Cooking Blue Camas
Blue Camas, camassia quamash, has been a staple of the Northwest Indians for centuries, but few modern cooks have experimented with this edible bulb. Here are the results of my experiments.
Blue Camas and Other Edible Bulbs
Last week I found lots of wild edible bulbs in the High Sierra, notably blue camas. But eating bulbs has twin problems: Poisonous look-alikes, and the fact that their flowers are achingly beautiful.
Pheasant Salad with Fennel
Most of the country is suffering from triple-digit heat, and no one wants to be in the kitchen. Thus, this cooling pheasant (or chicken) salad that relies on a gentle – and unique – poaching method.
Sea Beans, Salicornia, Samphire
How to pick and cook salicornia, the plant of a thousand names: Saltwort, samphire, chicken feet, whatever — no matter what you call it, this is one of the finest foraged foods around.
What to Do with All that Zucchini
This is my favorite way to use a surfeit of zucchini: It’s an old Sicilian method where you dry the zukes and then saute them with oil, chile and mint.
How to Make Guanciale
Guanciale is like bacon or pancetta, only better: It’s made from the jowl of a hog, not its belly. And, like most charcuterie, what kind of hog you get your jowls from makes all the difference.
Abalone, Sea Beans and a Homecoming
I can’t tell you how much I needed to smell the salt air, after more than a month on book tour. Foraging on the Pacific Coast with friends, and a great meal afterwards, was just what the doctor ordered.
Venison Burgers with Mushrooms
Inspired by a beef-and-mushroom burger I made, this version, with venison and morel mushrooms, is even better! Venison and mushrooms are a natural combination.
