Years ago, before I was officially a forager, I visited Crete in early Spring with my parents. As we approached the entrance to the Samaria Gorge we saw that the fields were full of people picking something. My father pulled over and made me get out to ask what they were harvesting. Being a dutiful (albeit slightly resentful) daughter, I…
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Mushroom hunting is generally pretty low tech, but there are a few items that make your mushroom hunt easier and more productive. Obviously, you wouldn’t wander out into the woods without good walking shoes, a water bottle, sunscreen, and foul-weather clothes, but here are a few essential mushroom hunting tools you might not have considered.
No matter how many times I cut open a prickly pear fruit (aka tuna) I’m surprised by its color. On the outside they’re a pretty pink, but cut the fruit open and bam! It’s a vibrant magenta you wouldn’t expect to find in nature. Prickly pear syrup is a great way to preserve both the flavor and color of this fruit,…
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Making wild ginger syrup is a great way to preserve our native wild ginger. In liquid form, wild ginger can flavor cocktails, soft drinks, sorbets, crepes, or marinades with its complex and versatile taste. For years I’ve used wild ginger freshly chopped or dried and powdered. That’s great for baking, but liquids are better for certain applications. By making wild…
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Ginkgos are gorgeous trees, most appreciated for their unusual leaf shape and brilliant yellow fall foliage. But how many of you have enjoyed the flavor of ginkgo nuts? These trees are dioecious, meaning that trees are either male or female. Without DNA analysis it’s impossible to determine the sex of a tree before it reaches bearing age, which can be…
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