I grew up thinking crabapples were poisonous. (I also grew up thinking life was fair and goodness would be rewarded, so go figure.) After all, I never saw anybody eat them, and why would people let all that pretty fruit go to waste if it was worth eating? Crabapples are extremely popular garden plants, but almost everyone grows them for…
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I’m not complaining. We all have our ups and downs, hard times, rough spots, and the past few months have been like that for me. No indication that things are going to change any time soon, so I decided to give myself a shot in the arm and get back to what makes me feel most grounded, satisfied, and relaxed….
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Four or five years ago, when I was working on Backyard Foraging, I visited the Indianapolis Museum of Art with a group of garden writers. The grounds are gorgeous (worth a visit whether or not you go into the museum), and I was struck by how many plants in their landscape were both edible and ornamental. So I was thrilled…
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Elderberries don’t grow wild where I live in New Mexico. But just a few hundred miles north, in Denver, I find plenty of elderberries, and I think it’s worth the drive. There are two general categories of elders: those with blue/black fruit and those with red fruit. Red fruited elderberries are considered poisonous by many, although that may not actually…
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gelatin leached on the left, jar leached on the right I’ve been acorn-obsessed for the last few weeks, getting ready to teach a Cooking with Acorns class at the Midwest Wild Harvest Festival. We’ll be working with both hot and cold leached acorns, and I’ve been preparing batches of acorns, processed every which way, to bring with me. Note: This…
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