Our Foraging Feast!

 In my last post I wrote about our delightful foraging adventure yesterday with guide Peter Blush, from Puck's Plenty. (http://www.pucksplenty.com)

Upon arriving home mid afternoon- and guests scheduled to arrive for dinner (!)  I made a snap decision to switch direction with my meal plan and go with a foraging theme. I knew I could be taking a bit of a gamble, but I couldn't resist!

So after piling all our forested treasures on the counter, I got to work right away. Peter gave us lots of tips on how to prepare the edibles, and I decided to keep it simple and let the food speak for itself.

I still can't believe we made the whole meal in such little time, but we were so pumped it was really fun!

Dinner is Served..

To supplement some of the conventional foods (such as glazed salmon on the grill, quinoa, baby carrots and my favourite no bake brownies for dessert) I  added our following finds in the menu:

~Homemade hummus with day lily stems
~Wild leek and potato soup from the Puck's Plenty website
~A big salad including wild leek greens, spotted trout leaves, and day lily stems, garnished with garlic mustard and a few violas.
~A side dish of fiddleheads, blanched quickly and sautéed with garlic and finished with lemon juice.
~Assorted greens such as wild leek, spotted trout, and marsh marigolds.
~Sliced pheasant back mushroom, sautéed in butter as a side dish.
~Nettle tea with dessert

It truly was a fantastic foraging feast. Bon Appetit!

Homemade hummus with day lily stems. Delicious!

Big tossed salad with spotted trout leaves, day lily stems, and garnished with garlic mustard and violas. Dressed with a simple oil and vinegar dressing. Fresh, crisp and light. 

Fiddleheads: Start with tightly woven centres and wash well, rubbing off any of the brown debris. Leave a very short stem. 

Blanch for 5 minutes.

Saute garlic lightly in olive oil.

Add the fiddleheads and sauté until tender, but not mushy.

Add a pat of butter and drizzle lemon juice on top. Heavently!

This wasn't part of dinner last night, but my husband cooked some up for breakfast. He said they go fantastic with eggs!

Wild Leek and Potato Soup:
Washing the leeks is relatively easy, the outer dirty skin slides right off, with  a little rubbing under the water.

See what I mean? :)

Separate the bulbs from the greens and slice them.

Dice the potatoes and slice the greens. 

Saute the leek bulbs lightly in some olive oil.

Add vegetable broth and cook until potatoes are soft. Throw in the greens and continue cooking for about 4 more minutes. Puree until smooth. You can add some cream, but I found it was rich enough without it.

Add some chopped chives as a garnish.

Pheasant back mushrooms, sliced razor thin and sautéed in butter.

Greens lightly steamed, adding butter and lemon to finish.

Nettle tea- fragrant and light tasting. A perfect drink with the desset below!

The wild lilacs were a perfect centre piece too!

Fruits from the Forest

This weekend my husband and I had best the culinary adventure ever!

We had been curious about learning more about foraging, and after some research I found a wonderful website called Pucks Plenty with treks fairly close to home. http://www.pucksplenty.com
And it was rated by Travel and Leisure as one of the best food foraging in the world! We had to check it out.

We were not disappointed. In fact, it far exceeded our expectations. We found and sustainably harvested all kinds of treasures that are available at this time of season. With expert knowledge and guidance from our guide, Peter Blush, we were introduced to an abundance of delicious, edible plants such a day lily stems. garlic mustard, fiddleheads and many more. We happily filled our bags and headed for home where I prepared a feast of the forest's bounty (see post: Our Forage Feast!)

There was a deep feeling of gratitude to be surrounded by nature, and be offered such delectable "fruits from the forest".

Thank you again, Mother Nature.

Here are the treasures we discovered yesterday.

Day lilies have stems that are crisp and mild tasting. Cut them off at the ground, take the outer sheath off, and eat them like celery. Wonderful with hummus or other dips!

This is what they look like when they're cut.

Garlic mustard is an invasive plant. It has a garlic, peppery flavour and is a nice accent to a salad.

Snails like them too. :)

This is called Trout Lily. A lovely, mild tasting leaf that has pale spots on the upper side, like a trout. Delicious in salads too, and can also be steamed.

Sweet little violas that make beautiful garnishes for salads!

This is called Chaga, a densely hard mushroom (you need a chisel to remove it from the tree) that is extremely nutritious. There is so much to say about this mushroom that I am including this link. http://www.chagaknowledge.com/chagabenefits.htm

A pretty pale pink trillium.

Wild leeks which are abundant everywhere and can be harvested for another month, You can eat the leek, as well as steam the leaf although the leaves will begin to turn yellow shortly and are not as ideal.

The little wild leek bulbs. 

Trilliums blanketed the forest floor. Breath taking!

