Foraging
Wapato, arrowhead, katniss, duck potato. This is a plant of a hundred names. All translate into fantastic. This is American's premier starchy tuber (actually a corm) can be stewed, boiled and mashed or fried - eat it any way you would a potato. And like the potato, arrowhead chips are my favorite way to eat wapato.
Wild Game
This is about as classic French as you get. Salmis (sal-mee) of snipe: Salmis is where you roast a bird, make a quick sauce from the bones, and serve it with mushrooms and maybe some toast. This is a fantastic snipe recipe.
Pheasant, Grouse, Quail
An ode to the ruffed grouse of the Northwoods, whether they're in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan or Canada. This recipe relies on flavors familiar to this part of the world: wild rice, mushrooms, cranberries.
Foraging
This is one of my favorite things to make with acorns, and for those of you who can't do wheat, it's gluten free. My acorn soup really shines with the garnishes of sour cream, slices of grouse (or chicken), and some fancy oil.
Pheasant, Grouse, Quail
Roast woodcock with a sweet-tart sauce of Michigan apples and Michigan-made vinegar, served on toast. It's pure Michigan, and I wish I could get back there to hunt timberdoodles again soon...
Foraging
It's time to harvest pinon pine nuts in America's West, and here's what you need to know to find, pick and process your own American pine nuts.
Berries and Fruits
Here's how to make prickly pear syrup without the sticky business of scorching and peeling the tunas, as the fruit are called. It's all in how you strain the juice...
Berries and Fruits
Manzanita berries are ripening all over California right now, but few know that they are not only edible, but are well worth your time to collect. The secret? Grind the dry, apple-like berries to make a sort of manzanita sugar.
Sweet Things
It's huckleberry season here in the West. And while my favorite way to eat hucks is in a bowl with cream, I also love huckleberry muffins. My version has a bit of a tang to it from sour cream.
Recipe
Verjus, or verjuice, is the juice of unripe grapes - wild or cultivated. It is a classic French alternative to vinegar, and it is pretty easy to make. Here's how.
Berries and Fruits
Blackberry syrup was my favorite at the International House of Pancakes when I was a kid. It's still one of the few syrups I still make every year, mostly to mix with seltzer water (or vodka) for drinks. Here's how to make it.
Sweet Things
Mint ice cream is pretty common, but usually it's made with mint extract. But if you make your ice cream by infusing the mint leaves into the cream overnight, you get a much stronger, more herby mint flavor you will not forget.
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