Foraging
Acorns and the Forager’s Dilemma
Reconsider the acorn for a moment. The “oak nut”ย falls to the ground by the thousands, in nearly every state in…
Foraging
Cooking Matsutake Mushrooms
After having never even knowing of their existence for the first 30 years of my life, I’ve recently been cooking…
Recipe
Not My Mum’s Venison Lasagna
Lasagne (or is it lasagna?). Whatever, it is a bedrock staple of my childhood in New Jersey. I grew up…
Recipe
Preserving Peppers
Consider, for a moment,ย the sweet pepper. No other plant demands so much, gives so little, yet keeps us coming back…
How-To (DIY stuff)
How to Make Tomato Paste
How to make your own tomato paste, Sicilian style. Patience is needed, but if you have it, you'll be rewarded.
How-To (DIY stuff)
The Courage to Cook with Borage
Not everyone knows that the borage plant is edible. So are borage flowers. Most people barely even know what borage…
How-To (DIY stuff)
Drying Tomatoes Without an Oven
“Oh my Gawd, it’s like an oven out here!” This is a not-uncommon refrain heard in Sacramento in summer. Well,…
Charcuterie
How to Make Venison Ham
I present to you: mocetta. It was my first-ever dry-cured ham, and it does not come from a pig. This…
Salmon and Trout
Six Days of Salmon
Salmon, especially king salmon, are the pigs of the aquatic world. Large, fatty, with significant differences in flavor from cut…
Charcuterie
Italian Head Cheese
Coppa di testa. In France it is Fromage de tete. In England, it’s called brawn. All decent enough names; but…
Recipe
Growing and Cooking Cardoons
Cardoons are slowly becoming more common in markets here in the United States, which is great. Because I’ve been growing…
Pheasant, Grouse, Quail
Pheasant Cacciatore
I do a lot of comfort food withย big, flavorful, stew-y things loaded with tomatoes and herbs and some sort of…
