are faded yellow, dry, and tough, not worth picking. One last advantage of chicken mushrooms as a wild edible food is that they will often grow again in the same tree for several years, so it is good to remember where you saw one, even if it was too old to harvest. Here are more identification points for chicken mushrooms.

Here we marinate and skewer the chunks of mushroom in a nut-based satay sauce, and cook it under the broiler. If you have a grill it might taste even better. This recipe, like many of our recipes, is vegetarian, but can be made vegan by substituting agave nectar for the honey. I served it over a bed of brown rice and lentil pilaf to soak up any extra satay sauce.

Chicken Mushroom Satay serves 6-8

14 oz. fresh sulphur shelf mushroom, cut into 1" chunks
Satay sauce:
1/2 c. almonds
3 T pine nuts
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp orange zest
3 T orange juice
2 T olive oil
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp honey or agave syrup
1 1/2 c. boiling vegetable broth
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. bread crumbs
1 tsp. sambal chili paste

1. Soak bamboo skewers in water.
2. Cut the sulphur shelf mushroom into 1" chunks and blanche them in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and let cool.
3. For the satay marinade, chop the almonds and pine nuts in a food processor. Add the onion and garlic and process until smooth.
4. Slowly add the remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth.
5. Pour the marinade over the mushroom chunks and allow them to marinate for 3-6 hours in the refrigerator.
6. Thread the mushroom chunks onto the bamboo skewers, leaving a bit of space between each piece, about 6 per skewer. Heat the oven to 450°F and spray a rack with non-stick spray.
7. Bake the mushroom skewers for 15 minutes, until firm, then broil them under high heat for 5 minutes until browned. You could also cook them over medium heat on the grill, turning once. Serve over cooked grains.

Wintergreen

2011-12-04T17:50:00.001-05:00

As the weather gets colder, there are a few days where 45°F (7.2°C) feels totally balmy and we take the opportunity to go outside and get some fresh air. Here in New England, the wild food foraging season is mostly over and there are not too many edibles to be found fresh. It is a great time to dig roots if the ground has not frozen, to look for some crabapples and rosehips sweetened by frosts, and keep our eyes open for the green leaves of the wintergreen berry.

Unripe berry

Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) is known by many common names: checkerberry, tea leaf, deerberry, teaberry, and creeping wintergreen. These names are great hints as to the main use of the plant and its appearance. Wintergreen is an evergreen perennial that spreads by a stem just beneath the surface of the soil. Each stem will produce 3-10 leaves and possibly several berries. If you accidentally pull one up, you'll see the network of woody stems attached to each other as wintergreen can grow in great colonies and patches. The leaves are green, leathery, shiny, hairless, and slightly toothed. They are oval-shaped, broadest beyond the midpoint and coming to a rounded point at the tip, about 1"-2" (2-5 cm) long and 1/2"-1" (1.5-2cm) wide with a lighter colored midrib. Often we find leaves with rusty looking spots, which we don't pick. Tiny white flowers appear in the summer, shaped like bells hanging from the upper leaf axils. The flowers have five terminal lobes, and appear very similar to blueberry flowers, not surprising since they are both in the Ericaceae family. The flowers produce a berry that is light green, ripening to red. The ripe berry has a star-shaped depression on the bottom and is also edible, although mealy. Wintergreen is often found in poor, acidic soil, and we find it under white pines or in moss, and in mixed forests. It ranges from Newfoundland through New England, across the Great Lakes and down to Alabama.

We pick the leaves individually, only gathering one leaf from each stem. Usually the patch is enormous, and will carpet whole areas in the forest with green. Robert dries the leaves by placing them in a paper bag in a dark place for a week, and uses them for tea. The wintergreen flavor is very refreshing. The berries make a nice trailside nibble and breath freshener, and can be added to a smoothie at home. The berries may last all winter if they are not eaten by some deer, chipmunks or wild turkey. The berries are high in vitamin C and contain wintergreen oil. Methyl salicylate, a mild form of aspirin, can be created by brewing and fermenting the leaves for a few days. This wild edible plant is also added to the other herbs and plants that we make herbal teas, or tisanes from.

Mushrooms Identified - Frost's Bolete, Velvet-Footed Pax, Viscid Violet Cort

2011-12-01T18:11:00.000-05:00

Here is another trio of mushrooms we feel we can identify out in the wild. All three of these mushrooms are technically edible, but with many cautions and degrees of desirability. We won't bother experimenting with them as there are so many other wonderful edible mushrooms to eat. Learning to identify all of the mushrooms we find, as opposed to just the ones we can eat, is a surprising benefit to our mushrooming education. I can't stress enough how important it is to join your local mycology group and learn, and how much fun it can be!

underside of Frost's Bolete and the amber colored droplets

Boletus frostii is a beautiful bolete we ran across in August in great numbers after Tropical Storm Irene drenched the area with rain. Commonly referred to a Frost's bolete, we were amazed by some very young specimens and the amber colored drops covering the underside of the cap on the pores. The pores are red, usually indicating a bolete that may induce stomach upset, so we don't bother to eat it. The cap is red and slimy, and 2"-6" (5-15 cm) wide, and the flesh bruises blue when cut. The stem is deeply webbed, red, thick and about 1"-4" (3-10 cm) long, often yellowing and thickening at the base. This bolete grows on the ground under oaks or in a mixed forest, ranging from Canada to Florida along the east coast, west to Michigan. The spore print we took was a dark olive-brown and difficult to make since our specimens were so fresh and wet.

Slimy Violet Cort

Cortinarius iodes is a mushroom we have encountered at just about every location we visited in late summer. The Viscid Violet Cort lives up to its name, having a thickly slimy top. The cap is smooth and purple, aging to a paler violet with yellow spots, 1"-2" (2.5-5 cm) wide. The gills are violet, often stained rust-colored from the spores and attached to the stalk. There may be cobwebby remains of the veil present on the gills. The stalk is solid and purplish, tacky and sometimes enlarged at the bottom. The spore print we took was a rusty brown. Violet cort grows on the ground under mixed forests and deciduous forests, and is widespread in eastern North America. There are indications that it is edible, but bitter and not very good. The slime is enough to make us not want to bother.

Velvet-footed Pax

Paxillus atrotomentosus or Tapinella atrotomentosa are two names given to this pretty mushroom. We learned it as a Paxillus, but it may be more correctly ID'ed as Tapinella due to where it grows, as explained on Mushroom Expert. Commonly it is referred to the Velvet-Footed Pax due to its velvety stem. The cap can be 1"-5" (3-13 cm) wide, flat or sunken in the center, light brown, and dry. The flesh is solid and tough. The gills are light and yellowish and descending the stalk slightly. The stalk is the interesting part, as it is usually dark brown and fuzzy, off center, and 1"-4" (3-10 cm) long. The spore print we took was a yellowish-brown. Velvet-footed pax grows on decaying wood and stumps, usually pine, in the coniferous forests on the east and west coasts. Edibility is again questionable, unpalatable, and there is a poisonous look-alike, Paxillus involutus.

Sassafras

2011-11-27T20:36:00.001-05:00

We like to make many herbal teas, or tisanes, from the wild foraged plants we find. One of Robert and Gillian's favorite is sassafras tea, which is actually a boiled decoction made from the roots. The flavor is similar to root beer, and tastes good liberally sweetened with honey.

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) is a native American deciduous tree that grows primarily on the east coast from Maine to Florida, and partially into the plains to Iowa. It is very abundant here in Connecticut, and easy to forage in large quantities. It likes wet soil and is found in old fields, along field edges, and in urban parks. It spreads by producing roots and sapling clones underground, so one mature tree will be surrounded by hundreds of small saplings. The tree is easy to identify in the winter by looking for these many saplings surrounding the mother tree. The bark is green on the small saplings, but as the trees get larger you can see the reddish coloring between the furrows of the grey bark.

flowers and new leaves

In the spring, sassafras produces tiny, yellow five-petalled flowers as the new leaves unfurl. There are three distinct leaf shapes growing on the sassafras tree- an oval, a mitten-shaped leaf, and a triple-lobed leaf. In the summertime, sassafras will produce hard, black berries on a red, cup-shaped stem that birds like to eat. The berries are not abundant, and we rarely ever see them. Late in autumn, the sassafras leaves turn into a lovely rainbow of red, orange and yellow before falling.

Filé powder

Two parts that we use are the dried and powdered leaves, and the roots. To use the leaves, pick them when green and dry them in a dark place. Robert then powders them in the coffee grinder to make filé powder, used to thicken stews like gumbo. Filé powder should not be boiled, but stirred into a stew at the end.

cross-section of root

To gather the roots, we look for the many saplings that are about 2 feet tall. Robert will grasp the bottom of the sapling where it meets the ground and give the tree a slow, gentle pull. The root is brittle and often breaks, but sometimes he gets a few feet at a time. We then wash the roots to remove the dirt, and slice up the smaller roots, and shave off the outer layer of any thicker roots. The cleaned roots are very aromatic, and can now be dried or used fresh. We boil the roots in water for about 20 minutes to make a reddish-brown decoction that can be sweetened and drunk hot or cold. We have used a strong root decoction to make jelly and syrup, and Robert is fermenting a spicy beer with sassafras and spicebush berries right now. Sassafras is an abundant and favorite wild food for us.

I will mention the USDA warnings about a compound in sassafras, safrole, which is considered a potential carcinogen in massive quantities. Safrole is also used in the manufacture of MDMA. We are not that concerned, as we do not consume huge amounts of sassafras. Native Americans used the decoction of the roots as a blood purifier. Sassafras oil is used to scent cosmetics and in aromatherapy.

Book Review - Wild Berries and Fruits: Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan

2011-11-22T15:07:00.000-05:00

We own several great books about foraging and mushrooming, and are often asked which are our favorites. I will try to spend the non-productive winter months reviewing some of these great resources, and making recommendations. Most of these books are available on Amazon, some are available directly from the author as signed copies, some from the publisher, and many we get used from Alibris.

This is the book I reach for most often when presented with a ripe berry or fruit I am unfamiliar with. It covers a 3-state region in the upper midwest, but many of the fruits and berries found there are also found here in southern New England. This is my book of choice because of how it is organized: by the color of the berry or fruit. This simple, visual way of putting the book together makes for fast reference, and the overall small dimensions (4 1/2" x 6") of the book make it easy to carry out into the field.

Wild Berries and Fruits: Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan by Teresa Marrone

The identification process starts with the berry or fruit color, easily referenced and arranged by colors on a tab in the upper, left corner of each page. Other icons along the top of the text page include type of plant (is it a shrub, a tender leafy plant, a vine), how the leaves are arranged (whorled, alternate, opposite), the season when the berry or fruit is ripe, and a small map of distribution. The text then goes on to describe the habitat, growth, leaves, fruit, and season for the specimen, along with some look-a-likes and additional notes. The entire right page is a color photo of the plant, usually including leaves and ripe fruit, sometimes including a small, inset photo of the unripe fruit. Common and Latin names are given for each specimen. As a forager, the most important piece of information is the edibility of the fruit or berry, and that is clearly noted with an additional band next to the color tab indicating whether the specimen is edible, not edible, delicious, or toxic.

leaves, stems, flowers

As an example, let's look at the strawberry pages. You find yourself a small, red berry out in a sunny field at your feet. Using the book, you start by looking in the red section, looking at the colored tabs on the upper left page. Use the large, color photos on the right page to find a plant that looks like the plant in front of you. Now use the clearly written text to verify the plant. The leaves section will describe coarsely toothed trifolate leaves on the end of a long fuzzy stem. The fruit section describes a heart-shaped fruit, and some of the visual differences between two different species of strawberry that may have been found. Check to see that your seasonal ripeness matches with what is described, and observe the habitat the plant is growing in. Read about any possible look-a-likes in the compare section, and read the additional notes that may describe the flavor of the strawberry. Also notice the additional band on the upper left corner, denoting that the wild strawberry is delicious. Using the additional ID information in the fruit section, I can positively identify the strawberries we found and photographed as Fragaria virginiana. Yum!

fruit

Also in this book is the useful introduction in the front. The terms used in the book are described, such as types of fruit (berries, drupes, pommes) and how the fruits are arranged (raceme, cluster, umbel). A calendar is included that shows when each fruit or berry is ripe. There is also an excellent desciption on how to use the book, taking you through all of the steps to identify and verify a plant. At the back of the book is a glossary of the botanical terms used throughout the book, an alphabetical index of the fruits and berries, and two pages of additional resources, such as websites and books.

Teresa Marrone has written several comparable books for 2 other geographical regions: Illinois, Iowa and Missouri, and for Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Depending on where you are located, you may be able to get a book better suited to your region. Teresa Marrone has also written several books on cooking with the berries and fruits of those geographical regions, along with books on cooking other wild edibles, game cooking, using a slow cooker, and camp cooking. A biography of her and her work can be found here.

Hen of the Woods Recipe - Hen Stroganoff

2011-11-11T19:23:00.000-05:00

2011 will be a memorable year for us in our wild food education and evolution in regards to mushrooms. We finally took the step of joining a mushroom hunting club, Connecticut Valley Mycological Society, and we have learned something every week we have foraged with them. Climate conditions that may have started off bleak in the summer quickly turned into an ideal wet paradise in August with the rains from Tropical Storm Irene. Mushrooms were everywhere, and especially choice wild edible mushrooms were everywhere. We would go out in the morning with the intention of finding hen of the woods (Grifola frondosa) in an old oak forest, and instead come home with six pounds of black trumpets (Craterellus fallax). Finally finding the masses of hen of the woods, also called maitake or sheep's head fungus, provided us with gallons of dried mushrooms, gallons more frozen in the chest freezer, and several pounds of fresh mushroom for dinners.

pores on the underside

spore print

Hen of the woods is identifiable by its appearance: it looks like a chicken's backside, all ruffled up. The many fronds are generally a creamy tan to grey, and have small , white pores on the underside. The fan-shaped fronds can be 3/4"-3" (2-8 cm) and overlap each other. Hens produce a white spore print. They can seem fibrous, but are wonderfully toothsome but tender when young. The stalks and core are dense. Some specimens can grow to be 50 ponds, but most we found were about 5 pounds each. Hen of the woods grows on bases of oak trees or stumps, often for several successive years at the same location. They are fairly common here in the Northeast, and we encountered some folks giving them away they were so plentiful this year. We stuffed breads, topped pizzas, boiled soups, and made tapenade from our finds, and here is a hearty sauce for potatoes, dumplings, or egg noodles.

