Monday, November 9, 2009

Wild Food Calendar Dinner at the Corson Building


Just a little reminder that I am teaming up with Chef Matt Dillon for a very special wild food dinner at the Corson Building next Monday, November the 16th. We will be making a couple recipes out of the calendar and every other dish will feature wild ingredients too. Everything depends on availability, but for sure we will be using elk, black truffles, rosehips, chanterelles, huckleberries, and watercress. Possibly will also have hedgehogs, matsutake, black trumpets, razor clams, and wild salmon. Lisa Gordanier, my recipe editor, will be helping in the kitchen too! It is a sort of kitchen reunion - she worked with Matt and I back at The Herbfarm.

There will be two seatings - 5:30 and 8 pm. Reservation only.
Cost $60 and includes one copy of The Illustrated Wild Foods Recipe Calendar. Additional copies will be available for the special price of $10.
See the Corson Building event calendar here and call 206-762-3330 for reservations.

Friday, November 6, 2009

This Week at Foraged and Found Edibles 11/06

The week that started with clear skies has given us some nice dry chanterelles for the market. Of course you will be buying them in the pouring rain if you slosh it to the markets this weekend. Rain or shine, we go year 'round. And we feel fortunate that ardent customers and the farmer's market organizations are there to support us and all the other farmers that can provide 365 days a year. The cold season markets really depend on people that are intensely passionate about healthy, unique and local food and are willing to tough it through the Seattle "elements".

If we forage high (northern Washington) and low (southern Oregon) there is almost always something delicious hiding in the woods, even in the cold of winter. Those winter mushrooms, such as hedgehogs and black trumpets, are barely starting though, and either they are hiding better than usual or they may not want to perform as big of a show this year. In abundance we call it a flush, in scarcity, a blow out. Just as most things go in nature, we will just have to wait and see......This is one of the most beautiful and difficult things about foraging, and probably farming for that matter. We are subject to the expressions of the earth and its fantastic and complex organisms (wild mushrooms happen to be one of the most unpredictable!). We are given the generous opportunity to reap the harvest, but in so many ways have no control over it. We wouldn't have it any other way.

This weekend at the markets -

Chanterelles
Wild Watercress

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Fresh-Picked Seattle


Lets say you love food, you live in Seattle, and you have a weekend with no plans, what do you do?!? Actually lets say you just live in Seattle, because freshpickedseattle.com has good info and events for any Seattlite - foodie or not, bored or not.

I am so thoroughly impressed with this site that I must to share it with all you. Fresh-Picked Seattle is dedicated to being the place to find out about food events and culture in Seattle. A woman named Leslie Seaton hosts the site; I don't know how she keeps up with all this info, but she does and does it well. It is refreshingly thorough with lots of links and useful information including stuff such as free happenings, kids events, seasonal interests. For example a recent post on National Chocolate Day and has links to local chocolate shops, a Google event calendar, various tours available around the area, and a resource list. Also included a nice video of a tour at Theo Chocolate (I have been dying to do this and fresh-picked post was a great reminder to get myself there).

There is also a great page for Pacific Northwest wild food, foraging, and ethnobotany. This should be THE GUIDE for wild food resources in the Northwest. Links to articles and blogs(including this one!), local mycological societies, wilderness schools, and Google event calendar which includes razor clam dig days and cooking classes.

Fresh-Picked Seattle's little byline is pretty cute too- Seattle=Let's Eat
Go there, you will be inspired to venture out foraging for new (fresh!) experiences in your home town.

Friday, October 30, 2009

This Week at Foraged and Found Edibles 10/30


It is a light week at the markets. We are in the lull between the fall and winter flush. Soon there will be an abundance of hedgehogs, yellowfoot chanterelles, black trumpets, and truffles as the nights get chillier. Speaking of cold weather, the watercress has been really beautiful, and will be around until our patches get hit with a frost. Wild watercress tends to be much spicier and more flavorful than the limp bunches found in grocery stores. Try pairing the spicy leaves in a salad with sweet roasted beets and a hazelnut viniagrette.

We have this weekend -

Chanterelles
Hedgehogs - a small amount
Wild Watercress

Rose Hip Harvest Time

bushes and bushes full of hips along the Burke Gilman trail

Small sunset colored globes brighten up the desolate fall landscape every year. Rose hips are the fruit of the rose bush that forms after the blossom dies away. They ripen in fall turning vibrant red to orange colors, and are best harvested after a frost, when slightly soft and wrinkly. Like many other fruits and vegetables of the autumn season, such as parsnips, grapes, and brussel sprouts, cold temperatures help convert their starches to sugars. The conversion is a survival mechanism, sugars help keep the plants from freezing. Rose hips will persist on bushes through out the cold months and if you happen to get lost in the woods they can be eaten as a winter survival food.

The texture and taste of fresh rosehips are moist, bright, and pasty, reminiscent to overripe apples and tangy cranberries to which roses are related. Rose hips are one of the highest plant sources for vitamin C and also contain significant amounts of vitamin D and E, antioxidants, and pectin.

