ACorn Bread

 

When I cook with acorns, I prefer ways that accentuate what the acorn has to offer, as opposed to just throwing them into any old dish just because. This ACorn bread not only accentuates the buttery, rich flavor of the acorns, it allows them to act as close to half of your dry ingredient list. I'm also a huge proponent of making grain dishes using traditional fermentation techniques that break down the nutrient inhibitors and enzymes present in the grain, and unlock not only their deeper flavor and nutrition, but offer texture and structure to the final product. This bread should come out moist and dense.

*If you aren't growing and grinding it yourself, look for true corn flour, not corn meal. It will make a world of difference.

ACorn Bread

What You Need:

1 3/4 cup corn flour—preferably freshly ground.*
1 cup acorn leached acorn flour
1 3/4 cup milk, preferably raw, hopefully organic/grass-fed.
1 egg, separated
3-4 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp baking powder
2 pinches of salt

• The night before baking, mix your corn flour and 1 3/4 cup of your milk together in a bowl. It should have a loose consistency, similar to paint. Cover and set somewhere warm to ferment/soak.


• The following day, uncover your corn flour and milk mixture for observation. It should be slightly bubbly and much thicker.


• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.


• Whip the egg white to a soft peak in a glass bowl with a pinch of salt.


• Gently incorporate the whipped egg whites into the mixture.


• One at a time, add the last 3/4 cup of milk, acorn flour, egg yolks, melted butter, maple syrup, and another pinch of salt to the batter. Mix each in carefully and thoroughly (trying not to deflate the whipped eggwhite).


• Pour this mixture into a buttered 8-9inch cast iron pan (or 9 inch square baking pan, or equivalent—I've found cast iron is the best for corn breads). Place in the preheated oven an bake for 35 minutes.


• After 35 minutes, insert a toothpick into the bread. If it comes out clean, remove the bread from the oven, remove from the pan, and let rest on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes.


• Slice, apply thick slabs of butter, (some honey if you like) and indulge!

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Autumnberrykin

I'm a really big fan of closing loops. For that reason, I'm always thinking of how to most efficiently and frugally use all things, especially with food. I've always got my chickens to eat my scraps, the compost pile, or my pet red composting worms, but making more food/drink is always option one for me. In my cider pressing experiences I learned about a techniques used throughout all traditional apple/cider cultures called Ciderkin. It was a fermented preparation made by pouring water over the spent pomace from cider pressing (apple pulp that had its juiced pressed out) and left to ferment, the yeast eating up the remaining sugars. I was a big fan of this ciderkin after I made it—it's light, bubbly, and a mild apple flavor. After making a batch of Autumnberry fruit leather, I had a whole pile of autumnberry pulp and seed and thought to myself, "Why don't I make Autumberrykin?". So I did.

It's something you can ferment a lot or a little, and like ciderkin, extracts those last sugars left in the pulp, giving you a nice lightly autumnberry flavored sparkling drink.

Autumnberry Kin

What You Need:

A pile of Autumnberry pulp left over from your fruit leather making

• In a large jar—one that is large enough to accomodate the volume of pulp you have plus some water—pack in your autumnberry pulp. (you can use a Ball jar. an old pickle jar, or a big jar with one of those flip-top jars with a rubber seal, which is what I used)


• Cover the pulp with water until it is fully saturated.


• Cover the jar tightly and set it in a warm place.


• After a day or so, it will start to bubble as the wild yeast on the pulp start to increase their population. Release any pressure built up by the second day.


• If you want a sweet Autumnberrykin, ferment it only one-two days. For a drier or more lactic drink let it go three-four days, making sure to release the built up pressure once a day.


• After you've achieved your desired sweetness or dryness, strain out the pulp, and bottle it up into any airtight bottle you have. The best are flip-top bottles, but glass screw-top on bottles from sparkling water or even plastic 2 liters work great.


• Let the bottle sit for a day or two to build up carbonation. Once they're carbonated, chill them down and enjoy!

You will notice that the pulp fromt he autumnberries will come out of solution—simply shake the autumnberrykin before serving.

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Red Currant and Bee Balm Blossom Butter

A few years back, while at a wild food cooking class, I had the good fortune to take part in making a very beautiful and interesting butter with the flowers of Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa and M. didyma). After harvesting a large glut of this seasons Red Currants, I came across a recipe for Red Currant Butter, using red currant jelly. I thought, why not spice it up a bit and skip the jelly party, just using the more tart fresh fruit?

This admittedly pretty, but tangy, sweet, and slightly savory (from the background hint of spiciness of the bee balm blossoms) butter can be frozen for long term storage and is great served on anything that needs butter... And what's not better with butter? I can't think of many things.