Hen of the Woods Stroganoff makes about 4 servings

2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. hen of the woods, packed
1 c. vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 c. cream
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1/4 c. sour cream
1 T flour
1 T chopped chives or parsley

cooked potatoes, dumplings, or egg noodles

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and sautée the garlic over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the packed mushrooms and cooks, stirring often until the mushroom starts to brown.
2. Add the cream and broth, and allow it to reduce by half, stirring often. Add the salt and pepper.
3. In a bowl, mix the flour and the sour cream together. Stir the sour cream into the mushrooms and cook 5 minutes, until the sauce is thickened.
4. Serve the sauce over the potatoes, dumplings or noodles, and garnish with chopped chives or parsley.

Meeting Another Forager

2011-11-09T19:32:00.001-05:00

It can be so rewarding to meet another wild food aficionado and talk shop, even more interesting to meet a published forager on a cross-country book tour. Let's add a gourmet dinner out at a nice restaurant made with local, fresh wild food that you have foraged for the restaurant, and the evening is complete. On October 2, 2011 we lived this reality when we chatted and dined with Hank Shaw, author of Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast and his website Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. The dinner was held at La Laiterie in Providence, Rhode Island, and it consisted of passed appetisers and four courses, each containing at least one item we had foraged and contributed to the evening.

Hank is originally from New Jersey, and spent his summers on Block Island. He currently lives in Northern California, where the produce is different, the ocean is different, but foraging for wild food is still a passion. His book is broken into three main sections: plants, fishing, and hunting. There are recipes throughout, along with lovely personal stories and memories. We generally don't have time to fish, and Robert and Gillian are vegetarian anyway so we also don't hunt. I have accepted gifts of venison, and may consider taking up bow hunting in the future. The section of the book we found most interesting was on the wild plants, especially the seaside edibles like beach peas, glasswort, and rocket. He also goes over other plants like dandelion, nettles, sassafras, and elderberries. This is not a guidebook for foraging wild edibles, but a complete story of the experiences and passions of an avid outdoorsman and forager.

I had contacted the chef of Farmstead & La Laiterie about possibly foraging for this dinner, and Matt Jennings was very enthusiastic. He and Beau Vestal cooked up a fantastic menu, including Hank's requested quahogs in honor of his Block Island memories. We provided autumn olives, chestnuts, black trumpets, spicebush berries, rosehips, ramps bulbs, and glasswort. Some of the items were unexpectedly difficult to gather, due to Tropical Storm Irene that just passed through and devastated the coastal areas we use to gather several items. The dry summer also limited our ability to forage for wild grapes and autumn olives. We did manage to find enough for the dinner, but will have to wait until next year to forage them for ourselves. Robert was unable to photograph the dishes, as the restaurant was rather dimly lit for ambiance, but I will say that everything was divine. My favorites include the candied spicebush berry, and the swordfish belly with the rosehip purée. Robert had an altered menu, with seaweed salad in place of the terrine, and white cheddar grits and hen of the woods mushroom sautée in place of the guinea hen. Both Hank and Matt Jennings reminded the diners that this was a unique feast, never to be replicated since the foods we ate that night were foraged that week from this geographic area, and cooked by wild food lovers and enthusiasts. It was wonderful! Here is a copy of the menu for the evening:

farmstead & la laiterie

presents

The Forgotten Feast

A Wild, Sourced Dinner

Reception

Wild Mushroom Toasts, Moses Sleeper Cheese, Preserved Lemon Mostarda

"Boar ta della" Sandwiches with Olive, Wild Juniper, and Celery Relish

Chicken-Fried Chicken of the Woods, Waffle Strip, Bourbon Vinegar

Rhode Island Quahog Clambake Stuffies

Course 1 - Pasture & Knoll

Connecticut Pheasant Terrine & Rhode Island Rabbit Mousseline

spicy ale mustard, Concord grapes, American chestnut bread

Course 2 - Coast and Shoreline

Wild Spiced Swordfish Belly

rosehip purée, smoked ham ans sea lettuce dashi, periwinkles and sea beans

Coarse 3 - Woodlands & Forest

"The Hen" Pan Roasted Guinea Hen

hen of the woods, wild rice, pickled autumn olives & ramp bulb, egg yolk, horseradish powder

Course 4 - Sweet and Savory

Selection of Three New England Farmhouse Cheeses

candied nuts and spicebush berry

Peppergrass Ice Cream

warm, salted sassafras caramel sauce and biscotti

Our evening out was filled with warm conversations, delicious food, and a lovely display of mushrooms by the resturant's usual mushroom forager. Matt Jennings was interested in an ongoing relationship with us in regards to wild edibles, and we are considering it. This past year was such an unexpected loss for many of our favorite edibles due to the weather and climate, it makes us wary to make promises that we could not keep and obligation that we could not fullfill . We will have to see what the next season brings.

Autumn Olives 2011: Where are they?

2011-11-06T20:57:00.000-05:00

speckled, ripe berries

Autumn olives (Eleagnus umbellata) are a common edible invasive species found in New England, growing from southeastern Ontario down to Florida and as far west as Arkansas and Wisconsin. It was brought from Asia to North America in 1830 for cultivation as an ornamental plant. In Massachusetts and Connecticut, up until 2006, it was commonly promoted as roadside erosion control shrubbery, wild bird food and cover, and frequently planted along roadsides and distributed to homeowners for landscaping and windbreaks. Currently, importation, propagation, and sale of autumn olive bushes is prohibited in many states.

The bush is spread by the seeds from the many berries, often consumed by birds. Autumn olive is a drought tolerant shrub that grows in full or partial sun in a variety of soil and moisture conditions along open woodlands, fields, grasslands, industrial areas, and disturbed areas. The bush has the ability to fix nitrogen in the soil and grow quickly, thereby shading out competition. Cutting the bush will not kill it, pulling up the seedlings is the only eco-friendly method of eradication.

flower clusters

seeds

The autumn olive shrub can grow to 12 feet (3.7m) tall, and are often found in large clusters taking over an area. The alternate leaves are 1-3 inches (2.5-8 cm) long and egg or lance shaped. The tops of the leaves are dark green, and the undersides are densely covered in silvery scales. Autumn olives are often the first plants to sprout leaves in spring, and produce copious amounts of flowers arranged in bunches from the leaf axils. The flowers are light yellow or creamy white tubes that open to four petals, and are fragrant. Each flower will produce a single green berry speckled with silver scales. The berry bears a single, oblong, soft seed that is edible, and ripens to red in late summer or early autumn.

When ripe, the berries can taste either very astringent, or pleasantly sweet. Kids love that puckeringly tart flavor, and it is slightly reminiscent of ripe tomatoes. We have been eating them for years, and the berries are a super wild food. They contain outstanding amounts of lycopene, which is good for your joints. We use the berries in several recipes, like jam, jelly, fruit leather, wine, and ketchup. The berries freeze really well, which is great since they are usually so abundant.

Autumn olive ketchup

Which brings us to this year and the absence of berries in our favorite places. There have been several weather related conditions combining to destroy many of the berries. The spring was rather wet and late, then the summer was very dry. During the dry summer, many plants lost their fruits as they became stressed from the drought, like wild plums, grapes, and the autumn olives. When the deluge of rain came from Hurricane Irene to the northeast, it was too late for many plants, and some even toppled over once the ground became too saturated for the plant's roots to hold on. Any berries that had survived the dry summer now absorbed massive amounts of water and split open within a few days, and attracted bees and ants to the shrubs. We had a very difficult time to gather one gallon of berries that were not mushy, split messes, when we can usually gather several 5-gallon buckets worth of berries in an hour. So this year, no jelly, wine, fruit lather, or berries to freeze from our most abundant and favorite wild edible. Here's to next season!

Sulphur Shelf Mushroom Recipe - Coconut Mushroom Soup

2011-10-22T21:05:00.000-04:00

Here is a great recipe with a bit of a tropical Thai twist. It is not hot, but savory, salty and slightly sweet and meaty all at once. Mushrooms with coconut milk might not sound very good, but the soup is wonderful. We ran across a very immature chicken mushroom (Laetiporus sulphureus) this week, and brought home about 15 pounds of it to cook with. Much will be frozen, but some will be made into something tasty right now. The mushroom was growing on a dying deciduous tree, rather high up. Robert cut off a large portion and carted it home in a grocery shopping bag. It was so fresh, it soaked through the bag onto the floor of the car, and gave off a lot of moisture when cut and sautéed. Lambs's quarters (Chenopodium berlandieri) is an abundant weed probably growing in your yard or an open field area, but you could substitute spinach.

Coconut Sulphur Shelf Mushroom Soup makes about 6 servings

1 tsp. oil
1/4 c. diced shallots
1 clove garlic, minced
2 1/2 c. cubed sulphur shelf mushroom
2 c. vegetable broth
1 tsp. salt
1 c. coconut milk
1/4 c. julienned lamb's quarters or baby spinach
1 T chopped cilantro
1/2 c. water
limes
lime wedges
chopped cilantro and lamb's quarters

1. Heat the oil over medium heat and add the shallots, cooking until translucent. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
2. Add the cubed mushroom, and cook until the liquids are evaporated.
3. Add the cubed potato, vegetable broth, and salt and cook for 6 minutes, until the potato is tender.
4. Add the coconut milk, lamb's quarters and cilantro. If the broth is too thick, add up to 1/2 c. water. Remove the soup from the heat.
5. Serve the soup with a squeeze of lime juice and lime wedges, along with some additional chopped cilantro and washed lamb's quarters.

Sulphur Shelf Mushroom Recipe - Sulphur Shelf Stuffed Bread

2011-10-20T12:05:00.002-04:00

At a recent weekend mushroom foray with CVMS, Robert was lucky to find a small, fresh sulphur shelf, or chicken mushroom (Laetiporous sulphureus). This is a common autumn polypore found growing on dead trees and stumps. When fresh, the colors are bright orange with a bright yellow underside on each shelf. This specimen was fresh and quite wet. We brought it home and decided to make a stuffed braided bread. Sulphur shelf is a firm, meaty mushroom, and I made a substantial filling along with sautéed onions and brie. We shared some the next day at another foray. I usually make a standard pizza dough with a bit of whole wheat flour, but you could use pizza dough from the grocery store. To make it easier to dice the brie, I freeze a chunk of it first and then toss the diced brie in a pinch of flour once cut. If you don't want to make the filled braid, you could also make a stuffed pocket or calzone with the filling.

Sulphur Shelf Stuffed Bread makes 1 large bread, or 4 calzones

Dough:
7 oz. warm water
1 1/2 tsp instant dried yeast
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. all purpose flour
2 T olive oil
2 tsp salt

Filling:
2 tsp. oil
1 small onion, sliced
4 c. chopped sulphur shelf mushroom
1/2 c vegetable broth or water
4 oz. brie, cubed
4 T chopped chives
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

egg wash

1. To make the dough, pour the warm water (100°F) in a mixer bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it proof for 2 minutes. It will look foamy.
2. Add 2 c. of flour, olive oil, and salt and turn the mixer on. Slowly add the last 1 c. of flour and mix for 5 minutes. You may need more flour to get the ball of dough to form.
3. On a floured counter, knead the dough for 2 minutes by hand. Return the dough to the oiled bowl, cover, and let it rise for 1 hour.
4. To make the filling, heat the oil in a sautée pan over medium heat and add the onions. Cook until the onions are softened and browned. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook 2 minutes. Add the broth or water to the pan and allow it to cook down.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool. Right before stuffing the dough, add the chopped chives, brie, and salt and pepper, stirring it all together.
6. Heat the oven to 400°F. Cover a sheetpan with parchment, a silicone mat, or spray with non-stick spray.
7. Punch down the dough, and roll it into a large rectangle about 8" x 14" for the stuffed bread, or into 4-8" rounds for calzones. Transfer the dough to the prepared sheetpan. Fill the dough and pinch it closed over the filling. Slit a few air vents in the top of the dough. Let the stuffed dough rest for 20 minutes, and brush it with egg wash.
8. Bake the stuffed bread for 25-35 minutes, the calzones for 20-30 minutes, until browned and the bread is fully baked. Cool before slicing.

Mushrooms Identified - Hen of the Woods

2011-10-14T21:21:00.001-04:00

Immature Hen of the Woods

Same mushrooms, about 6 days later

Hen of the Woods (Grifola frondosa) is a mushroom we are comfortable eating, and have a small bit of experience with. We got our first by bartering with Russ Cohen at a foraging walk, and then found a few old specimens later in that year. The taste and texture of this mushroom really impressed us, so we made it a point to search for them this year. Joining the CVMS and several online forums really helped with our research and gave us many ideas where to search for these culinary delights. Timing is important, along with habitat.

Hen of the Woods Stroganoff

Hens are also known as Sheep's Head, due to their fluffy appearance. They grows at the base of oaks and other deciduous trees from September to November, often reappearing each season for several years. They are parasitic to the tree, and will very slowly kill a tree by causing rot in the heartwood and sapwood. Hens generally are very common in the Eastern US, are present in the Midwest, and are not present in the West except for the Pacific Northwest. After we made an active search for them this year, we have found perhaps 35+ pounds of delicious mushrooms at several sites, always at the base of an oak. We have dried, frozen and cooked several recipes using the thinner fronds and the solid core. We search for hen of the woods by finding an established mixed forest, and Robert will use binoculars to search off trail at the base of large or dead oaks. Many times we stumble upon a tree with 3-7 clusters at its base by accident or directly on a trail. We determine its desirability based on appearance, age, and buggy-ness of the hen. Robert uses a knife to cut the main stem and trim any gross bits from the bottom, and we carry the intact hens out in a canvas grocery bag.

Spore Print

Hen of the Woods underside

Hen of the Woods is a polypore, meaning it has pores on its underside instead of gills. It appears as a large, clustered mass of greyish-brown, dry, spoon-shaped fronds. Each frond will vary in size depending on age, but can be a nub or up to 3" (7 cm) wide. The pores on the underside should be white, though they will yellow with age. The stems or stalks are tough and off center, or usually attached to the sides of the fronds. The spore print is white. Clusters of hens may weigh up to 100 pounds, but most are around 5 pounds each. The core stem will be solid, without fibers, and works well in recipes if ground like meat or marinated. There are no dangerous look-alikes.

Hen of the Woods Tapenade

Hen of the Woods is considered a choice edible, due to its excellent firm, meaty texture and mild mushroomy taste. We have made a tapenade, calzones, consommé, pasta sauces, steak toppings, and just eat this mushroom sautéed with butter on toast. The Japanese call this mushroom maitake, and use it to enhance the immune system in cases of cancer, to regulate blood pressure, glucose and insulin.

