At the end of Winter, there is nothing I crave more than fresh greens. Sure, there’s kale at the store, and spinach, cabbage, and everything else. But they’re not the same as the wild plants. 2018 I was on my wild green-picking grizzly, as we say, and I stocked the freezer with at least 30-40…
Leafy Greens | Recipes
Hotch Potch
The “green holiday” is coming tommorrow, and, while I won’t be eating corned beef and cabbage, or drinking beer with green food coloring in it, I do have a fun Scottish recipe for you, and, a video replete with Scottish themed music at the end to go with it. It’s not Irish, but it’s close…
Tepary Bean Soup with Galinsoga and Dried, Smoked Goose
I’m getting ready to make a winter trip down to Arizona to see my grandparents. One of the thngs that means, besides hiking up mountains with my Dad, is that I need to use up some of the ingredients I brought back with me last time so I can re-up on more. When I think…
Saag Paneer with Amaranth Greens and Wild Caraway
Wild greens simmered with coconut milk, garlic, tumeric, ginger, spices and hot chilis topped with fried cheese? Please, and thank you. I was trained to make classic French and European food, but the more I work with ingredients I harvest, the less my teaching helps me. Basically, from my experience, Anglo-Saxon or European cultures don’t…
Forager’s Winter Tasting Menu
Ever wanted to put together a menu for an event, or just dream one up? Special event menus are a creative process I crave. The final event I did for 2018 was the yearly gathering for the Twin Cities Chapter of the Society of Amateur Chefs, who requested a 7 course tasting menu following an hour…
Fresh Spaghetti with Colatura and Waterleaf
Quick recipe here to compliment the post I have on making garum on my fishing trip in Ontario that was getting a little wordy. If you know someone that makes garum (I have a friend who make barrels of the stuff in Duluth out of local crayfish) or you’ve shelled out some coin to buy…
Nasturtium Capers (Lacto-Fermented)
Milkweed capers, dandelion capers, elderberry capers, I’ve made them all, but the best, from a flavor and texture perspective are nasturtium capers. They’re widely known in the chef and gastro-centric gardening communities, got a really good shout out in Jeremy Fox’s book On Vegetables in 2017. The book is chock-ful of cutting edge plates, and…
Woodchuck Salad with Hickory Nut Oil and Squash
When I was in Costa Rica I ordered a tuna salad at a little restaurant and throwing the cautionary tales of eating only cooked food to the wind (which I later paid for after drinking a couple drinks with ice) in order to have as big a variety of local food as possible. The salad…
Hen of the Woods-Spinach Salad, with Bacon Vinaigrette
Have you ever retraced steps of your life via food or had memories revolve around things you eat? I sure have, and since every human everywhere, eats every day, I know I”m not alone. This salad has followed me for a while, subconsciously. Yes it’s a spinach salad, yes the ingredients (minus the hen of…
Milwaukee Rice Bowl with Coral Mushrooms and Lotus Root
I didn’t get to attend classes at the Midwest Wild Harvest Festival this year, but I did have a great time with some good takeaways. If you’re not familiar, it’s a bit like Hogwarts School of Magic for adults, and is run by Forager’s Harvest. You can take classes with wild food experts from around…
Matsutake with Hakurei Turnips
As much as I can, I try to plant the seed of enjoying the entire plant when you cook with a part of it. A lot of times, this means cooking with stems, roots, and leaves in a dish, but depending on the season and what you’re cooking it could also be various bulbs, shoots,…
Pan Roasted Blewits, Squash and Brussels Sprouts with Sage
Going to the farmers market always gives me inspiration. It’s fun to not have a set idea of what I want to cook and just let my instinct (or cravings) guide me. One week this past fall, with a big bag of blewits burning a hole in my fridge I was on the look out for…
Warm Pickled Chanterelles with Brie, Sourdough and Wild Greens
I’ve mentioned a number of times about the benefits of my low acid conserve recipe. It’s easy to think of pickled chanterelles and other mushrooms purely as something to eat cold of out a jar, but that’s not why I pickle them. I preserve mushrooms in acidic liquid since it’s the best way to keep…