They don’t call it mushroom hunting for nothing. Fungi hold a special appeal for foragers: they’re unpredictable, exciting, and delicious…not to mention potentially dangerous. But oh the rewards are great! If you want to safely hunt for (and eat) wild mushrooms, here’s how to get started. You’re going to need a few special tools, none of which are expensive, and…
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You have probably never heard of wild garlic potato pancakes. I like to think that’s because I made them up, but let’s face it, some other Greek chowhound probably experimented along these same lines before I did. But did they use WILD garlic? Skordalia is a traditional Greek dish made from either stale bread or potatoes, with garlic and lemon juice. It’s…
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Bee balm is the common name for two species of Monarda. M. didyma (aka Oswego tea) is a popular garden plant, with flowers available in red, pink, magenta, white, and purple. M. fistulosa is wild bee balm. Its flowers are lavender-pink and it’s sometimes called wild bergamot. Both plants are members of the mint family and have a strong herbal…
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Making a Merry Woodsman cocktail takes a little planning, but the flavor combination is enchanting and it’s totally worth a few days’ steeping and a little blending and boiling. The bright, lemony flavor of the spruce tips comes from two infusions: a spruce tip simple syrup and a spruce tip infused vodka. Elderflower liqueur adds a floral note, and ginger spices…
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The deep, rich green of nettle soup seems almost too vibrant to be natural; it’s worth serving for the color alone. Nettles are a traditional wild vegetable around the world. They’re high in protein and contain omega-3 fatty acids, as well as multiple minerals and vitamins. The flavor of nettles is dark and wild; you feel like you’re eating something rich…
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