Hen-of-the-Woods Recipe - Hen Tapenade Spread

2011-10-05T20:37:00.000-04:00

Hen Tapeande on Crostini

Hen-of-the-Woods (Grifola frondosa) is an autumn mushroom we love. We received our first Hen from Russ Cohen in a trade for some jellies made from foraged wild foods, after we took a walk with him last year. Since then, we have been dreaming about the hen season. Joining the Connecticut Valley Mycological Society has taught us a lot about how to look for this beautiful polypore, such as preferred habitat, correct timing, and how to determine a desirable specimen vs. a too old or too young specimen. When cleaning the mushroom and separating the parts for drying, freezing, and eating fresh, we usually end up with a lot of very solid stems from the cores of the mushrooms. These solid cores form the base of a spread that is highly flavorful and almost meaty. We like to make a grilled cheese sandwich with a heavy layer of tapenade, or eat it just spread on crackers.

Hen-of-the-Woods Tapenade makes about 3 cups of tapenade

1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 pound hen-of-the-woods mushroom cores, cleaned and coarsely chopped
1 c. sliced shallots
4 large garlic cloves, chopped

4 T bread crumbs, as needed

1. In a large bowl combine the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, olive oil, and black pepper. Add the chopped mushroom cores and marinate at least 2 hours.
2. Heat the oven to 375°F. Remove the mushroom from the marinade and add the shallots and garlic. Spread the marinated mushroom onto an oiled sheetpan and roast for 30 minutes, until tender and browned. Cool.
3. Now remove the shallots and garlic from the marinade and place on another sheetpan. Roast for 20 minutes until tender.
4. In a food processor, pulse the shallots and garlic until chopped finely. Add the roasted mushroom and pulse until a chunky paste forms. Up to 4 T of bread crumbs may need to be added to absorb extra moisture to make the tapenade spreadable.

Mushrooms Identified - Black Trumpets

2011-10-04T17:41:00.000-04:00

Black Trumpet Dauphinoise

Mycology discussion groups in the Northeastern US were buzzing with talk of a monumental year for black trumpet mushrooms (Craterellus fallax), and we saw several specimens at the CVMS forays brought in by other people. Robert and I were very excited to come across some while hiking, he took many pictures and we wondered what we should do with our finds. Then, we were out looking for hen-of-the-woods in a new location when we came across more than 6 pounds of this wonderful fungus. Recipe searches and cooking commenced, and we dried enough to fill 2 gallon jars. The simplest way to eat them was on a pizza with goat cheese and some caramelized onions, and we made a Dauphinoise, soups, and are thinking of making a fondue with brie and black trumpets.

Can you see the trumpets?

Searching for black trumpets takes a slow and patient style, unless you know of some places that they appeared in previous years. They grow in mixed deciduous forests, often associated with oaks and beech trees, and we found many clustered with mountain laurels. The season runs from July through November, but the dry summer conditions held them off until the rains came with tropical storm Irene in late August. The trumpets are rather difficult to spot on the forest floor among the leaf litter and branches since they are so darkly colored. They appear more like dark holes, until your eyes adjust, when you will usually find a large area of clusters of the fungus.

Black trumpets are vase shaped, about 1"-5" (3-14cm) high. The top, outer edges of the "vase" are usually curled over and can be wavy, smooth, or ragged and split, ranging from 1/2"-4" (1-10cm) wide. The inside surface is dry and minutely scaly, dark brown to black. The underside, or outside of the "vase" is smooth and lighter colored due to the spores being present.We have also seen Craterellus cinereus, which has raised veins on the underside and is also edible, but not as desirable. The stem is hollow and tapering downward to the base. The flesh of the black trumpet is thin and brittle, and tastes very earthy and I think it can taste a bit iron-y. Paired with cream it is divine.

The spore print of the black trumpets we found was a light peach or buff. On the west coast, they find Craterellus cornucopiodes, which has a white spore print, but very similar appearance to Craterellus fallax.

Spore prints

Black Trumpet Mushroom Recipe - Black Trumpet Dauphinoise

2011-10-03T20:37:00.002-04:00

We came across a surprising bounty of black trumpets (Craterellus fallax) in September. Surprising because we were searching for hen-of-the-woods, and because we are still novice mushroom hunters and this is our true first season of searching. According to the message boards on Yahoo, this has been a great year for trumpets in New England. Our next task was to find a way to cook with them beyond a cream-based puréed soup. I put some on top of a pizza with goat cheese with fantastic results, Robert ate the whole thing himself. This recipe is for a Dauphinoise, or scalloped potato casserole rich with black trumpets and cream layered with a mild Monterey Jack cheese.

Black Trumpet Dauphinoise makes one 9" x 9" dish

6 oz. black trumpets, chopped
2 c. light cream
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
6 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8" slices
2 c. mild cheese like Monterey Jack

1. Heat the oven to 300° F.
2. Clean the black trumpets by removing the bottoms and looking inside for bugs or leaves. Chop them coarsely.
3. In a saucepan, add the black trumpets, light cream, salt and pepper. Bring up to a light boil, and remove from the heat.
4. Grease a 9" x 9" baking dish. Place 2 layers of the sliced potatoes on the bottom, sprinkle a 1/2 c. cheese on top, and spoon on some of the cream, enough to cover the potato layer.
5. Repeat this layering 4 times, ending with the cream covering the last top layer of cheese. Bake for 1 hour, then start checking for doneness by stabbing the center with a knife. You are looking for tender potatoes and a reduced cream sauce. Bake up to 30 minutes longer until done.

Can you spot the trumpets in this picture?

Mushrooms Identified - Honey Mushrooms

2011-09-28T21:21:00.000-04:00

Honey Mushroom Sizes

Cooler weather in New England brings about a whole new group of mushrooms, including the honey mushrooms (Armillaria mellea). They are named for their cap color, which resembles honey, and not for their taste. An uncle of mine who was interested in hunting, fishing and foraging used to gather these a long time ago, and I remember I wasn't terribly fond of them as they can become slimy if cooked incorrectly. Some people will experience unpleasant lower gastrointestinal symptoms from ingesting honeys, and it is recommended that you eat small quantities at first, and cook honey mushrooms very well. None of us have experienced any problems with this mushroom, so Robert can gather them in large quantities. We have come across several trees ringed with honeys this autumn, and cooked some in Honey Mushroom Paprikas, froze some, and dehydrated even more for future use.

Honey Mushroom Paprikas with Dumplings

This is one of the few gilled mushrooms we are comfortable gathering, as there are several characteristics that will positively identify a honey mushroom. There are several poisonous look-alikes, so we often have our honey mushrooms examined by an expert if we are not 100% sure of the ID.They fruit in late August through November in our area, and grow clustered at the base of a tree and near stumps. Honey mushrooms will kill a tree, and often indicate that the tree is dying. They produce black, stringlike runners called rhizomorphs underground that help the honey mushroom's mycelium spread.

The cap's color is variable, mostly shades of golden yellow and brown. The surface of the cap is dry, but it can become slimy if wet. Fresh mushrooms have small, black hairs or scaly tufts near the center of the cap. The cap is the edible and desirable when young, firm and the flesh is white, and may be used as a substitute for shitakes in stir-fry dishes. The caps are 1"-4" (3-10 cm) wide, convex, becoming flat with a central knob.

The gills of the honey mushroom are attached to the stalk, often running just a bit down the stalk. They are white to yellowish, darkening with age and staining to rust color when bruised. The stalk is 2"-6" (5-15 cm) long, fibrous, and colored whitish near the gills and yellowish along the stalk. A ring is always present from the partial veil, and it is cottony white to yellowish.The spore print of a honey mushroom is white.

Honey Mushroom Sporeprint

Honey Mushroom Recipe - Honey Mushroom Paprikas

2011-09-27T19:05:00.002-04:00

Autumn weather brings out the honey mushrooms (Armillaria mellea) here in the northeast. We have found them in the past, and it is one of the few gilled mushrooms we are comfortable eating. There are some reports of lower gastrointestinal upset with honeys, so Robert likes to give them a very quick boil before cooking with them. None of us have ever had an adverse reaction to a honey mushroom. We have found several clusters of them on different trees this past month. Robert dehydrated many, and spore printed some caps. After we got the white spore confirmation, he cooked up a pile to serve in a Hungarian paprikas, which is usually a tomato and paprika based sauce, and served either over egg noodles or small egg dumplings and a dollop of sour cream.

Honey Mushroom Paprikas makes about 4 servings

3 c. packed honey mushroom caps, sliced
2 T oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 T paprika
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1-11.5 oz can V8
cooked egg noodles or dumplings

1. Blanch the sliced honey mushroom caps in a pot of water for a minute and drain.
2. Sautée the diced onion in the oil until soft, and add the minced garlic. Sautée for 2 minutes longer.
3. Add the paprika and the blanched mushrooms to the onions and garlic and cooke over medium heat for 10 minutes.
4. Add the can of V8, and cook for 10 minutes longer, until the liquid has reduced by half. Add the salt and pepper to taste, and serve over hot noodles or dumplings. Robert also likes this on bread.

Foraging for Letterboxes Event September 17, 2011

2011-09-26T20:32:00.000-04:00

Our event on September 17 was a success, I was so happy to see so many old friends and new faces eating, boxing, exchanging, stamping, and even participating in our silly foraging games! I have read AtlasQuest's FAQ on attending an event, I wonder if a FAQ will be added for throwing an event. Robert and I planted 56 letterboxes at Day Pond State Park in Colchester, CT. Some were just out for the day, some are out for a month, many are available forever. We used the park's trail maps to plant several series in a way that makes them all hike-able in one continuous loop. Again, I want to extend thanks to my stamp contributors, Sea Maid, GollyGee, Mojo612, and Wild Turkey.

The day was cool and crisp, a preview of autumn. I had a few wood contributors to keep the stone fireplace roaring all day, and the kids had a blast roasting marshmallows. The off-site Wild Weeds Walk was attended by a small group and one very curious child. We examined sumacs, wild grapes, autumn olives, and looked at out-of-season wild strawberries, wild carrots, yarrow, black cherries and false solomon's seal plants. It can be fun to see what is available in a single field that we like to visit several times per year for different edibles. The kid who came with us was willing to try everything I offered, all being sour or bitter. I am pretty sure that he liked the autumn olives the best, since kids love that sour, puckery flavor. I hope everyone learned a bit!

We planted a fast and fun series around the pavilion, Crazy Silly Nuts that included a bonus game where you had to identify one of an assortment of nuts using the stamped images. It was only available for the day, and will be relocated in the future at a permanent spot. Then I had another bonus stamp available for hikers to try to stump Robert or I by bringing back a nut, berry or mushroom for us to identify. Most folks managed to stump us with a mushroom, and all efforts were rewarded! Another series featured Edibles Around the World, like lotus, figs, and Texas dewberry. Mushroom Hunting Tools is a quick, temporary add-on with Mushrooms, a fun series of 8 edible mushrooms we like to hunt. Wild Animal Foraging features common animals that are hunted for food. For an easier walk, we had Super Foods planted on the Yellow Trail near the pavilion, along with Thor and His Vittles. How to Identify Sassafras was set up a bit differently, by logging into the main box and looking for the microboxes behind suspicious rocks in the immediate area.

Mini Biscuit Sandwiches for Potluck

We offered wild food jellies and jams for sale, and had event patches made by Moritz Embroidery. I still have some left, if anyone is interested in buying one for $3.00. They did a great job, and I would recommend them in an instant. For the potluck, Robert cooked a venison stew over the grill, and we made some sweet shortbread-jam cookie bars. I also made two kinds of mini biscuit sandwiches: a pine pollen biscuit with cream cheese and grape jam, and a ramps greens biscuit with garlic mustard-seed mustard and a piece of cooked kielbasa, or for the vegetarians I made the ramps greens biscuits with cheddar and roasted garlic and ramps jam. For refreshment, we made a big thermos of Sumac-Ade from sumacs and agave syrup.Our many potluck contributions were greatly appreciated!

Overall, we were tired at the end of the day, but we were happy with the event. Maybe we'll do another event in a couple years? We look forward to the event in Maine at Thomas Point Beach every year, and we'll be out for the February party by Mojo612 this winter. Hope to see you all around!

Foraging Report 9/14/2011

2011-09-14T20:28:00.000-04:00

Black walnut

I am unhappy to report that there is not too much gathering or foraging going on right now. After we missed some fruits like elderberry (Sambucus nigra) and black cherry (Prunus serotina), we are still keeping our eyes out for grapes (Vitis species), maybe some crabapples, and nuts like hickory (Carya ovata), chestnuts (Castanea species), and black walnuts (Juglans nigra). It is an off-year for the white oak acorns (Quercus alba), which makes the nuts in 2 or 3 year cycles. Usually the grapes are so plentiful and fragrant by now, we find them by using our noses. This year, I am afraid the grapes have succumbed to the dry early summer months and lost the fruit early.

We are very busy preparing for our letterboxing party, Foraging For Letterboxes, this weekend. We have lots of letterboxes planted using foraged foods and animals as themes. We will be preparing several potluck items using our foraged foods: sumac-ade, venison stew, ramps greens biscuits with kielbabsa, pine pollen biscuits with sweet cream cheese, and shortbread-jam dessert bars. At 2:00 PM I'll be leading a short Wild Weed Walk at an alternate location, talking about several common edibles we are familiar with. It is shaping up to be a fun day with our letterboxing friends.

I am also starting to gather some specimens for an educational display we are pacing at the Otis Library here in Norwich, CT for the month of October. There are two glass cases in the entrance lobby that I will fill with information on foraging here in southeastern Connecticut. Last year I placed the display for the first time, and it was very popular. I added some photos, dried plants, nuts, and our jams along with labels and informational cards about who we are and what we do. This year I hope to do more with mushrooms and showcase the recipes we cook with our wild foods.

Autumn olives

Northern bay laurel

While we are on the subject of cooking with wild food, I am excited that we will be a participating forager for a meal at La Laiterie Restaurant in Providence, RI in honor of Hank Shaw and his book tour on October 2. The menu is wide open right now, and we hope to provide several items. Seasonal foods like rosehips, nuts, sea beans, autumn olives, grapes, and flavorings like spicebush berries, sassafras roots, and northern bay laurel. We also have several preserved or dehydrated foods like milkweed flowerbud capers, dried chicken mushrooms, and frozen ramps greens to offer.

