Hunt Gather Talk Podcast 4: Early Spring

Comment

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Hunt Gather Talk Podcast

It is spring here in NorCal, and I am not ashamed to say that. I’ve been running Hunter Angler Gardener Cook for more than eight years, and in all this time I’ve felt keenly aware that my spring here in Sacramento comes weeks or months before it breaks where most of you who are reading this. So for all these years I have largely held off talking about my spring in deference. But this year, hunting season felt so long, I had to get out there into the green — and I felt so moved by my little foraging trip that I came home and recorded this week’s podcast all in one take.

This week’s episode is all about early spring foraging. Looking for the first greens, the earliest spring mushrooms, that sort of thing. But it is really about embracing the transition. I spend months and months chasing God’s creatures from Labor Day until the end of January, and when it all ends I find myself yearning for green. And that’s just the overt, mechanistic way I scratch that itch. What I am really talking about is embracing all forms of transition — in jobs, relationships, phases of your life.

Here are some blog posts that you can read to get more information on this week’s episode:

That should get you started. Enjoy this week’s podcast, and, as always, if you like it, please subscribe and leave a review. It helps me a lot. Thanks!

Miner\'s lettuce growing in my garden.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
wild plum flowers
Photo by Hank Shaw

You May Also Like

Mushroom Sauce for Steak

This is a classic French mushroom sauce for steak based off a Julia Child recipe. Try it on your next venison steak.

Tajarin Pasta

How to make the famous tajarin, an egg yolk pasta dough from northern Italy. This is a rich, vibrant dough versatile in the kitchen.

Cumberland Sauce With Venison

If there is one sauce you need to know as a wild game cook, it is Cumberland sauce. Savory, rich and a little sweet, it is a classic sauce for venison, duck, or any dark game meat.

Chicken Consomme

How to make chicken consomme, a classic, clear French soup. You can use all sorts of other poultry, too, like pheasant, turkey or quail.

About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

6 Comments

  1. I recently started listening to these podcasts and I have to say that I absolutely love them! They are so full of interesting and helpful information. Keep up the great work, Hank!

  2. Hey Hank,

    Loving the podcast series. Was listening to the Spring episode today. Must say I’m jealous. It’s a balmy 19 degrees in York, PA today. Keep up the awesome work. Wouldn’t mind longer episodes though, seems like your just warming up when they finish. Anyway, big fan. Keep the podcasts coming.

    -Adam

  3. Great podcast Hank. Living out east, after growing up in B.C., makes me miss things like miners lettuce.
    Really have to back up John Smalldridge on how impressed I was on your amanita decision ( we both follow the same wild mushroom site).
    Unlike you two I’ve never, even after solid i.d.s, tried amanitas. However your description of the steps you took are admirable. Definitely a worthy guide to those who wish to try a potentialy fatal meal.
    As you mentioned, in your mushroom podcast, always better to “when in doubt throw out”.

  4. Loved this podcast episode about transitions. I also listened to it right after I’d picked a beautiful bunch of miner’s lettuce, so it fit my mood. We are indeed fortunate here in Northern California.

    But even in starker climes, nature often surprises. I was just in the Rocky Mountains, hiking among all the winter-dead plants, when I stumbled on a giant Juniper loaded with berries. Just what I needed for my homemade infused gin! It seems there’s always a gift out there if you look for it.

  5. Mr Shaw, I really liked this edition of the podcast. It reminded me of the changing seasons of fishing. How one species shows up for a few months (shad) only to disappear and be replaced by a different species. Also how the mushroom species moves from oysters in winter, to chickens in spring, to chanterelles and black trumpets in summer, to honeys, hedgehogs, and boletes in fall. Thanks also for sharing that even seasoned mushroom foragers will not eat what they are not 100% sure of. It took me a few years to get to know Amanita jacksonii enough to actually consume it. Great podcast!

  6. I can’t beleive it took me this long to find you. Love your camios on Meater. Will be following your podcasts and website. I got a question from your first podcast (and I will be trying the kelp pickles) but could you expand on the muscles. I go over to Patricks Point every summer with kids and hit the beach always wondered why we don’t eat them but never knew what you could pick and eat. Thanks