Several foraging friends have been experimenting with dehydrating fruit, grinding it into flour, then baking with said flour. I admit, I was skeptical, but since I have great faith in these friends (Alan Bergo, Erica Marciniec Davis, I’m talking to you!), I decided to give it a go. Both Alan and Erica posted about using dried wild cherries, but my…
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I’m always looking at old recipe books for interesting foods I can put a foraged spin on, and when I discovered pastila, I realized I’d hit the jackpot. Traditionally made with tart apples, I knew right away it would work with crabapples, and I already had several jars of crabapple sauce in my pantry, which gave me a head start….
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I enjoy surprising friends with foraged foods, and nothing I’ve made has surprised people more than these sweet, light, mallow meringue cookies, made from the seeds of a common weed. I won’t lie, it’s a labor-intensive recipe. But it’s totally worth doing, not only for the flavor and wow factor, but also because the transformation from seed to dessert feels…
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Lest you think there’s nothing to forage for in the depths of winter, think again. Juniper berries are all around you…whether you live in the high deserts of New Mexico or the mean streets of New York City. And ripe juniper berries are useful for much more than flavoring gin. Try making smreka, a fermented beverage from the Balkans, that…
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I first tasted steamed buns in Japan, although they were flavored with mugwort (also delicious!) rather than sumac. It’s a simple, versatile recipe, and once you’ve tried it with sumac, I’m sure you’ll want to play around with lots of other foraged spices. The size of your muffin tin will determine the size of the pan that holds the tin…
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A podcast about plants with Ellen Zachos and C.L. Fornari