Honey mushrooms

Black trumpets

Last, but never least, mushrooms! The recent tropical storm that drenched the area provided ideal conditions for a large flush of mushrooms, and the recent cooler nights are bringing out the autumn mushrooms that we love- chicken mushrooms (Laetiporous sulphureus), honey mushrooms (Armillaria mellea), Hen-of-the-Woods (Grifola frondosa), and our first black trumpets (Craterellus fallax). The chickens are still slow to come, but Robert brought home a 7 pound sack of honey mushrooms yesterday, and they are drying in the dehydrator now. No Hens yet for us, we'll start looking in earnest this week at every oak tree we pass for the large polypore. The black trumpets are a happy accident. I don't know if we would have ever found them if we had been looking for them, but we have stumbled on maybe a pound or two completely by accident this past week. The Northeast Mushrooms Group on Yahoo has been buzzing with news and photos of a banner year for trumpets. We dried them and powdered them, and the aroma is decadent, I can smell sweet hints of fruit and a bit of the mushroom muskiness. I made a small batch of bagels with the powder, and we'll save the rest for something else. Robert is interested in a soup, but not a puréed soup or cream based soup, so we will continue to look for recipes and inspiration. This past Sunday was a potluck party with the Connecticut Valley Mycological Society, and some people made black trumpet pizza, and added it to pasta salad. The array of mushroom dishes was spectacular, and the company matched the food as the potluck followed the Sunday foray. I cooked up some mini Sumac Meringues for potluck dessert. Robert looks forward to each foray for the education and opportunity to find some wonderful edibles.

Puffball Recipe - Puffball Piccata

2011-09-06T14:32:00.000-04:00

Milkweed capers

To keep our 6 year old daughter's interest in mushroom hunting for hours on each Sunday, Robert has devised an incentive program she can't resist: money for mushrooms. For each mushroom she finds she gets a quarter. Her proximity to the ground and her natural curiosity gives her an edge that we don't have. This past weekend while picking nectarines at the local orchard, Gillian spied a large purple-spored puffball (Calvatia cyanthiformus) under a nearby pear tree, and promptly collected her bounty. We took it home, read up on ID information, and sliced it thinly to make Puffball Piccata, using the capers we made from milkweed flower bud capers earlier this summer. The texture of each puffball filet was tender with a bit of a crispy exterior, and the sauce was tart and briny. The puffball we found was about 4" wide, so your servings will be based on the size of the puffball. I got about 10 filets from the mushroom, each slice was 1/4" thick. We'll be happily looking for more puffballs to eat this one again.

Puffball Piccata Makes about 4 servings

about 10 puffball filets
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 T olive oil
3 T butter
2 T minced sweet onion
1/2 c. white wine
3/4 c. vegetable broth
3 T capers
2 T lemon juice
3 T chopped parsley
lemon slices

1. You need to moisten the puffball filets, I used a water bottle to spray them lightly.
2. Mix the flour with the salt and pepper in a flat dish. Dredge the moistened puffball filets in the flour to coat.
3. Heat the oil in a sautée pan until hot, then add the butter. Quickly fry the filets in the hot fat until lightly browned, about 2 minutes on each side. Place the cooked puffball filets on a covered platter.
4. Using the leftover hot oil and butter in the pan, sautée the minced onion until translucent. Add the white wine and simmer until reduced by half.
5. Add the vegetable broth, capers, and lemon juice and continue to simmer until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and adjust the salt and acidity with lemon juice if needed. Add the chopped parsley and pour the sauce over the reserved puffball filets.

Acorn Recipe - Acorn Cupcakes with Wild Grape Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-09-05T21:12:00.001-04:00

We made this early this spring, and brought them as a "taste" to a wild weed walk we took with Blanche Derby in Massachusetts. She gives samples of prepared dishes along with her tours to really show people what they can do with the wild food they just learned about in the field. We made something completely out of season for spring, but we used wild food we had gathered and preserved last autumn.

Robert cold leaches the white oak acorns (Quercus alba) by placing the shelled nutmeat in a gallon jar of cold water and letting it sit overnight. In the morning, he pours off the now-amber water which has leached out some tannins from the nuts. He will repeat this process until the water no longer stains tea-colored. This way we save energy by not using the stove, and hopefully retain more nutrients by not boiling the nutmeats. The next step is to dry the nuts in the dehydrator, on the dashboard in the car if it is warm and sunny outside, or in a low oven. Finally he grinds the dry nuts in a coffee grinder into a flour. We keep the flour in the freezer to prevent it from going rancid. I cobbled together a few different recipes that usually call for walnut or almond flour for the cupcake.

The wild grape (Vitus species) jam was also produced last autumn from various species of wild grapes that we find growing along field edges and near water. It is the tastiest jam we make, along with being the most popular. I say it is an adult grape jam, although there is no alcohol involved. The flavor is so much more intense than the stuff you get at the store, and the flavor improves with age, like wine. The jam was added to a softened cream cheese and butter mixture, along with a bit more confectioner's sugar to make the frosting, and I also hollowed out the cupcakes and added a dollop of straight jam for an intense flavor burst.

Acorn Cupcakes with Wild Grape Cream Cheese Icing
makes about 42 mini cupcakes or 2-8" round cakes

cupcakes:
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4 oz. softened butter or shortening
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
6 oz. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. acorn flour

1. Preheat the oven to 325° and line muffin pans with papers.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
3. Cream together the butter or shortening with the sugar until fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition.
5. Add half of the flour mixture, mix. Add the buttermilk, mix, Add the remaining flour mixture.
6. Fold in the ground acorn flour and mix until incorporated.
7. Bake 8" round for 25-35 minutes, bake cupcakes 12-18 minutes until cake is springy. Cool.

Wild Grape Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz. softened butter
6 oz. softened cream cheese
3 c. confectioners sugar
4 T wild grape jam

1. Mix butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add confectioners sugar and mix until stiff, scraping bowl.
2. Add the grape jam. You want a pretty purple frosting. If the frosting is too soft, add more confectioners sugar to help it stiffen. Chill the frosting before frosting the cupcakes, and chill the cupcakes once frosted.

Foraging Report 08/31/2011

2011-08-31T20:10:00.000-04:00

One might think there would be large amounts of harvesting going on right now, but there is not. Our cold, late spring and very dry, hot summer has messed up our usual schedule of picking and preserving. The recent abundant rains have provided us with a large distraction of mushrooms to hunt and learn about, but we have missed several fruits. One discussion thread I have been following with interest on Yahoo groups, Forage Ahead, is about the poor autumn harvest as a harbinger of a hard winter to come. It seems that many fruits were damaged by bad weather in spring and drought in summer, and nuts are absent or empty in several parts of the US. Animals have been observed nesting earlier, and deer are already fat and losing the velvet from their antlers. Some birds and insects are already absent. Is the fauna aware of a problem with the flora for the season?

elderberries from last year

We somehow completely missed the elderberry (Sambucus nigra) and wild black cherry (Prunus serotina) harvests. We gathered flowers of the elderberry to eat, but never saw any berries. I can find very few black cherries, maybe a handful for an entire tree. The birds seem to have gotten most of them, and the stems are all bare. We have been out searching for some beach plums (Prunus maritima) at the shore, but have seen very few. It also seems to be an off year for white oak acorns (Quercus alba), the less tannic nuts they produce are what we like to gather.

Glasswort

Some of our recent foraging successes have been with glasswort (genus Salcornia), also known as sea beans or samphire. Robert has found them on several occasions, and we have brought them home for pickles, and he is trying to lacto-ferment some with cabbage. They are quite salty, so a little goes a long way in a recipe. This late in the season, they can be tough and only the very tips are tender enough to eat. They compliment a salad or dish with a nice, salty crunch when used raw.

Spicebush berries

Black walnuts

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is producing berries, although they are not red yet. We are trying to make an extract with the leaves, twigs and grain alcohol. It is strong and deep green, but I think it may be too alcoholic and not spicy enough. We'll wait for the berries to ripen, as they are the spiciest part of the plant. Robert may end up adding it to his black walnut (Juglans nigra) liqueur that he made with the green hulls for a more herbal taste. One good thing to come from the recent hurricane is that most of the black walnuts were blown from the tree next door already, making it easy to gather a few bucketfuls.

Surf clam

Another timely success as a result of the same hurricane was our windfall of surf clams (Spisula solidissima). We went back to Horseneck Beach in Massachusetts and came home with a 5 gallon bucket full of the 5" wide clams in mere minutes. The beach was littered with them, freshly tossed up by the high surf. After a quick rinse and freshwater purge, I cooked them up, cleaned them out, and made some delicious clam chowder. I ended up freezing another pint of the chopped meat and about a quart of the clam juice for future use.

Our upcoming days will be filled with preparations for our own letterboxing party, Foraging for Letterboxes, in mid-September. We are keeping our eyes open for grapes, apples, nuts, and more mushrooms. We can still gather rosehips and look forward to a second flush from some of the greens like lamb's quarters and dandelion.

Our Long Letterboxing Weekend in Maine

2011-08-18T21:39:00.001-04:00

Thomas Point Beach stage

August 10-14 found us in Maine and surrounding areas for a letterboxing gathering. This was our second year, and we finally are well equipped to camp, with a machete, hammocks, a hammock mosquito net, tent, home-made tripod, bogracs (a Hungarian pot for cooking over the campfire), and excitement. We were located at Thomas Point Beach in Brunswick for most of our time, with some letterboxing in Topsham, Freeport, and Orr's Island. The event was held by Mudflinginfools, a hopefully annual gathering of insane letterboxers and their talents and personalities. The site letterboxes were fantastic, getting us to visit our fellow campers and their sites. The theme was Dream Vacation Spots: Tropical, Foreign, and U.S. We carved Tahiti, Ireland, and Alaska for our site.

Maine is a new environment for us to explore. We love that letterboxing takes us to places most people would not find, including preserves and nature trails throughout the area. On one of the hikes to find The Lights By the Night in Harpswell, we came across many mushrooms on this trail, along with a bonus of ripe and delicious huckleberries (genus Vaccinium) at the end of the penninsula. We picked several handfuls, and ate them on the spot, sweet and a bit tart, crunchy with their large seeds, or technically nutlets, it was a quick and simple snack.

Wintergreen

Driving to Orr's Island, we noticed the abundance of red chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) trees and crabapples lining the roadways. We picked a few branches of cherries and some small apples, making a cooked compote for our morning oatmeal back at camp. Gillian loves the tart and astringent cherries, I wish we had planned ahead and brought some buckets! While hiking in Topsham for the wonderful series Nautical in Nature, we disturbed a trio of female pheasant. We also came across thick carpets of wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) and partidgeberry (Mitchella repens), and dense thickets of blackberries (Rubus discolor), with a few raspberries mixed in. These we brought back to eat with the next morning's granola.

Meadow mushroom spore print

At Thomas Point Beach, the foraging was great. Robert dug for steamers two days in a row in the tidal mud, providing an appetizer to grilled dinners. We also came across more chokecherries, blackberries, and meadow mushrooms (Agaricus campestris) . Robert recognized these as a variety that is commonly gathered in Hungary. We picked a few, very young with still-pink gills, from the lawn, spore printed them for verification, and skewered them over the fire for dinner. There were several available due to the recent rains, and we obseved them is different stages of growth over the 5 days.

Painted suillus

Another mushroom we came across was the painted suillus (Suillus pictus). We found several along a trail, with their distinctive veil, yellow pores,and red cap. We brought several specimens back to camp to spore print them, and the results were brown. Robert sautéed them up and ate them as an appetizer while I chowed down on the steamer clams. Gillian had a great time playing with the multitude of children, laying trails with dried cattail seed-heads and blowing bubbles. We love to see our fellow letterboxers and their families, and spend time outdoors. Here's to next year!

Mushrooms Identified - Oyster, Cinnabar Chanterelle, Sulfur Shelf

2011-08-05T12:44:00.002-04:00

Here is a trio of lovely, edible mushrooms we have found and happily consumed. We consulted several books and again had some guidance from the CVMS on the Cinnabar chanterelles and oyster mushrooms. The photos of the sulfur shelf were taken last autumn, and that mushroom was eaten in several dishes. Robert's main interest is the edible mushrooms, and I am finding all the mushrooms fascinating to learn about.

Pleurotus ostreatus is known as the oyster mushroom. Robert found several clusters growing from a black birch tree trunk in Norwich. It mostly grows from dead deciduous trees throughout North America, often all year under favorable conditions. The oysters that grow in summer tend to be pure white, while those that grow in autumn are more grey or light brown. The caps are 2"-8" wide when mature, semi-circular or elongated. A stalk may or may not be present, and the gills will descend the stalk. The spore print we took was light, white or maybe very light lilac. Oysters are a choice edible. Robert sautéed some with salt and pepper to eat. I oven roasted the rest and topped a pizza. The mushrooms he found were very young, so there were very few bugs present that we simply washed away.

Cantharellus cinnabarinus is a brightly colored, small mushroom known as the cinnabar chanterelle. We have come across these mushrooms in varying numbers at every location in Connecticut we have hiked. They grow on the ground, often in beds of moss, and are common in eastern North America. They can be found from late June through October. The caps can be 1/2"-2" wide, slightly convex, with a smooth, dry, and bright red-orange top. The gills are lighter colored, and the whole mushroom fades to pink with age. The stalk is solid and usually curved. The spore print we took was light pink. Cinnabar chanterelles are edible, and we sautéed up a bunch to eat, with good results. Each mushroom may be small, but there are often great numbers of them to be found in an area. We also accidentally dried a few, and they seem to hold up well.

Coconut and sulphur shelf soup with lamb's quarters

Laetiporus sulphureus is one of our favorite edible mushrooms, and it is known as a sulfur shelf, or chicken mushroom, for it's texture and similarity of taste to chicken. Sulphur shelf mushrooms grow on dead logs or stumps, and is common in North America. It is found between May and November, and does not require rain to stimulate it's growth, as it is growing from a tree. Sulfur shelf mushrooms grow as clusters of overlapping orange-yellow caps 2"-12" wide and fan shaped. The underside has pores, and is often yellow. When young, the color can range from bright orange to yellow and the caps are very wet and heavy. As the caps age, the color fades and they caps dry out. The spore print is white. When young, most of the mushroom can be gathered and chopped to use in dishes like chicken. Even on an older specimen, the very edges of the caps is often tender enough to eat. We chopped and froze an enormous mushroom we found last autumn, and still use to cook a pot pie or soup. Recipes for pot pie and stuffed bread can be found on this blog.

