Fresh horseradish. Just the thought of it makes my eyes water with glee. Horseradish is an ancient condiment, and It’s kept a good popularity compared to other root crops like skirret and parsley root, the former of which I’m still dying to grow. It’s popularity has to be due at least partly to the fact…
Garden
Raw Turnips with Acorn Oil
Raw turnips with acorn oil might sound like something you’d be served during winter in a Polish Gulag, but I can assure you, it’s a far cry from a punishment. The idea for this came from a couple different places, but the most inspirational was a book many of you will know (and love): The…
Homegrown Horseradish Cream
Nasal-clearing, bracingly hot, creamy and delicious. Fresh grated horseradish cream sauce lives in the Valhalla of ultimate condiments, and is one thing that everyone should have in their culinary toolkit. It’s a snap to make, keeps for a very long time even though it’s dairy based, has tons of fun variations–two of which I’ll share…
Sunflower Artichokes, with Galinsoga and Smude’s Sunflower Oil
This is a simple recipe using a bunch of plants that taste like sunflowers, using my sunflower artichokes I mentioned in this post. Immature sunflowers can be cooked similarly to artichokes. Sunflowers cooked like artichokes, with related plants and virgin sunflower oil
Lamb Shanks Braised with Cardoons and Tomato
I’ve done a lot of research as the executive chef of Lucia’s. The restaurant, once known as the Chez Panisse of the Midwest lost it’s way somewhere along the line, the chef got bored, let the restaurant slide into disarray, then left. What was once a bastion of locally sourced food slowly evolved into what…
Hosta Buds
Wait a minute, that looks like an artichoke! I stooped down and snapped a hosta bud off of one of the plants in the garden of my apartment building, put it in my pocket, and went to work. When I got to the kitchen, I took the little bud out of my pocket, it was…
Root Vegetable Sauerkraut, with Wild Caraway
Fresh sauerkraut is a world of difference from the mostly overcooked, mushy versions sold in jars at the store. Besides having a mild flavor (if you choose) the cabbage is still crisp, which gives you more freedom for cooking with it in the kitchen and having it keep it’s integrity. Cabbage is only one thing…
How to Make Nasturtium Capers (Lacto-Fermented)
Lots of people know you can eat nasturtium flowers, but nasturtium capers, also called poor mans capers are my favorite part of the plant. I’ve fermented unopened flowers from a lot of plants, and these are the best substitute for capers I know of. The only tricky thing in making these is that it’s not…
