Foraged Foods 
Fraiche and Foresty
When I was in college in NC, I managed to talk an old farmer into renting me his family home on forty acres for $50 a month. He had since moved up in the world and retired to a mobile home. The farmhouse was rustic beyond my parent’s belief with no indoor plumbing, no insulation, [...]
Where the Wild Foods Are
Langdon Cook, local author and blogger, in his new book Fat of the Land, Adventures of a 21st Century Forager, makes you see this land of plenty we call home in a whole new light. His book is delightfully funny and well-written to the point that once you start reading, it’s hard to stop. [...]
Season’s Eatings: A Wild Piece of Cake
Who can resist a cake, of any kind? But, Farro? That’s a stretch. I got to thinking about cakes and, surprisingly, I didn’t start with the chocolate one, but with crab cakes, then sweet potato cakes, salmon cakes, and eventually I did get to my favorite dessert.
On the way through this cakes’ daydream [...]
January’s Healing Nettle Tea
It is said that the “sting of the nettle is but nothing compared to the pains that it heals”.
Immersed in mid-winter’s landscape, hibernation happening everywhere, I rambled happily through the woods this morning: stumps and boulders blanketed with piles of verdant moss, lichened branches overhead, paths underfoot cushioned with fecund layers of frosted grass and [...]
Bread & Butter, Apple Butter
You might think the glossy dark brown caramelized ‘butter’ looks appetizing, or not. I happen to know it’s delicious so to me it’s appealing, and besides I have to love apples right now. I have quite a few.
We’ll take as many as we can to the local food bank over the next few weeks [...]
Forage for Flowers
When I think of foraging, I think of going out in the woods to gather something exotic like mushrooms. Gathering flowers is more like meandering through the garden, unless it starts hailing, snowing and raining. In that case, a rather fluffy pastime can turn into an extreme sport of running in and out of shelter [...]
Urban Foraging
Last night everyone in the MixedGreens family was talking about a segment on KUOW on Langdon Cook, aka Finspot, foraging for dandelions and other plants right here in Seattle. He has a great blog, Fat of the Land, with all kinds of info and recipes specific to our area, including the link to yesterday’s [...]
Feeling Wild? Forage for Nettles
Foraging for wild food can turn an ordinary hike into an adventure. While visiting family on Orcas Island, I had the perfect opportunity to forage for nettles. They are free, local, delicious and the new shoots are coming up everywhere. I put on heavy work gloves and brought along a grocery bag. In no time, [...]