Fried chicken mushroom with onion strings

"Chicken" pot pie with ramps greens

Milkweed Recipe - Stuffed Milkweed Pods

2011-07-29T07:48:00.001-04:00

This dish makes a fantastic tray of appetizers, or can be baked in a sauce for more of a dinner dish. Robert does not eat meat, so I made half with bacon and half without. If you wanted, you could fill the milkweed pods with a pastry bag for neater results.

For best results, I use 1 1/2"-2" long pods. I begin the recipe by boiling the washed milkweed pods for 5 minutes. As they boil, some will pop open, and that is fine. Shock the pods in ice water to stop the cooking process and cool them down quickly for easier handling. There is a natural seam running along the length of each pod where it will want to split. Split open the pod and pull out the immature seeds and silk. I spoon the filling in, until the pods are full. Finally, I roll the cream cheese filling exposed in the seam in panko bread crumbs. I serve these warm from the oven.

Stuffed Milkweed Pods makes 36-40

1 8oz. block of cream cheese, softened
2 T diced red onion
1 jalapeno, diced
salt and pepper
36-40 milkweed pods, boiled and split
panko bread crumbs

optional: 3 T diced, cooked bacon

1. Heat oven to 375°F.
2. Place the softened cream cheese in a bowl and with a heavy wooden spoon, mix in the diced onion, jalapeno, optional bacon, and salt and pepper.
3. Remove the immature seeds and silk from the boiled milkweed pods, and spoon in about 2 tsp. of cream cheese filling, until the pod is full.
4. Roll the exposed seam of cream cheese in panko bread crumbs and place seam side up on a parchment lined sheetpan.
5. Bake the stuffed pods for 15-20 minutes, until the crumbs are browned. Serve warm.

Mushrooms Identified - Scaly Vase Chanterelle, Berkeley's Polypore, Old Man of the Woods

2011-07-28T07:38:00.001-04:00

Here are some mushrooms we have identified through many guidebooks and with the generous knowledge of Connecticut Valley Mycological Society. We see so many mushrooms that are difficult to identify on our own, so we joined the CVMS to learn techniques and proper ways to gather, identify, and possibly consume wild mushrooms. Robert has photographed several mushrooms, and we try to take spore prints for further confirmation.

Here is a partial list of the books we use:

Mushrooms of Northeast North America: Midwest to New England by George Barron
The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms
Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America: A Field to Kitchen Guide by David W. Fischer
Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora

Scaly Vase Chanterelle cluster

Young scaly vase chanterelles

Gomphus floccosus is also known as Wooly Chanterelle, or Scaly Vase Chanterelle. We came across a small group of them at the Salmon River State Forest. It is a funnel-shaped mushroom that tends to grow on the ground in coniferous or mixed coniferous and deciduous forests throughout North America. It fruits from early summer through midfall, and we found it in mid-July. The top is 2"-6" wide, orange fading to yellow-orange, and depressed but soon becoming hollow and sunken like a funnel. The top also has cottony or woolly scales. The underside is creamy-colored and is wrinkled or veined all along the stalk. The flesh is white and fibrous. Spore print is ochre, but we did not gather or print this mushroom. It's edibility is questionable, with many reports of nausea and abdominal pain, so we will avoid eating it.

Gillian holding the Berkeley's polypore

Berkeley's underside and white spores

Bondarzewia berkeleyi is commonly known as Berkeley's polypore. We found this one growing from some tree roots in Salem, CT. It grows in the Northern US and Canada, to Louisiana and Texas from July to October. It has the appearance of several overlapping creamy-white to grey fans growing from a single base. When very young, it looks like white fingers, but specimens can get very large, up to 3 feet across. The undersides of the caps is white with circular to angular pores. The spore print we took was white. It toughens and becomes bitter with age, so we trimmed the outer 1/2" from the edges for a meal. Edibility is based upon the age of the mushroom.

Old Man of the Woods, underside

Cut, staining to red

Strobilomyces floccopus is known as Old Man of the Woods for it's shaggy, unkept appearance. We found a specimen in Groton, CT and saw several more that had been found at Salmon River SF. It grows on the ground in mixed hardwood and coniferous forests from July to October. The cushion-shaped cap is 1"-6" across and is covered with dry, shaggy scales. The underside of the cap is white or grey, becoming darker with age, with large pores and tubes. The flesh is white, but slowly stains red then black when cut. The spore print we took was black. Our mushroom was a bit old, so we did not try it. Younger specimens are edible, although not particularly desirable.

Old Man of the Woods topside and spore print

Milkweed Recipe - Milkweed Pods and Chickpea Salad

2011-07-27T08:46:00.000-04:00

Mid summer is the time to gather the small, soft seed pods of the common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) in open fields. Milkweed tends to grow in large colonies, and is an important food source for many butterflies and their caterpillars, like the Monarch. Between July and the end of August, the flowers have all passed, and the seed pods are in various stages of growth, often many different sizes on each plant.

Very small pods, about a half inch long are good for pickling or boiling as a green vegetable. Larger pods between 1 1/2 inches and 2 inches long are good for stuffing and baking, or stir frying. Before cooking the pods with a final recipe, they are scrubbed and boiled for 5 minutes. Many will pop open while boiling, that is not a problem. There is a natural seam on each pod that makes it easy to open the pod and remove the immature seeds and silk. The pods are good for eating as long as the seeds and silk are pure white and very soft. Any signs of browning indicates the seed pod is too old and will be tough to eat. Robert likes to eat the boiled insides of the seed pods mixed into other grains, as it seems to melt into a cheese-like texture. I like the boiled pods stuffed with cream cheese and baked, or just plain with a bit of butter and salt.

Here's a recipe for a chilled salad, good for these hot days of summer using milkweed pods about an inch long. I boiled the pods for 5 minutes, then sliced off the stem end before removing the silk and seeds. I cut the pods in half and tossed them with the dressing and other ingredients.

Milkweed Pods and Chickpea Salad makes about 3 c.

2 c. small milkweed pods, about 1-1 1/2" long
1 16 oz can chickpeas, drained
1/4 red onion, sliced thinly
1/4 c. crumbled feta cheese

dressing:
3 T red wine vinegar
1 T fresh basil, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T olive oil

1. Scrub the milkweed pods, and boil them for 5 minutes. Shock them in ice water. Slice the stem ends off the pods and slice them in half, removing the seeds and silk.
2. Toss the milkweed pods with the chickpeas, onions, and feta cheese.
3. To make the dressing, whisk the vinegar, chopped basil, salt, pepper, sugar and garlic together in a bowl. While whisking, drizzle in the olive oil slowly, making an emulsion. Toss the salad with the dressing, and allow it to refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Sumac Recipe - Sumac Meringue

2011-07-26T07:40:00.000-04:00

We start this recipe by gathering the red, ripe berry clusters from staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) shrubs. The berries are actually very hard and inedible, and it is the acidic and tart malic, oxalic, and ascorbic acids that we will be harvesting from the outside of the berries to use. In about a half gallon of room temperature water, we add 12 clusters. I'll crush the clusters up under the water and swish them about, then allow the concoction to sit for a few hours. The now pink liquid is strained through a coffee filter to remove fine hairs and other debris, and tasted for tartness. To make a stronger concentrate, add some new sumac berry clusters to this same liquid and allow them to sit for another few hours, then strain again. This concentrate is ready to use, or can be frozen in ice cube trays to add to water or save for the winter. We also use this concentrate in the place of lemon juice in some jelly recipes.

Staghorn sumac berries

This dessert is more of a curd topped with baked meringue, rather than a pie, since Robert doesn't really like pie crust. The curd recipe is really easy, no tempering the eggs with the hot sugar, just keep a vigilant eye on the pot and keep scraping the bottom with a spatula. It works really well in individual portion dishes, or can be cooked in one 9" pie pan. You could serve it as a pie, if you use a pie crust. The color will depend on the strength of the sumac concentrate that you use. I ended up with a nice peachy color, but you could add a drop of red food color if you wanted to.

Sumac Meringue makes 8 ramekins, or 1-9" pie

curd:
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
1 c. cold water
1 c. sumac concentrate
5 egg yolks
1 T butter

meringue:
5 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 c. plus 2 T sugar

1. Heat the oven to 375°F.
2. To make the curd, whisk the sugar with the cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Add the water, sumac concentrate, and yolks, and whisk until smooth.
3. Place the pan over medium-high heat and cook slowly, stirring often with a silicone spatula. The curd will thicken, and allow it to come to a slow boil. Boil the curd for 1 minute, whisk in the butter, then pour into the ramekins or pie plate.
4. To make the meringue, whip the 5 egg whites with a mixer until frothy. Add the cream of tartar, and whip until soft peaks form. Slowly pour in the 1 c. plus 2 T sugar, and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

5. Scoop the meringue over the hot curd, trying to cover it completely. Bake for 14-18 minutes, until evenly golden brown. Cool, and refrigerate.

Smooth sumac berry clusters

Foraging Report 07/25/2011

2011-07-25T11:19:00.001-04:00

Gillian holding the Berkeley's polypore

Boletus bicolor

It has been quite a productive couple of weeks for us. The weather has been a bit unbearable, but foraging near a river is good for an afternoon of cooling off. We went on our first outing with the Connecticut Valley Mycological Society at Salmon River State Forest on July 17th. Even though there had not been a lot of rain, there were at least 50 different types of mushrooms gathered and identified. They collected all the mushrooms they find, not just edibles, to identify and catalog back at the gathering tables. We learned how to best gather mushrooms for easier identification purposes, like try to find several stages of growth (button, fully opened, old) and try to collect some of the growing medium the mushroom is on, like tree bark, moss, or underground source. Many mushrooms have a bulbous bottom that should be collected for ID. The people in this club are very knowledgeable, and usually only supply the genus and species name for each mushroom, for precise identification. We also met many of the members, and looked through some of the books they use. We are looking forward to may more learning sessions. On the day before, we found a large Berkeley's polypore (Bondarzewia berkeleyi), and brought it to place on a separate table to be identified. We cut a bit of the tender edges off to take home and cook, it was tasty with a bit of cracked pepper and oil.

Common milkweed pods (Asclepias syriaca) are growing large enough to gather. They ripen in stages, so one plant will have tiny pods and too-large pods on the same stalk at the same time. Milkweed tends to grow in great colonies in open fields, so it is easy to get them in abundance. They are messy to pick, since they exude their white, sticky latex as soon as they are cut. Robert uses a plastic bucket, but a disposable bag may be easier. We bring them home and give them a scrub with the vegetable brush before boiling them for 5 minutes and shocking them in ice water. After their quick cooking, they are ready to be used in recipes like pickles, salads, stuffed, or just stir fried with soy sauce. I think they taste a bit like green beans, and we usually can't taste any of the reported bitterness most people worry about. Make sure you have common milkweed, it seems to taste the best.

Smooth sumac berry clusters

staghorn sumac berries

Here in southeastern New England, the staghorn sumacs (Rhus typhina) have their ripe berries ready for gathering. We just snap the berry clusters off the tops of the shrub into a bag, trying to avoid the clusters that are obviously filled with bugs. As the season progresses, the clusters will become buggier and less desirable. With the hairy berry clusters, we made some sumac-ade to drink on these hot days, and made a much stronger concentrate to bake a sumac curd topped with meringue. We also use the sumac concentrate as a lemon juice substitute when making jelly. The smooth sumacs (Rhus glabra) have red berry clusters, but are not ripe and sour yet.

wineberries

Himalayan blackberries

Finally, did we mention the berries yet? Wineberries (Rubus phoanicolasius) and Himalayan blackberries (Rubus discolor) have ripened in great abundance. The hot, humid weather has made picking a bit uncomfortable, but we try to get out early in the morning before it gets too unbearable. I made 15 jars of plain wineberry jam, using the same recipe and methods I blogged about last year. The recipe uses low-sugar pectin, and a seedless pulpy juice to make a tart, thick jam. Then I made 21 jars of wineberry-blackberry jam. The color is darker, and the flavor is a bit sweeter and fruitier. I look forward to swapping some jams at the Coventry Regional Farmer's Market Foodswaps, and gifting several to friends.

Wineberry Recipe - Wineberry Bavarian

2011-07-24T22:34:00.000-04:00

This is a slightly complex recipe, something that would be perfect to bring to a special occasion party to impress the other guests.I made this with wineberries (Rubus phoenicolasius), but using other seedless berry purée would work. I did make an 8" round dessert, plus a few more individual portions since I made a larger recipe, but this recipe will need an 8" round springform pan. I also used a thin spongecake to line the bottom of the dessert. You could use ladyfinger cookies, and then also line the sides of the pan with more cookies.

Wineberry Bavarian makes 1 8" cake

spongecake or ladyfinger cookies to line pan

filling:
4 egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. milk, hot
1 1/2 c. wineberry purée
1 envelope unflavored Knox gelatin
2 tsp cold water
1 1/2 c. heavy cream

topping:
1/2 c. wineberry purée
2 tsp gelatin
1/3 c. cold water
1 T Chambord liqueur

1. In a mixing bowl, whip the egg yolks and sugar until thick. Add the hot milk, stir. Transfer to a saucepan.
2. Heat the yolk mixture over medium heat while stirring until thick, do not boil. Strain the custard through a mesh strainer into a large bowl and stir in the wineberry purée.
3. Sprinkle the gelatin over the 2 tsp cold water in a small bowl and allow it to get mushy. Melt the gelatin in the microwave for 10 seconds on half power, or place the small bowl in a pot of boiling water until the gelatin has melted. Allow the now-liquid gelatin to cool slightly, then stir it into the custard and raspberry mixture.
4. Place the bowl of raspberry custard in the fridge, and stir it often for about 1 1/2 hours. It will thicken slightly and look like melted ice cream.
5. Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. With a large whisk, fold in 1/3 of the heavy cream into the custard. Then fold in the remaining whipped cream, and whisk gently until there are no more white streaks. Pour this into the cake or cookie lined springform pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
6. To make the topping, sprinkle the gelatin over the 1/3 c. water in a bowl and let it get mushy. Melt the gelatin in the microwave for 15 seconds on half power, or place the bowl in a pot of hot water until the gelatin has melted. Stir the melted gelatin into the wineberry purée and add the Chambord. Pour this evenly over the top of the bavarian. Chill another 2 hours or overnight before unmolding from the springform pan and slicing.

