Hunt Gather Talk Podcast 4: Early Spring

Spring is here in NorCal. Normally I feel bad about it, almost ashamed. After all, so many of you are still locked in winter, and will be for months. But this is my reality. And I embrace it. In this episode I talk about early spring foraging, the end of hunting seasons and embracing transition in your life.

How to Eat Manzanita Berries

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.

Wild Herbs: Monardella Villosa

Mountain pennyroyal is a widespread mountain herb in the American West. Think of it as a combination of mint and marjoram. It is one of our most spectacular native wild herbs.

Elderflower Cordial

Elderflower cordial -- really a syrup -- is a classic use for these incredibly aromatic flowers of spring. Use this to make homemade soda, add it to gin, or make it into a sorbet whenever you want to remember the first warm breezes of the year.

Gathering Curly Dock

One of the earliest greens to appear in spring, the various docks -- curly dock and Western dock chief among them -- are easy to identify and taste like a cross between spinach and rhubarb.

Sorrel Sauce

Sorrel sauce. It's so basic, yet so profoundly useful... and awesome. Sorrel tastes like lemonade in a leaf, and both wild and cultivated varieties grow like weeds in any garden. This rich, tart sauce is perfect with pasta, poached fish or poultry, or any other lightly cooked meat.

How to Harvest Wild Onions

There's a lot of talk out there about people overharvesting ramps, the most dominant wild onion in the East. Some of that talk is true. Here's how to responsibly harvest wild onions of any sort, as well as how to prepare, store and preserve them.

Feeling the Burn

Morel hunting the way I do it is a lonely affair. Miles walked in a beaten, burned landscape. A morel here, a morel there. It's not the bonanza of a big burn, but I wouldn't give it up for anything.

Contemplating Hopniss, the American Groundnut

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.

Walleye Minot: Why Not?

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.

How to Harvest Hazelnuts

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.