While January through March is prime time for clamming, there is an even easier forage right at your finger tips – invasive species! You don’t need a license or fancy equipment to gather these pesky but delicious critters either. Flip up a few rocks in the tidal zone and you can have a tasty meal in no time.
The first snowflakes have fallen, the turkey leftovers are gone and the holiday season is in full swing! Before we busy ourselves with shopping, travel plans and year-end festivities, I wanted to share some of the latest foraging news, happenings and gift ideas to help ease the stress!
Cold and flu season is upon us, but fret not my foraging friends! The forests and fields offer an incredible array of plants and fungi to help ward off those pesky coughs, sniffling noses and winter blahs. Late fall in my house means its time to get tincturing. Tinctures have been used for centuries by herbalists and healers alike and can be made from plants or fungi.
In fields, crab apples are begging to be picked and jammed, baked or made into vinegar, Kousa Dogwood fruits are ripening and black walnuts are causing mild concussions to unaware passersby. Many spring plants are rejuvenated by fall’s cooler temperatures and begin sprouting again – garlic mustard, wintercress, bittercress, dandelions, field onions and nettles urge our bodies to eat more greens before the winter freeze.
Looking for another way to save all of those delicious fresh mushrooms? Here is a super simple recipe that will make you thankful you thought ahead this winter! In the past I have used hens, chickens, oysters and beefsteak mushrooms, but pretty much any kind of fungi will work in a duxelles.
Fall is here! School is back in session. The sun is setting an hour earlier. And night time temperatures have dropped by double digits, signifying the beginning of a new foraging season. September is a true bounty of fantastic wild foods.
You’ve just hit the mushroom mother-load. But now an intimidating thought creeps into your head – how do I preserve my wild harvest? Worry no more! After years of trial and error, research, testing and constant experimentation, I’ve come up with some tips and tricks to help you fully enjoy your foraged fungi.
August is somehow already upon us and the past two weeks have been filled with sun and foraging fun! Many wild fruits are ripening along field edges and hedgerows including pin cherries, blackberries, currants, the last of the season’s blueberries and hackberries and elderberries. Sumac is prime for picking – perfect for sodas, syrups and seasoning. Wild grape clusters will soon turn sun-kissed and sweet.
The first time I attempted to make mushroom jerky was purely as an experiment. I had a surplus of maitake/hen of the woods and had read that their meaty stems were perfect for jerky. I eat meat jerky maybe once a year, usually while on a road trip. I certainly didn’t have high expectations for the fungi version. But oh, how I was wrong!
Summer has kicked off with a bang! Last month’s record-breaking heat coaxed out the first fungi of the season including Chicken of the Woods, Berkeley’s Polypore (pictured right), and Black Staining Polypore. This week’s steady rain forecast opens up the potential for a solid Black Trumpet and Chanterelle harvest.