Garlic Mustard Recipe - Garlic Mustard-Mustard

2011-07-22T09:37:00.000-04:00

By gathering the small, black and very numerous seeds from the invasive garlic mustard (Alliara petiolata), we can make a few tasty condiments, dressings and spices. This mustard is hot like wasabi or grated horseradish. The burn will light up your sinuses, but the mustard goes well on a sandwich with something fatty like swiss or ham. We also use the mustard like a traditional dijon in dressings and sauces. Try adding it to macaroni and cheese or a bechemel. We keep it in a jar in the refrigerator, and it may need a quick stir before using.

To grind the hard seeds, Robert uses a coffee grinder. The result is a dark brown powder that should be used immediately.

Garlic Mustard-Mustard makes about 1/2 c.

7 T ground garlic mustard seeds
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
6 T water
2 tsp agave syrup or honey
1/4 tsp tumeric

1. Whisk together the ground seeds with the salt and tumeric. Whisk in the water, honey and vinegar until smooth.
2. Allow the mustard to sit for a week in the refrigerator. It will need to be stirred before use and the color will darken. Keep stored, covered in the fridge for up to a year.

Garlic mustard seed pods

Garlic Mustard Recipe - Garlic Mustard Seed Dressing

2011-07-20T21:11:00.001-04:00

In the early summer, the garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) goes to seed. That is a great time to do some invasive weed control while out foraging by gathering the large quantities of seeds the plant produces. These seeds that drop now will over-winter and form the basal rosettes in the very early spring next year. Garlic mustard will form dense clusters of plants, making it relatively easy to gather the seeds. Look for the light brown stalks, topped with skinny fingers that are the dry seed pods.

The seeds are black, comma-shaped and about 1/8" long. By pulling along the dry, brittle stems and along the seed pods, the seeds will fall into your hands or a waiting bucket. Many seeds will fall to the ground, but you should not feel like you are spreading the garlic mustard, since otherwise ALL of the seeds would have fallen to the ground and spread the plant naturally.

If bits of the dry seed pods fall into the bucket, it is no problem. We take 2 large bowls or buckets, and pass the seeds between the two with a high pour to winnow out the much lighter seed pods, dust, and debris. Then we spread the mostly clean seeds on a sheetpan to dry further for a few days. We keep them stored in a glass jar to use for topping breads, adding to bagels, adding to curries like mustard seeds, to make mustard, and to make a dressing.

Garlic Mustard Seed Dressing makes about 2 c. dressing

1 1/2 T dijon mustard, or prepared garlic mustard-mustard

1/2 lemon with rind, diced and seeds removed

3 shallots or 4 ramps bulbs

6 T honey

pinch cayenne

pinch white pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 c. olive oil

6 T rice vinegar

1 T garlic mustard seeds

1. In a hot oven or over coals, roast the shallots or ramps bulbs until soft and charred. Cool.

2. Place the dijon or garlic mustard-mustard, diced lemon, and roasted shallots or ramps in a blender. Blend until smooth.

3. Add honey, cayenne, white pepper, salt, and pulse quickly.
4. Slowly pour in the oil with the blender on, and pour in the vinegar. Add the garlic mustard seeds with a final pulse. Store the dressing in the refrigerator, shaking before using.

Wild Blueberry Recipe - Wild Blueberry Jam

2011-07-20T08:06:00.000-04:00

It takes a whole lot of time to gather wild blueberries in quantities large enough to make a single batch of thick, dark, sweet jam. We visited 3 different sites to pick enough, and the jam is worth the effort. I like it spread on scones and bread with butter. Wild blueberries are not quite as juicy as cultivated ones, and this jam is loaded with skins, making a very chunky product. I also always try to use low-sugar pectin. I like to taste the real fruit, but I also like to make sure the jam or jelly sets, since we put so much labor into gathering the berries.

Wild Blueberry Jam makes about 8- 8 oz jars

6 1/2 c. washed, stemmed, crushed wild blueberries
3/4 c. water
4 1/2 c. sugar
1 box low-sugar Sure-Jell pectin

1. Wash, remove stems, and crush the blueberries by hand or with a potato masher in a large pot. There will be very little juice. Add 3/4 c. water to the berries.
2. Mix 1/4 c. of the sugar with the pectin in a bowl. Add to the crushed berries and bring to a rolling boil, stirring often.
3. Add all of the remaining sugar at once, stirring to dissolve. Bring the jam back to a boil, and cook 1 minute.
4. Ladle into sterilized jars, seal, boil 10 minutes in a water bath to seal. Cool.

Foraging Edible Sumacs

2011-07-19T16:10:00.000-04:00

staghorn stem

staghorn berries

There are 3 varieties of edible sumac in our area--staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina), smooth sumac (Rhus glabra), and dwarf sumac (Rhus copallina). Staghorn sumac twigs are covered in soft hairs, similar to a young deer's antlers, and the berries are very hairy. Smooth sumac has a purplish midrib between the toothed leaflets, and smooth twigs. Their berry clusters are usually larger and the berries are smooth. Dwarf sumacs have a winged rib between each mostly toothless leaflet and small, darker berry clusters. The berries are pink, red or dark red when ripe, but are not edible as-is. It is the ascorbic acid, malic acid, and oxalic acid on the outside of the berries that you want.

Edible sumacs are botanically related to cashews and mangoes. Edible sumacs are also related to poison sumac (Rhus vernix), which has drooping, white berry clusters and shiny leaves. Poison sumac can produce rashes and itching in people with a sensitivity, and should be learned so you can avoid it.

smooth sumac leaf

dwarf sumac leaf

Sumacs grow as tall shrubs in cleared areas, along highways, and old fields. The shrubs grow in dense stands and have alternate, feather-compound leaves divided into leaflets. When cut, the plant exudes a white latex. We have noticed that the three varieties ripen at different times, with staghorn berries turning red in July, smooth sumac berries ripening in August, and dwarf sumac berries ripening in September and October. It is important to gather the berry heads when fully ripe, and before it rains since the rain will wash away the tart flavors.

A tart, pink, lemony drink can be made from the ripe berry heads. When gathering, we do a "lick test" on a colony of sumacs by tasting the berry heads for tartness. Soak 5-8 ripe berry clusters in 8 c. room temperature water, crushing the clusters in your hands. It is important to NOT use hot or boiling water. Allow the berry heads to soak for a few hours, and then drain the liquid through a fine cheesecloth or coffee filter to remove the hairs and other debris. Smooth sumac usually makes the darkest pink drink. Add sugar to taste and chill the sumac-ade. A stronger concentrate can be made by soaking more berries in the same water, and the concentrate can be frozen in ice cube trays to add to your glass of water instead of a lemon. We have also used the concentrate as an acid substitute in jellies.

smooth sumac berries

The berries of the smooth sumac can be gathered to make a spice mixture used in the Middle East known as za'atar. The berries are ground with a mortar and pestle with oregano, salt, toasted sesame seeds and thyme. The spice can be added to meats or brushed onto pita breads. Robert also like to chew on the new spring shoots of sumac that are tender and green. They are peeled and cut to make sure the tough center has not developed and eaten raw.

Here's a link of Russ Cohen discussing sumac late last autumn.

smooth sumac ripe berry heads

Wild Blueberry Recipe - Sweet Stuffed Rolls

2011-07-13T12:54:00.001-04:00

Tiny wild blueberries (genus Vaccinium) take quite an effort to gather in quantity. The bushes may be a few inches off the ground or taller than our heads. Each bush also presents many variations in leaf shape and size, and the quantity of berries is different between bushes. The berries ripen in stages, so you may have to return several times. Wild blueberries tend to grow in very poor, acidic soil, or abandoned open fields where other shrubs are staring to take over. Here is a recipe for a sweet, yeasted roll stuffed with blueberry filling. The roll is soft and scented with vanilla seeds. The recipe makes about 18, and they did not last a day in our house between the three of us.

Sweet Blueberry Stuffed Rolls makes about 18

Filling:
1 1/2 c. wild blueberries, washed
2 T water
2 T sugar
2 T cornstarch mixed with more water to make a slurry

Dough:
1 tsp. yeast
1/2 c. milk, warmed to 110°
2 c. flour
3 T sugar
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
7 T cold butter, cubed

1 egg, beaten

1. To make the filling place the blueberries, sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil.
2. To make the slurry, mix the cornstarch with about 4 T water to make an opaque liquid. Pour this slowly into the berries, stirring constantly. Add just enough to thicken the filling, you will not need it all. Allow the filling to cool to room temperature.
3. To make the dough sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk and let it sit for 5 minutes.
4. In a stand mixer bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt and vanilla together with the paddle. Add the cold butter cubes and mix until crumbly. Add the milk and mix until a dough forms.
5. Change the paddle for the dough hook, and knead the dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
6. Heat the oven to 325° and line a sheetpan with parchment paper.
7. Roll half the dough into a rectangle about 1/4" thick and about 5" x 16". Scoop about 1 T of filling onto the dough in small scoops down the center of the dough the long way, leaving about an inch between the portions. Egg wash the edges of the dough and between the filling portions, and fold it over in half. Cut between the filling portions, to make a small ravioli shaped roll. Press the cut edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
8. Egg wash the tops and cut some small slits in each roll. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until browned.
9. When the rolls have cooled, you can glaze them or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Foraging Report 07/11/2011

2011-07-11T20:46:00.001-04:00

Summer is truly here, New England style. The days are hot and muggy, humidity is high, and we are all living with sunburns. We have been spending the last two weeks or so hiking as little as possible to avoid the heat, but spending time at the beaches. The beach roses (Rosa rugosa) are blooming as they will for the rest of the summer. Robert gathered some of the hard, green hips to make a sweet/sour pickle and it turned out great. The early summer has a bit of a foraging lull for us, as the spring greens have all toughened, and the summer berries and fruits are not ripe yet.

The mulberries have gone by, but we did get some black (Morus nigra) and white (Morus alba) berries to eat and I made a ricotta cheese tart with them. I made a second tart with some black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) for the Fourth of July holiday.

We have been finding plenty of wild blueberries (genus Vaccinium) in several locations. They don't all ripen at once, so we are able to return in a few days for a second picking. We picked enough to make a small batch of thick, pulpy jam, pancakes, and I made about 2 dozen small, stuffed sweet rolls filled with wild blueberries. We are not really concerned about identifying the exact species, as there are many and they will hybridize with each other. In one location, the variations of bush size, leaf size, leaf shape, berry size, and berry abundance is high between the bushes. We just look for the identifying crown on the berry, and I break a few open to view the seeds. Wild blueberries have many, tiny seeds, while huckleberries have 10 larger seeds arranged in a ring. Huckleberries will ripen in a few weeks, and are solid green right now.

The last two Sundays we attended the Coventry Regional Farmer's Market. On the 3rd, there was a foodswap that I participated in. I brought some rose petal syrup, milkweed bud capers, violet jelly, and other assorted jams that I successfully swapped for some sangria, a potholder and trivet, BBQ sauce, salsa, pickles, and s'mores kit. All food at a foodswap must be homemade and there is a frenzy of bargaining at swap time. After the swap, we attended an herbal weed walk in the market, identifying the medicinal and herbal uses of wild weeds. Our knowledge of the medicinal uses of many "weeds" is still small, and we are always learning. On July 10th the market was having a Fungus Festival, and the Connecticut Valley Mycological Society was in the central tent identifying mushrooms and giving walks on the property. Robert found some cinnabar-red chanterelles (Cantharellus cinnabarinus) and a tasty bolete (Boletus nobilis). He cooked them up in a pan with some butter and salt, and ate them by themselves. We hope to join the CVMS as members, and attend more of their walks and functions.

Gear Review: Gerber Machete Pro

2011-07-03T18:39:00.001-04:00

You might not think a family of 3 foragers needs a machete, but it turns out we do. Sometimes a giant puffball mushroom (Calvatia gigantea) is off trail in the brush, or we are picking gallons of wineberries (Rubus phoenicolasius) in a forest of thorns and it would be great to bushwack our way out without bleeding to death. I happened to be browsing through Outdoor Blogger Network where our blog is a member, and I saw the chance to review some gear, including knives and a machete. I signed up for the chance, won, and waited for our new machete to arrive, checking the mail eagerly for several weeks.

This machete is a Gerber Gator Machete Pro. Included with the machete is a nylon sheath which can be carried on a belt and also has a small pocket for the included mini sharpening stone. The machete is really solid and well balanced, weighing 18 oz. The handle has a comfortable grip and an included lanyard to wrap around your wrist to prevent slipping. The end of the blade is extended and curved, with a sharp edge on the inside of the curve. Overall, the machete is 16.5" long, 10.5" is the blade. It is made from high carbon steel, covered with a black protective coating.

Robert and I both used the machete in several jobs. We chopped brush and small shrubs to make paths more passable with the main edge. He chopped down a small black birch tree with ease, it took less than a minute to go through a 3" tree. Chopping overhead branches is also easy. The factory edge is adequate, but we are having it sharpened further by a professional. Robert sees other possible uses while camping such as chopping kindling.

The curved section of the machete is really good for several applications. With a swift upwards motion, I can debranch small trees, or even something tender but spiny like a common thistle (genus Cirsium). The curved blade also worked fantastically to remove the inner bark from a black birch (Betula lenta) so we could remove the cambium layer to make a refreshing wintergreen flavored drink. Later in the season, I can use the curved edge to cut through berry canes to access the center of a patch. It seems reasonable to say the curved inner edge is better for precision cutting, while the main edge is great for chopping like a standard axe or machete.

**The following review is our honest opinion, we received the Gerber Gator Machete Pro free of charge and agreed to provide a review in exchange. The 3 Foragers is not sponsored by or associated with Gerber and are accepting no other compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for this review. **

Mulberry Recipe - Black and White Mulberry Ricotta Tart

2011-06-29T12:50:00.000-04:00

Both the black mulberries (Morus nigra) and the white mulberries (Morus alba) have ripened. From a heavily laden tree, we can pick gallons of berries by spreading a tarp under the branches and shaking the tree. The black mulberries are already on their way past, so we missed our opportunity to make some jam this year. Using the Roma food strainer, we can remove the stems and seeds with little effort to make a sweet, smooth jam. Instead, Robert started a gallon of wine with the ugliest but ripest berries. I picked out enough nice ones to add to this tart, along with some white mulberries.

