Wild rice, wild mushrooms, caramelized onions. What’s not to love? This is a perfect side dish for wild game like venison or duck or pheasant.
veggies
Italian Spinach Dumplings
Called strangolapreti — “priest stranglers” — in Italian, these dumplings made with breadcrumbs, cheese and a green thing (spinach, amaranth, chard, etc) are easy to make and are a great vegetarian main course or side dish for something meatier.
Pickled Ramps
Pickling ramp bulbs — or the bulbs of any large wild onion — is a great way to preserve the harvest. These are fantastic served with cured meats and cheeses, or chopped into a relish or just eaten as a snack.
A Loss in Springtime
My cat has gone missing. We have not seen her in more than a week, and I feel dead inside because of it. I try to stay positive, or at least stoic, and busy myself with the green renewal that is my garden. My garden. Where my cat and I first met each other, years ago.
Arugula Pesto with Pasta
When life gives you arugula — a wild version grows like a weed in my yard — you make arugula pesto. A peppery, bracing pesto that matches really well with homemade pasta.
Tabasco Style Fermented Hot Sauce
A few years ago I traveled to Louisiana and learned from the McIlhenny family themselves how to make Tabasco Sauce. Now, two years later, I can finally tell you how to make it. It’s easy, but like fine wine, it takes time.
Root Vegetable Ragout with Polenta
Yes, it’s true. This is a vegetarian recipe… although it’d be good with some bacon. I have a fondness for unusual vegetables, and odd roots most of all. Many of my favorite oddities are in this simple ragout: Hamburg parsley, crosnes, salsify and hopniss.
Cardoon Risotto
Cardoons are an old relative of the artichoke, tasting like a mash-up of artichoke hearts, celery and endive. They can be tricky to work with, so when I found a recipe for cardoon risotto I had to try it.