Red Currant and Bee Balm Blossom Butter

What You Need:

1 Stick of organic (preferably grass-fed) unsalted butter, softened.
4 tbsp de-stemmed red currants
3/4 tbsp maple syrup
8 heads of Bee Balm
salt to taste

• First, pluck the feather blossoms off the bee balm flower heads. Try to only get the individual flowers and not so much green stuff...


• In a small bowl, crush the red currants with a fork until nice and juicy. Mix in the maple syrup.


• To the same bowl, add the softened butter and the bee balm blossoms—stir the whole lot until everything is incorporated.


• Taste, then salt to your preference.


• Plop the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper, shape into a roll, fold it up, and pop it in the freezer to harden up.


• Make a slice of sourdough toast, bring out the hardened butter from the freezer, slice off a (nice thick) round, smash it onto the toast and enjoy!

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Cornmeal Crusted Bass with Moscato Red Currant Sauce

Probably one of the most delicious and abundant wild food sources out there is fish. Every few weeks, a good friend of mine takes me out to a private spot where he shows me the in's and out's of fishing for the best of the lake fish of our region. The other day I came home with a whole mess of Large Mouth Bass filets, a basketful of foraged Red Currants, and whipped together this truly scrumptious meal. The tangy red currants, simmered in the sweet muscato, poured over the juicy, crunchy, spicy, and rich fried fish is such a treat.

Cornmeal Crusted Bass with Moscato Red Currant Sauce

What You Need:

Fish:
4 Filets of Bass
1/2 cup Corn Meal
1 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
3 tbsp butter
Sprinkle of paprika
Sprinkle of cayenne pepper
Sprinkle of salt & pepper
Sauce:
1 cup de-stemmed red currants
1/2 cup Moscato wine (or Riesling or your favorite sweet white wine)
2 tbsp organic cane sugar
2 tbsp butter

• Mix the dry ingredients together on a large plate or 4x8 baking dish. (Add paprika, cayenne, and salt & pepper to your preference—I like it spicy!)


• Beat the egg whites in a similar sized container as the dry ingredients.


• Put the currants,wine, and sugar in a small pot and cook at medium heat.


• Heat the butter in a large skillet or cast iron pan.


• Toss each filet first in the cornmeal mixture, then in the egg whites, then back in the cornmeal mixture.


• Once the butter is hot, plop in your crusted filets and let fry on each side until crispy and brown (about 5 minutes each side).


• While the fish filets fry, watch the currant sauce. Let it cook at a low boil so that it can reduce by the time the fish finishes up.


• Remove the finished fish from the pan and plate up. Stir the butter into the reduce currant sauce, then drizzle it on top of the bass filets and enjoy!

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Sweet & Sour Burdock Flower Stem Quick Pickles

This recipes capitalizes on the juicy, crunchy qualities of freshly peeled burdock flower stems, and their earthy flavors pairs really well with the elderberry syrup, if you've got any on hand. I was inspired to make it by the Japanese tradition of quick pickling vegetables. It goes great alongside cheese and sliced salami, in a cup of miso soup, with eggs, or on top of a sandwich. It will also keep for a long while if kept cold, so feel free to double the recipe! And save that brine, it's great for making dressings or sauces.

Sweet & Sour Burdock Flower Stem Quick Pickles

What You Need:

About 6 peeled burdock flower stems
1 cup vinegar (I use my homemade kombucha vinegar)
1/2 cup water
5 tbsp elderberry syrup (or honey, sugar, or maple syrup)
1 scallion, chopped
1 tbsp crusdhed red pepper
A generous handful of fresh fennel sprigs
Pinch sea salt
Pinch black pepper

• Chop burdock flower stems to preferred size.


• Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until the sugar/syrup is dissolved. Taste and add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste (and sweetener, don't be shy to play around!).


• Mix everything together in a quart sized canning jar and pop the lid on. Shake it up and pop into refrigerator for at least 8 hours before eating.

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Burdock Flower Stems in Spicy Butter with Parmesan

While snacking on the tender, juicy, succulent flower stems of Burdock, I wondered, "What other vegetable does this taste a lot like?". I didn't really have an answer. Later on, I was doing some research on the harvest and came across a line that mentioned how in parts of Italy, families call this harvest "gardooni". There's a very popular vegetable in Italian cuisine called Cardoon—a close relative of the Artichoke—and a close relative of burdock. That's when it hit me... prepare burdock flower stem like Cardoon! So here it is...

Burdock stems are at their best in very early summer, a week or two before the flowers begin to mature. When they're ready, the flower stem will be soft and pliable, and will snap off cleanly. You peel off the bitter skin to unveil the delicious inner flesh that is sweet, earthy, and juicy.