Black and White Mulberry Ricotta Tart one 10" tart

crust:
1 1/4 c. cookie crumbs
3 T sugar
5 T melted butter

filling:
15 oz container whole milk ricotta
7 T sugar
3 T flour
2 egg yolks
1 tsp lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
pinch of salt
2 egg whites
1 1/2 c. mulberries, washed

1. Make the crumb crust by mixing the crumbs with the sugar and melted butter. Press it into a 10" tart pan. Heat the oven to 325° F.
2. With a wooden spoon, mix the ricotta with the flour and sugar until well blended.
3. Add the egg yolks, lemon zest and pinch of salt and mix until combined.
4. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, then fold them into the ricotta mixture gently. Pour into prepared tart crust.
5. Top the tart with the mulberries, pressing them gently into the batter. I snipped the stems off, but it is not required.

6. Bake for 30-38 minutes. The filling will puff up, but still move a bit in the center. Cool and refrigerate.

White mulberries

Foraging Report 06/27/2011

2011-06-27T19:10:00.000-04:00

Elderberry flower crepes

milkweed "capers"

This past week we gathered more common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) flower buds to make more capers and we kept some in the fridge already boiled to add to our cooking all week. We added the buds to soups, stir fry, and in a cheesy breakfast omlette. Our Monarch butterfly emerged from it's chrysalis today, and I let it fly away. I am sorry we don't have any pictures, but we may see some more when it is time to gather the pods from the milkweed field.

We picked a few more cattail (Typha latifolia) flower spikes to make into more griddle cakes, and to eat boiled on-the-cob style. The season for the flower spikes is almost over, and it would normally be time to collect the pollen next. All the rain this early summer has knocked the pollen off the male flowers before we have been able to collect it. Usually Robert grabs the flower spike and inserts it into a gallon jug in which he has cut a hole. Then he would shake the stalk around, knocking the pollen off into the jug. Some does escape, but not too much. Then he would sift the pollen to remove bugs and debris, and dry it gently in the oven. We usually keep a container in the freezer to use all year, but all we got this year was the pine pollen.

We noticed the elderberries (Sambuca nigra) blooming this past week, but it was difficult to gather flowers between the rainy days. If we tried to pick some right after a storm, all of the fragrance and flavor was washed out, so we waited for a few dry days, and picked a bagful. Robert made a crepe batter with puréed flowers, and served them layered with wild grape jam. He also battered and deep fried some clusters, and Gillian gobbled them up with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

While taking a short hike in a favorite area, we found some mushrooms that we tentatively identified as tree ears, or wood ears (Auricularia auricula). We will try to get then viewed by David Fischer before collecting any. They are supposed to be tasty cooked in Chinese-style food, and can be dried and reconstituted. There were lots of them on a dying autumn olive tree right off the trail.

We also came across several varieties of wild blueberries and huckleberries (Vaccinium species)growing in rocky, poor soil. Some of the wild blueberries were obviously lowbush, some had much larger leaves, some were loaded with berries, others had few. We managed to find a small handful already ripe, and will return next week to compete with the birds for some berries. At this stage, I can differentiate between the blueberries and huckleberries by breaking open a green berry and counting the seeds. Huckleberries have exactly 10, and wild blueberries have many more smaller seeds. Both are tasty, but there is a more complex sour flavor in the huckleberries, along with a seedier texture since the seeds (or technically, nutlets) are larger than blueberry seeds.

We also had an opportunity to test out the machete I won from the Outdoor Blogger Network and Gerber. I'll write up a full review in a day or two. We used it to clear some pathways of low hanging branches, and cut down a 3" thick black birch (Betula lenta) tree. With the inner curved blade of the machete, Robert was able to strip the bark easily to retrieve the wintergreen flavored cambium layer. We took home a large segment of the tree, which scented the car and house nicely. Robert will try to carve some utensils from the wood. Black birch inner bark can be made into a tasty tisane, and has some medicinal properties discussed by Wildman Steve Brill in a video that Robert recorded recently.

Black birch bark

Foraging with "Wildman" Steve Brill - VIDEO

2011-06-23T20:40:00.001-04:00

Robert and Gillian took a tour with "Wildman" Steve Brill in Cornwall, CT off a spur of the Appalachian Trail. While the trail was steep, Robert was able to film this segment about the Wildman discussing black birch (Betula lenta) along the way.

Milkweed Flowers and Butterflies

2011-06-22T13:57:00.001-04:00

Monarch caterpillar

We were out picking some more milkweed flower buds in a large, open field filled with milkweed plants (Asclepias syariaca) when we noticed all the butterflies on the open flowers. Milkweed plants will flower in stages, and most plants will have tight flower bud clusters, loose clusters, and fully opened flower clusters on the same stalk. Butterflies are constantly on the move, so Robert had a hard time getting them to "pose" for a picture. We saw some Monarchs, and more caterpillars, and others I don't know the names of. Anyone who can help with these butterfly names and ID?

I think it was orange with the wings open

The little orange one in the right corner

A very large butterfly

Fast and pretty

Milkweed Recipe - Milkweed Flowerbud Capers

2011-06-20T08:43:00.004-04:00

We picked slightly looser flowerbud clusters from common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) plants to try to make a caper-like condiment. If you read the ingredients list on a jar of capers, it is mostly salt and vinegar. I looked up some recipes, and adapted them to make one 8 oz. jar of milkweed capers. They are a bit heavy on the vinegar, but tender and tasty. Robert tried a different recipe, using garlic cloves and a salt brine only, and let the flowerbuds lacto-ferment. Both produced a great little condiment with strong flavors that we can use all year. We store them in the fridge. The capers can be served with some smoked salmon, some rich paté, or cooked into a piccata sauce.

Vinegar Milkweed "Capers" makes 1-8 oz. jar

Brine:
2 T salt
1 c. water
1 c. milkweed flowerbuds

Vinegar pickling juice:
1/2 c. white wine vinegar
1/4 c. water
2 tsp sugar
2 bay laurel leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme

1. Wash the milkweed flowerbuds to remove insects. Boil them for 2 minutes. Pack them into an 8 oz. canning jar.
2. Make the salt brine by bringing the water and salt to a boil. Pour the hot brine over the flowerbuds. Cover the jar and let it sit at room temperature for 3 days.
3. Drain the salt brine from the jar. Make the vinegar pickling juice by boiling the vinegar with the sugar, bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Pour the hot vinegar over the flowerbuds and allow to cool.
4. Cover the jar and refridgerate for 3 days.

Lacto-fermented Milkweed "Capers" makes 1-8 oz. jar

1 c. milkweed flowerbuds
1 c. water
1 T salt

1. Wash the milkweed buds, boil them for 2 minutes, and pack them into an 8 oz. canning jar.
2. Mix the water and salt together, mixing until the salt is dissolved. Pour the brine over the flowerbuds and cover.
3. Allow the buds to ferment at room temperature for 6-7 days. The liquid will appear to bubble out, so keep the jar on a plate. Keep the buds submerged at all times, using a weighted lid inside the jar, otherwise mold will be produced.
4. Taste and refridgerate.

Foraging Report 06/19/2011

2011-06-19T18:16:00.003-04:00

While the growing season is still late, the edibles are finally coming in. We had gathered tightly closed milkweed clusters to cook with all week, adding them to a quiche, soup, making "capers" from the buds, and vegetable stir-fry. The flowers are opening now, and the smell is lovely. Blanche Derby has mentioned she eats the flowers raw from the plants, and we have heard of people frying the flowers in tempura batter. Our Monarch caterpillar has gorged himself on fresh milkweed leaves all week, and made his chrysalis. We hope to see the butterfly emerge in 10 days or so.

Along the seashore we gathered petals from the roses (Rosa Rugosa) to make into a highly fragranced sugar syrup to add to drinks. The color is a pretty dark pink, and the flavor is as strong as the fragrance. Robert also picked some of the green rosehips to try a pickle. We have some pretty pink rose petal wine bubbling away in a gallon jug, we hope to drink it next spring.

Cattails (Typha latifolia) are sending up their flower spikes, and they are easy to gather in abundance from a marshy area. Gillian loves to eat the flower spikes boiled and topped with butter. I pinch off the pulp from the male part of the flower and use it in recipes like griddle cakes and chowder. The flavor is similar to corn.

We were finally able to find some wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana) in quantity, and made 2 small jars of jam. The flavor and fragrance of wild strawberries is so much stronger than what you can buy at the grocery store, but it takes a very long time to pick a lot. Some of the tiny berries are the size of peas. Robert also gathered some elderberry flowers (Sambucus nigra) to make syrup and crepes. The bushes are heavy with flowers, and it is easy to spot the large, white clusters from across a field.

Wildman

We ended our week with a walk with "Wildman" Steve Brill out in Cornwall, CT. The walk was along a spur in the Appalchian Trail, and was very steep. He talked about partridge berries, burdock, garlic mustard, spice bush, low bush blueberries, black birch, and others. We were familiar with most of the plants he talked about, but learned sweet cicely (genus Osmorhiza) and common parsnip (Pastinica sativa). Robert brought home a large Reishi mushroom to dry for tea. Video coming soon!

Cattail Recipe - Cattail Flower Griddle Cake

2011-06-15T14:49:00.003-04:00

This is an easy recipe using the pulp from the cattail (Typha latifolia) flower spike. When we gather them, the flower spike is still sheathed in a single leaf. We cut the flower spike and bring it home to peel, but be aware that there are usually lots of tiny black beetles hiding inside the leaf, so peel them outside. I then pinch the darker green male portion of the flower along the stem, and the pulp flakes off easily. I cannot get much off the female flower, so I don't bother. I can still boil up the female flower and let Gillian chew on it. For this particular batch we had some glasswort (Salicornia) from the seashore on hand, and I added it for a salty crunch. We served these like appetizers, with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Removing the male yellow-green pulp from the spike

Cattail Flower Griddle Cakes makes about 12- 2" cakes

2 large eggs
1 T milk
2 T flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 c. cattail flower spike pulp
1 T minced sweet red pepper
1 T minced glasswort
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of pepper

garnish with sour cream and glasswort

1. Mix the milk, egg, flour and baking powder together with a whisk until no lumps remain.
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
3. Cook the batter by tablespoonfuls on a medium griddle, until browned on both sides.
4. Allow the cakes to cool, and serve with a dollop of sour cream and more glasswort.

Cattail Video with Blanche Derby

2011-06-14T18:47:00.003-04:00

Foraging Cattails

2011-06-14T18:43:00.004-04:00

Common cattail (Typha latifolia) and narrow leaf cattail (Typha augustifolia) are easy to identify and easy to eat wild edibles, and produce some of our favorite edibles--pollen, the early "hearts", and the flower spike pulp. Cattails grow in open marshy areas, along slow moving rivers, in some tidal marshes, and shallow ponds. They prefer full sun and mucky ground. The sword-like leaves grow from the base of the rhizome beneath the mud, to about 4-8' tall. A very early shoot is edible, gathered by cutting it from the rhizome. The heart of the leaves is edible in early spring before the flower stalks grow. The flower stalk is produced from the center of each leaf cluster, and it contains both the male and female flower parts. The immature flower stalk can be collected to cook and eat like corn-on-the-cob. As it's protective leaf unfurls, the upper male flower produces the pollen that will fertilize the lower female part which will develop into the brown, hot dog-on-a-stick seed head most people are familiar with. The dried hot dog makes great tinder for fires. Late in the autumn through winter and in very early spring, the rhizome can be gathered and processed as a source of starch.

The excessive rain this spring has prevented us from gathering the hearts. Either it is raining too much all day, or all the extra rain yesterday flooded the swamp and we can't reach the cattails because of the high water. All we own are knee-high rubber boots, perhaps a purchase of chest-high waders is in our future. The hearts are gathered by grabbing the outer leaves of each leaf cluster, and pulling them away from the center. Then we firmly grasp the center leaves and give it a pull, and it releases easily from the rhizome. The lower 4-6 inches of the leaves are white and very tender with a taste similar to cucumber. They are easily added to salads and pickled, but Gillian like them best raw. We'll have to wait until next year to get more.

Gillian holding unpeeled flower stalks

Already the flower stalks are up, and we have been able to cut some and bring them home. The protective leaf is peeled, and we boil up the male and female flower parts like corn. The female part is usually lighter green, and does not produce much food, but the darker male part produces an abundant pulp. We also remove this pulp raw and use it in recipes like chowder and griddle cakes. The taste is similar to corn.

If the flowers are allowed to mature, the male parts produce large amounts of pollen. We gather the pollen by using a gallon jug with a hole cut into the side. Robert bends the pollen-laden flower stalk into the hole, and shakes it around. The plastic jug holds most of the pollen inside, although some always escapes and Robert comes home covered in yellow dust. Then we sift the pollen once in a metal sieve to remove debris, then again through a tea strainer to remove bugs and flower bits. The pollen is then spread out on a sheetpan and left to dry, and we store it in the freezer in a glass jar. We add the pollen as a nutritional and flavor boost to pancakes, biscuits, and in yogurt and oatmeal all year.

Cattail Pollen pancakes with wild strawberry compote

We have not tried gathering the rhizomes to make a starch, but may try it later this fall. We read about digging the rhizomes from the mud and peeling them to expose the center core. Then the cores are pulled apart and washed with water to separate the starch from the tough fibers. The water is allowed to sit, as the starch will settle to the bottom and can be dried for use like flour. Samuel Thayer gives a great description in his book "The Forager's Harvest" of how to process flour from cattail rhizomes. We also recorded Blanche Derby talking about cattails in a video.

Foraging Report 06/12/2011

2011-06-12T18:53:00.001-04:00

Northern bay laurel

In typical New England fashion, the weather has been crazy hot one day, chilly and rainy the next. The growing season is already about 2 weeks behind due to the extended winter. This week we went to the seashore in search of blooming roses (Rosa rugosa) for the fragrant petals to use in a syrup and wine. Both the white and pink roses were blooming, and Robert gathered about 2 packed gallons. We also grabbed a few branches from the northern bay laurel (Myrica pensylvanica) to replenish our supplies. We add the leaves to soups and beans just like commercial bay leaves. They bay laurel is so plentiful in our area, it is easy to keep a fresh bunch of leaves around.

Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) flowerbuds are plentiful right now. We gather one bud cluster from each plant in densely populated open fields. The flowerbuds are still tight, and resemble broccoli. The buds are good in recipes like a crustless quiche, or puréed soup. The flavor is similar to green beans. We are also attempting to make some brined and pickled "capers" from the unopened buds. We accidentally took home a teeny tiny Monarch caterpillar, and I noticed it when I was washing the buds for a recipe. I put it in a bug box,and have been feeding it fresh milkweed leaves and flower buds every day, and he it tripled in size in 3 days. Gillian loves to peek in on the caterpillar every morning and evening to see how much it has grown. We hope to keep it alive through butterfly stage and release it.

