Archive For The “Foraging” Category

Nettle lovage spring soup

On our new allotment, there are no nettles. I am sure I w ill be grateful for that in the long run, but right now, after the long winter largely devoid of fresh greens, nettles are my favorite vegetable. Luckily our neighbour’s allotment grows lots of nettles, in fact, there’s nothing but nettles. In the [...]

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Real Mushroom Soup

I’ll always be grateful to my parents for teaching me to recognize different kinds of wild mushrooms. In an extreme case, it’s a survival skill – my daughter who is currently obsessed with the Hunger Games series, commented how strange it was that although the heroine forages for edible plants and shoots deer with a [...]

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Elderberry compote with Greek yogurt

Why is it that when the elderberry is flowering, everybody seems to be elbow deep in making elderflower cordial, but later, when the berries are ripe, they get much less attention? It happens here, too. Perhaps it is the overwhelming abundance of the fall harvest that makes us blind to the shiny, almost black beady [...]

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Blueberry cinnamon rolls

Last time I wrote how long I had to wait to make the cherry tomato clafoutis. But that really was nothing compared to waiting to make these rolls. Somewhat by accident, I watched Jamie Does Sweden, where Jamie Oliver made beautiful buns filled with mashed wild Swedish blueberries and I wanted them immediately. I have [...]

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Blueberry kuchen with streusel topping

I love foraging. It runs in the family. My 15 months old niece is an incredibly picky eater. She doesn’t eat vegetables or rice or yoghurt. She will also not touch a banana or a store-bought apple. But anything she can pick herself or see being picked is another story. Many times a day she [...]

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Roasted chestnuts

From a freakishly summery September with all the sun and warmth we did not get in August, we fell right into autumn. It rains more often than not and we started unearthing gloves and scarves. But I am not complaining – autumn is a great time for foraging. You can forage in the parks or [...]

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Japanese quince jelly with star anise

It looks like a quince, it smells like a quince and it is rock hard, just like a quince. What is it? Well, it is almost a quince. It is a relative, it is Japanese quince. Though the Japanese quince (Chaenomeles) is usually planted for its flowers, the smallish fruits are edible too. The taste [...]

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