Wild rose bushes grow like weeds all over the city and country, and are easy to find cultivated in many home gardens. Avoid plants in decorative gardens that have been sprayed with pesticides. Rose hips contain many hairy seeds; the fine hairs are said to cause mild intestinal irritation. There are conflicting accounts, but the seeds seem to be best removed unless final preparation is strained through cheesecloth or very fine sieve, though many recipes do not do this. Removing seeds can be a daunting task if your fruits are very ripe. A good way to avoid this hardship is to partially dry fruits for a few days or so and then remove seeds when flesh is firmer.

Tea made with fresh or dried rose hips is one of the most common ways to enjoy this fruit but there are many interesting traditional preparations. Try making a simple rose hip syrup (one more recipe here) for mixed drinks, or as a vitamin C elixir. In Sweden rose hip soup with sour cream or yogurt is a mainstay. You can even buy rose hip soup dry mixes there. Two different recipes for soup are here and here. Combine apples and rosehips for jam, jelly, or fruit leather. Dry sweet large pieces and use as a snack or raisin substitute. I am thinking about making rose hip syrup with honey, dried rose petals to increase the floral notes, and a touch of ginger. I will also dry a bunch to add to my cold weather tea mix with nettles, mint, and elderberries.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Mushroom Recipe Plea Answered

I sent a call out for mushrooms recipes about a month ago. I wanted to hear what was going on in your kitchens, the ways you eat and create.
I had many nice responses but the Lobster Mushroom Bisque really stood out. Lobster mushrooms do have a shellfish aroma and nutty taste that reminiscent of shrimp shells, so it makes perfect sense to make a bisque out of them. I cooked it up a few days ago and ate it with a cheesy grilled fig and proscuitto sandwich, a perfect quick dinner.

creamy orange lobsterness

Naomi Bishop, The GastroGnome, sent in the recipe-

"This is unbelievably tasty...and uses one large lobster mushroom to make a soup that feeds at least 4 people. Simply make a roux using about half a cup of flour, about 6 tablespoons of butter (I didn't measure, so this is my best guess!) You can keep it light, just make sure the flour is all well coated, then add about 2 cups homemade stock (I used turkey, since I'm still working through last thanksgivings bounty) and bring to a boil. Add the mushroom, all cut up, then let it boil for about ten minutes, blend it (I used an immersion blender, so it all stayed in the pot, didn't have to transfer. After blending, I added a small handful of fresh thyme, salt and pepper to taste and a splash of sherry vinegar to lighten it up. This is still a thick and hearty soup, and makes an amazing meal. Sometimes I sautee chanterelles with rosemary and sprinkle on top."

This recipe stood out for its simplicity verses its sophistication. Basically I mean this recipe is fast and easy, but fancy enough for a dinner party, if needed. Her recipe was technically loose so I took it upon myself to measure and play with the ingredients, and come up with a ratio for all of you cooks that like to follow recipes to the T. The only big change I made was to add onion and milk to the liquid ingredients to give it a bit of creaminess.
Thank you Naomi, for your contribution!!


Lobster Mushroom Bisque, Nettletown version

An immersion blender is a must for making this a fast project. I was thinking a nice variation would be a touch of saffron, fennel seeds, celery and lemon to play with the "seafood" theme, instead of the thyme and sherry vinegar. If you try it let me know. I reserved a little bit of diced lobster mushrooms to garnish my soup, though sauteed chanterelles, like Naomi suggests, would be great too.

1 pound lobster mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
6 Tbsp butter
1/2 sweet onion, diced, about 1 cup
4 cups mild stock- like veggie or poultry
6 Tbsp flour
2 cups whole milk
2 tsp thyme, chopped
1 tsp sherry vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
black pepper or cayenne to taste

Dice a large handful of lobster mushrooms for soup garnish. Over medium high heat heat in a large straight-sided pan, saute diced mushrooms in a 1/2 Tbsp butter until tender and lightly browned. Add a splash of sherry vinegar and a sprinkle of thyme leaves, remove from pan and set aside. Place pan back on heat and saute onion and the remaining lobster mushrooms in 1 1/2 Tbsp butter for about 5-8 minutes, until vegetables begin to sweat. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile in a large pot make the roux - heat 4 Tbsp butter over medium heat and stir in flour until incorporated, cook for a few minutes. Slowly add milk in batches, whisking constantly until smooth. Add warmed stock and mushrooms and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes until soup thickens and flavors combine. Add thyme, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper or cayenne and blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning and serve garnished with sauteed mushrooms.

More inspirations-
Many others sent in recipes (alot of soup!, its that time of year I guess) that all sounded great too, so here are links to a few more bloggers mushroom inspirations-
From the Desk(top)Russell H. Everett - The Sexiest Soup Ever with chicken-of-woods
From Phoo-d - Mushroom "Cappuccino" with Truffle Foam
Cook Local - Wild Mushroom and Fig Risotto

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Cider Press at the Corson Building


This is a bit of a late notice but I just made arrangements with The Corson Building to provide recipe calendars for purchase at the Cider Pressing tomorrow. $5 dollars of the calendar proceeds will go to Teen Feed, an organization that provides hot meals to homeless youth.
The Corson is a fabulous place to go for special events, they are always festive and the garden is a great place just to hang out no matter what else is going on. I urge you to check this one out - Press your own cider, eat some delicious food, and get a t-shirt and recipe book! More info on their website journal. Some of these beautiful posters will also be available for purchase.