Foraging
Apios americana, the hopniss or potato bean or American groundnut. It's a plant that has fascinated me for some years, so much so that I began growing it in my garden in 2011. Since then I think I have a handle on growing, harvesting and eating these native American tubers.
Ducks and Geese
Wood ducks are both beautiful and tasty; and if you know much about them, you know they love acorns above all else. So I felt I needed to make a wood duck recipe that highlighted that. Wood duck, with acorn dumplings and a winter salsa.
Appetizers and Snacks
I hit the road again on Saturday for the final leg of my "Duck, Duck, Goose" book tour; I'll be tour the Southwest and Deep South this time, and I will be carrying with me a stack of these homemade energy bars. In honor of my next book dinner, in Santa Fe, these are Desert Style "Clif" bars.
Fish
I call this recipe Walleye Minot because it is an ode to North Dakota, and because I caught the walleye on Lake Sakakawea near Minot, ND. Pretty much everything in it speaks to that state, which was so good to me when I visited in October.
Appetizers and Snacks
If you want to know what I am munching as I hit the road for a very long book tour, it's these cookies. Acorn flour makes a damn good shortbread because shortbread doesn't really need gluten to be good. These are nutty and sweet, with a hint of vanilla and maple.
How-To (DIY stuff)
I've made acorn flour for years, in several different methods, and I've settled on this particular method -- a cold process that takes a few days to leach out the bitter tannins in the acorns, but leaves them with more flavor and preserves some of the key starches in the nuts.
Foraging
Wild hazel nuts are everywhere, but no one seems to be able to see them. Here's how to recognize and harvest wild hazel nuts, which are in season right now.
Foraging
The Lathyrus clan, which most of us know as wild peas, get a bad rap. But I am here to tell you that wild peas are indeed edible, contrary to what you may have heard. Here's the science behind why.
How-To (DIY stuff)
How to make green salt, salt from salicornia (sea beans, sea asparagus, pickleweed, saltwort) at home. It's easy with a dehydrator.
Sweet Things
Gooseberries are among the tartest, most aromatic of all our berries. No matter what variety you find, grow or buy, you can make a pretty sorbet from the juice of the berries. Perfect for a hot summer dessert.
Berries and Fruits
Ah, the gooseberry, an unloved berry if there ever was one -- especially here in North America. We have more than 100 varieties here, yet few people, even foragers, both with them. Pity. Here's what you need to know to gather ye gooseberry in style.
Recipe
Cattail pollen is one of the great zephyrs of the natural world: One day it's here, the next, dried up and blown to the four winds. I finally caught it at the right moment this year, and finally got to make a dish I've been wanting to make for years: Cattail pollen pasta.
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