This is called the May Apple plant that produces these pretty white flowers with yellow centres that change into yellow apples about the size of  kiwis. Ready and ripe in August, get there fast because the squirrels love them too! 

The leaf of the May Apple plant.

A mushroom called The Pheasant Back Mushroom. If you cut it razor thin, and sauté it with butter, it's quite nice. The smaller the mushroom, the more tender. Otherwise, cut the outer edge of a large one. 

More photos of the Pheasant Back Mushroom

How idylic is this??  

Trilliums here, there and everywhere!

We stopped at a beautiful hobby farm that had free range eggs, and some adorable animals. 

And then off to the last leg of our hike where we collected nettles.

These are called Wood Nettles and they really sting! Make sure you have thick gloves to picks them. They redeem this feature by offering wonderful flavour in a variety of dishes, and teas.

Fiddlehead ferns! This delicacy is such a treat. Pick them when they are nice and tight, before expanding out and becoming furry. 

This pretty plant is called Marsh Marigolds. You can eat both the flower and leaf, although it is best to leave the flower so the plant can regenerate. Steamed, they have a nice mild flavour. 

On our way home we found a huge wild lilac bush! Couldn't resist bring a bouquet of these beauties home.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOW UP POST ON "OUR FORAGING FEAST"- DESCRIBING THE FANTASTIC MEAL WE MADE WITH OUR FORAGING GEMS!

Salads, Salads and More Salads!

With the arrival of the warm weather I'm in total salad mode. And these are some of the best.
Each one only took a few minutes to make, and with ample servings we'll enjoy them for a few days (bonus:))

Here are the recipes:
The top two are from Oh She Glows- Angela Liddon's food blog and cookbook. I'm a big fan.
The last is my own creation, and always a favourite.

Enjoy!

Perfected Chickpea Salad Spread (which I adapted as a salad)
https://purelyelizabeth.wordpress.com/2014/08/22/4693/

Raw Rainbow Rad Pad Thai
http://ohsheglows.com/2013/07/01/rad-rainbow-raw-pad-thai/

 Vegetable Bean Salad- see recipe below.

Vegetable Bean Salad:
Dice the following and add together: (amounts are up to you)
Cucumber, celery. green onion, sweet pepper, grape tomatoes, black olives
Add a can of black beans (drained and rinsed), frozen corn, and crumbled feta cheese.
Dressing: Equal amounts of olive oil, and lemon juice- plus 1tsp of cumin (or more to taste.)

When you Need Something Healthy- and Fast!

I love to cook (and to eat well) but don't always have a lot of time. So when I found this recipe I knew it had the makings of a great meal with little prep. It is comfort food at its best- and definitely a keeper for a weeknight dinner.

Taken from the blog, The Vegan Gypsy- I present to you "Upside Down Shepherd's Pie" found in my favourite cookbook- Appetite for Reduction. Enjoy!

http://www.thevegangypsy.com/2012/10/on-my-hearth-isas-upside-down-lentil.html

Crazy Good- (and Healthy!) Brownies

A dear friend of mine celebrated her birthday today. Knowing I would see her tonight I thought of the line "I knew it was your birthday so I baked you a cake".

The only thing stopping me was that I had too little time, and too few ingredients. So the hunt was on to try to find a recipe that was easy, no bake, delicious, chocolatey- and vegan. Quite the challenge.

Fortunately I did find such a recipe on the "Oh She Glows" blog. This recipe is one of the best desserts I have ever made. And it was finished in 20 minutes, with a 20 minute sitting period in the freezer.
Thank you, Angela- you never disappoint!

Here's the link to this crazy good brownies:

http://ohsheglows.com/2014/05/08/two-layer-raw-chocolate-brownies/

Raw Energy Balls

I've made these a number of times and they are easy, nutritious and really delicious. Not only are they a good little protein snack, they are pretty and tasty enough as a dessert. A real favourite.

Raw Energy Balls (from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook)
1 cup raw almonds or walnuts
1 cup medjool dates, pitted
¼ cup raisins
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ cup raw almond butter

shredded organic coconut

In a food processor fitted with the “s” blade grind the almonds until finely ground. Add the dates, raisins, and spices. Grind to a fine meal. Add the almond butter, process again until thoroughly mixed.

Form into balls and roll in shredded coconut. Store in a sealed container on the counter for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to a week.

Cooking Soul Food!

A few weeks ago I decided to start a cooking group, inviting friends to join me to create and enjoy wholesome, nutritious plant based meals. 

Tomorrow is our first session!

The lineup of culinary delights includes Raw Power Kale Salad, Butternut Squash Soup, Roasted Chickpea and Broccoli Burritos and a lovely dessert to finish. Can't wait.

Here's the link to the recipe for the Raw Power Salad. Enjoy!





http://www.dailybitesblog.com/2012/05/15/raw-power-salad/