We are having a bit of trouble finding a suitable cattail (genus Typha) foraging area. We hope to gather some of the hearts for snacking and maybe pickling, we hope to gather some pollen, and we hope to gather the immature flower stalks to cook like corn on the cob. The narrow-leaf cattail (Typha augustafolia) is abundant in Preston, but the yield for pollen and flower stalks is so much lower compared to the common cattail (Typha latifolia). Most roadside ditches are unsuitable due to pollution, and many swamps are off limits because they are private property, or too deep to access on foot. Our gathering methods do not kill the plants, as the cattails spread through their rhizomes under the water or wet ground. We will keep our eyed opened!

Ramps pesto twists

We were happy to attend a potluck and tour at our organic and biodynamic CSA farm this past weekend. Woodbridge Farm is located in Salem, CT. We have picked up our first 2 weeks of food shares, and the greens are fantastic. The potluck was open to all CSA participants, but many might have been scared of the overcast and cool weather. Our small group gathered in the barn for potluck lunch, we brought some ramps pesto bread twists. The group then took a tour of the farm, and there were so many wild edibles! Organic farms are an ideal place to gather wild food since there is no spraying for weeds (herbicides) or for bugs (pesticides). The farmers know many of the "weeds" already, and we were able to talk about a few more and their edible properties. The kids enjoyed some red clovers (Trifolium pratense), honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), and monkey tails--the tendrils of wild grapes (genus Vitis).

Milkweed Recipe - Cream of Milkweed Flowerbud Soup

2011-06-11T22:44:00.000-04:00

Our common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is making flower buds in abundance this week. Milkweed usually grows in open fields, and along recently disturbed areas. The young buds look like broccoli, but the taste is more like buttery green beans. As the buds age, the flower stems elongate, and the flower bud cluster become floppy before the flower opens. For this recipe, we pick the younger, tighter buds. Each milkweed stalk will usually have 2-5 clusters at the top, and maybe 3-6 more clusters along the stalks where the stalk meets the leaf stems. To forage responsibly, we pick just one cluster per plant in an area with a large population. The clusters will ooze white "milk" when picked, and sometimes there will be beetles, ants, or Monarch butterfly caterpillars in the tight clusters. Give the clusters a quick shake and wash to clean them before cooking. I like to use a roux and an added potato to thicken my cream soups, instead of heavy cream. The result is still velvety smooth, and rich tasting.

Cream of Milkweed Flowerbud Soup makes 4-6 servings

1 T oil
2 T butter
1/2 small onion, diced
3 T flour
2 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable broth
1 medium russet potato, diced
3 c. milkweed flowerbuds
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar
1 c. boiled milkweed flowerbuds for garnish

1. Heat the oil and butter together and sautée the onion until translucent.
2. Add the flour and whisk to cook the roux for 30 seconds over medium-high heat.
3. Slowly pour in the vegetable broth, milk, and diced potato, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Bring the thickened soup to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and cook 8 minutes, stirring often.
4. Add 3 c. washed milkweed flowerbuds and cook 8 minutes longer, stirring often.
5. Purée the soup in a blender, or with a hand blender until smooth. Stir in the shredded cheddar, stir until the cheddar is melted. Serve garnished with the boiled milkweed flowerbuds.

Milkweed flowerbuds

Foraging Milkweed Video

2011-06-08T09:16:00.003-04:00

Milkweed

2011-06-08T09:08:00.002-04:00

Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is a food source that gives several edible parts during different times of the year. Last year, we made an effort to try almost all of them. Milkweed grows in open fields and meadows, roadsides, along forest edges and near river bottoms. It is found in eastern North America, except for the deep south. It will grow in dense colonies, sometimes filling a field with green stalks. Milkweed is commonly known as a food source for the Monarch Butterfly caterpillar.

Common milkweed is a tall perennial herb that rarely branches, an important identifying characteristic to differentiate milkweed from dogbane, a poisonous look alike. The leaves grow in opposite pairs along the stalk with short stems. They are elongated ovals, veined and thick. The stalk and undersides of the leaves are covered with fine hairs that can be viewed under magnification, another important characteristic. The flower bud clusters appear in spring, looking a bit like bunches of broccoli. Once the flowers open, they can range from white to pink or purple, many times a combination of colors. From each flower cluster, only 1-4 pods will eventually appear in mid-summer. The pod are teardrop shaped, green, and usually bumpy or covered in soft green spikes. The pods will grow to 5 inches long when mature and contain seeds and silk that helps the seeds "fly" to their next destination. All parts of the plant will exude a white, milky latex sap if broken.

We had read about a bitterness associated with the plant and the sap, and possible poisonous characteristics of the sap. We also read some strongly worded arguments about the non-bitterness of milkweed. Most people who have actually gone out and really tried milkweed seem to agree that it is not bitter, and does not need to be boiled in 3 changes of water to make it safe to eat. We decided to go a safe middle route, and boiled our milkweed once for about 8 minutes. All parts we tried after a initial boiling-the shoots, flower buds, and pods-were very tasty and not bitter at all. I will admit that once we used the boiled parts in a recipe and the milkweed was cooked again, it tasted even better. Milkweed is a wonderful addition to recipes as a vegetable, it's flavor resembles green beans.

In the spring, we went to open areas that we knew had milkweed growing in them last year. Sometimes you can find the dead, dry stalks from last year. The shoots are best picked when they are 6-12 inches tall. At that stage their leaves are still partially closed along the stems. They are tender and can be gathered without a knife by pinching the stalks off. We boiled them and ate most of them plain with a pat of butter and a shake of salt. These are great spring vegetables.

Next come the flower bud clusters. We picked them when the clusters were still fairly tight, the stems of the flowers will elongate and the cluster will become much looser and floppier right before the flowers open. At this stage, the flower bud clusters look like broccoli. We boiled them about 2 minutes and tasted them with butter and a bit of salt. Again, they tasted a bit like green beans, only with a more velvety texture. After an initial quick boil, we keep some in the fridge to add to stir-fry vegetables. Then we cooked them in a quiche and in soups, and they tasted even better. We also made a caper-like condiment with the brined and pickled buds. We did not taste the open flowers yet, although they are edible.

The pods came very early last year with all of the rain in the spring and high heat last summer. Pods on different plants are all in different stages of readiness, so we went out for multiple harvests. The pods we gathered to eat are actually immature, the insides were completely white and the outside green shell was still tender. We picked pods between 1-3 inches long. Robert boiled them for 5 minutes, and some were popping open. We tried them plain, but the flavor was greatly improved when we then chopped and stir-fried them with soy sauce. I also took the boiled pods, split them along their seam, removed the white pre-silk, and stuffed them with a cream cheese, jalapeno and red onion mixture and baked them topped with breadcrumbs. I stuffed some other pods with buttered basmati rice mixed with the cooked pre-silk, and baked those in a yellow pepper sauce. The pods make another fantastic wild vegetable.

For a video about foraging milkweed with Blanche Derby that Robert filmed this past weekend, click here.

Black Locust Recipe - Black Locust Flower Syrup

2011-06-07T08:56:00.000-04:00

Black locust infused sugar

Making syrups to mix into drinks and dilute with seltzer is a common Hungarian tradition. Ripe fruits or fragrant flowers become the flavor components for the sugar syrup, ascorbic acid is added as a preservative and tart flavor booster. We get powdered ascorbic acid (vitamin C) at GNC in an 8 oz bottle and it lasts for a long time. Here we used black locust flowers (Robinia pseudoacacia) as the flavoring agent, and mixed it with seltzer for a refreshing drink. Robert rims the glass with sugar infused with more black locust flowers for an even more fragrant flavor. The syrup is added to seltzer or water at a 1:7 ratio to make the final drink.

Black Locust Flower Syrup makes about 4+ cups of syrup

2 1/4 c. water

3 c. sugar

2 c. packed black locust flowers

3 T ascorbic acid powder

1. Heat the water to boiling and add the sugar. Remove from the heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves.

2. Allow the sugar syrup to cool to 80°F, then add the black locust flowers. Let the flowers steep in the syrup for 24 hours.

3. Filter out the flowers and give them a squeeze to extract all the flavor.

4. Remove 1 cup of the syrup, and warm it up. Add the ascorbic acid, stirring to dissolve it. Pour the syrup back into the rest, mixing well. Store in airtight containers.

Black Locust flower cluster

Black Locust Recipe - Black Locust Flower Doughnuts

2011-06-06T11:07:00.000-04:00

This is a pretty basic deep fried doughnut recipe that we can use for any flower. I do not add any spices, since the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is delicately scented, and we really want to taste it. These were even good the next morning!

Black Locust Flower Doughnuts makes about 24

1 1/3 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 c. milk
1 egg
2 c. black locust flowers

1. Heat your oil to 375°.
2. Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt.
3. Beat the egg and add it to the milk. Gently whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
4. Fold in the black locust flowers.
5. Fry about 1 T of batter for each doughnut, about 30 seconds on each side.
6. Dust with powdered sugar for serving.

Black locust flowers

Foraging Report 06/05/2011

2011-06-05T18:47:00.001-04:00

Black locust doughnuts

Black locust flowers and leaves

It was last week that we found ourselves gathering black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) every day. The blossoms were delayed by rain and cooler temperatures, but they suddenly exploded all at once as soon as the sun came out. The very fragrant, white flowers grow in clusters, sometimes so abundantly the whole tree appears white. The smell is unmistakable, and so wonderful. Eaten raw, the flowers are surprisingly crunchy and taste like super sweet peas. We enjoyed them raw, and experimented with many recipes this season, including a jelly, doughnut, custard, and syrup. The short period of availability was over in shorter than expected time, since they all bloomed at once, instead of over a full week.

The late, chill spring also stunted the milkweed (Asclepia syricas) shoots. When the sun finally appeared, the leaves unfurled and we missed our opportunity to gather the shoots. The stalks are growing fast, and you can already find small clusters of flowers. The flower clusters look like small heads of broccoli, and after a quick 5 minute boil, can be eaten in a salad or mixed into a quiche. We are looking forward to the larger flower buds to attempt making a "caper" from the closed flowers. We also love to eat the small, immature seed pods.

We did get in a bit of letterboxing, and attended an event in Salem, the 4th Annual Gotta Box event by Sally-O. The weather was not cooperating most of the day, so Gillian and I stuck around the pavilion to do exchanges and pass out cooties while Robert hiked. I brought some potluck biscuits--pine pollen biscuits with cream cheese and grape jam, and ramps green biscuits with garlic mustard-mustard and kielbasa. Yum!

Blanche Derby discussing dandelion

Acorn cupcake with wild grape-
cream cheese frosting

We were fortunate enough to attend another Wild Weeds Walk and Taste with Blanche Derby in Cummington, MA. It took place at a farm, and she discussed burdock (Arctium lappa), cattails (Typha latifolia), dandelions (Taraxacum officinale), orpine (Sedum purpureum), and shadbush (genus Amelanchier) among others. Gillian enjoyed interacting with the group of children on the tour, and she also loved the chickens and ducks on the farm. We contributed some acorn cupcakes with wild grape-cream cheese frosting to the tasting after the walk. Video clips coming soon!

We are keeping our eyes on the cattails to gather some shoots, and are in need of a new area to go gathering. One area Robert visited last year was home to some invisible biting insect that left him covered with red welts, and another potential site we gathered from has a new "No Trespassing State of Connecticut" sign posted. One site we visit has narrow leaf cattails (Typha augustafolia), which produce a lower yield on pollen and flower stalks so it is not ideal.

Beach pea flowers

While spending a lazy afternoon at the seashore, we noticed the roses (Rosa rugosa) blooming, and will be back for the aromatic petals for syrups and wine. Robert also saw lots of beach pea flowers (Lathyrus japonica) for a potential harvest. We don't often catch the peas at a good stage, they can toughen up really fast. The peas can be eaten raw or cooked, and we'll keep an eye on these ones. The bayberries (Myrica pensylvanica) have bloomed and are producing their waxy berries. We gather the leaves to use like commercial bay leaves, they add great flavor to soups.

Black Locust Recipe - Black Locust Jelly

2011-06-05T16:08:00.000-04:00

This jelly is made using the same method we have been using all spring to make flower and blossom jellies. We gather the Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) flower clusters right before or very shortly after they open for the sweetest and most fragrant results. The white flowers are removed from the green stems, and tightly packed into a measuring cup. Boiled water is poured over the flowers, and we allow them to steep overnight. I strain the flowers out through a jelly bag, and allow the liquid to settle. The pollen will sink to the bottom of the cup, and I discard that liquid to keep the jelly clear. This jelly would make a great dessert glaze, since it is so clear and shiny.

Black Locust Flower Jelly makes about 5-8oz jars

4 c. packed black locust flowers
3 c. boiling water

1. Pour the boiled water over the flowers, cover, and allow them to steep overnight.
2. Strain the flowers through a jelly bag, you will get about 3 c. of liquid.

2 1/2 c. black locust flower infusion
4 T lemon juice
1 box Sure-Jel pectin
4 c. sugar

3. Combine the infusion, lemon juice and pectin in a large pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often.
4. Add all of the sugar at once, and stir. Bring back to a rolling boil for 1 minute.
5. Remove the jelly from the heat and ladle into sterilised jars. Simmer in a water bath for 10 minutes.

Black locust flowers on the tree

Black Locust Recipe - Black Locust Custard

2011-06-02T21:49:00.000-04:00

This recipe is based on a Hungarian recipe using acacia flowers. Look at the Latin name for Black Locust--Robinia pseudoacacia. It means false acacia. The flowers appear very similar between the two trees--arranged in clusters, fragrant, and edible. Our Black Locusts only bloom for a few days in late spring, so we gather as much as we can. The flowers are so abundant that the trees appear white. The trees also like to invade an area, and you will find many fast-growing locusts grouped together. We finished the custard with a glaze of Black Locust jelly for shine and extra fragrance.

Black Locust Custard makes one 8-inch pan

2 large eggs
3 T corn meal
1 T polenta, or corn meal
1 c. milk
1/2 c. heavy cream
3 T agave syrup, or honey
zest of one lemon
3 c. black locust flowers, green stems removed

1. Whisk the eggs with the cornmeal and polenta.
2. Add the agave, or honey, milk, heavy cream, and lemon zest. Fold in the locust flowers.
3. Heat the oven to 300°F.
4. Butter and flour an 8 inch cake pan and pour the batter into the pan. Bake the custard for 45 minutes, until set and slightly browned on top.

5. When cool, top the custard with a jelly glaze and serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Black locust flowers and leaves