Burdock Flower Stems in Spicy Butter with Parmesan

What You Need:

About 10 peeled burdock flower stems
2 tbsp butter
a pinch of chili flakes
2 cloves of garlic
4 tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (or any hard cheese)
A pinch of chopped parsley
Pinch sea salt
Pinch black pepper

• Heat a pot of water to a boil with a pinch of salt.


• In the meantime, chop the burdock flower stems at an angle.


• Crush the garlic and remove the skin.


• Heat the butter in a small pan. Once melted, add in the chili flakes and smashed garlic.


• When the water is at a rolling boil, drop in the chopped flower stems and boil for roughly 2 minutes. Check for tenderness ever 30 seconds.


• At the same time, stir the garlic around in the pan. Remove it from the pan after 5 minutes of infusing the butter. Set aside for another dish or compost it.


• When the flower stems are perfectly tender, remove them from the water and add them to the pan of butter. Toss in the grated parmesan and stir to heat the whole mixture through.


• Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

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Cheesy Garlic Mustard Pesto Pasta with Crispy Dryad's Saddle

This recipes draws on Lisa's amazingly flavorful and fragrant Garlic Mustard Pesto. The garlic mustard pesto is super fragrant, complex, and dare I say, luscious. It gives basil pesto a run for its money...

Dryad's Saddle is a really common wild mushroom that I've been harvesting a lot of lately. In this recipe, they're sliced thinly and fried crispy in butter—they add a savory crunch to the whole dish. If you haven't got this on hand, use fresh shiitake.

Cheesy Garlic Mustard Pesto Pasta

What You Need:

1 lb rice or quinoa pasta of your preference (Or go gluten if you can handle it)
1 1/2 cups Lisa's Garlic Mustard Pesto
1 cup grated parmesan or other hard cheese
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil

Crisp Mushrooms

5 fresh, young Dryad's Saddle (about 2 or 3oz)
1 tbsp butter

• Put a pot on to boil. When it's rolling, drop in your pasta and stir.


• In a small pan, heat the butter


• Slice the dryad's saddle thinly and drop into the butter once it starts to melt. Cook these at medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until they turn light brown and crispy—just in time for the pasta to finish. When they're ready, take them off the heat and set them aside


• Once the pasta is al-dente, strain it from the pot with a large slotted spoon into a medium bowl. The point here is to bring along some of the cooking water in the process.


• Stir the pesto into the hot pasta.


• Stir in the cheese, vinegar, and oil.


• Add a little more cooking water to loosen the whole mixture a touch. Add salt and pepper to taste, if necessary. Sprinkle on the crispy mushrooms and serve hot with a nice glass of wine, or in my case, a beer :).

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Oniony Roasted Japanese Knotweed

A while back, I tasted roasted asparagus for my first time, and it was lovely. I had a glut of Japanese knotweed on hand and figured it would make an awesome star for a roasted dish like the asparagus. The lemony flavor of the knotweed, the carmely flavor of roasted chives, and the richness of the oil, is perfect.

Oniony Roasted Japanese Knotweed

What You Need:

30-40 tender Japanese knotweed shoots
1/2 cup of chopped chives
2 TBSP Olive Oil
1 TBSP Hazelnut Oil
Pinch sea salt
Pinch black pepper

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees.


• With a sharp paring knife, peel the knotweed shoots to remove the thin skin. This takes just the ~slgihtest~ pressure—I sort of scrape lightly to just peel the skin. Too deep and you'll cut the knotweed in half.


• Spread the knotweed on a baking sheet


• Sprinkle over the chives and the two oils. Toss the whole lot together


• Add salt and pepper to taste


• Bake for 4 or 5 minutes, until the knotweed turns pale and the chives crisp up. Serve immediately

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Nettle & Spinach Spanikopita (Crustless)

*This is a guest post by Mary Angelini. Mary is passionate cook and foodie. She spends much of her free time studying cook books, dreaming up recipes, and, of course, cooking delicious foods. She is starting a small food business centered around using locally sourced ingredients—selling at local markets and providing custom-made nutritious loca meals to busy families. She lives on a suburban homestead with her family in Clarkston, MI.*

Serves 6 - 8 if made in a pie dish
Serves 4 in 8oz ramekins

Nettles are the ~perfect~ star for the classic spanikopita recipe—rich, flavorful, and super-nutritious. This time around, the dish comes without a crust, cooked in ramequins. Perfectly gluten free!

Nettle & Spinach Spanikopita (Crustless)

What You Need:

1  lb frozen chopped spinach
1 lb fresh chopped nettles
3 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp dried dill
1 tsp salt
30 grinds of pepper
8 oz feta (crumbled)
2 eggs
½ to 1 cup of heavy cream
1 tbsp butter (for greasing the baking dish)

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


• Place frozen spinach and nettles into a pot, add water cover and bring to a boil.


• Boil for several minutes until spinach is thawed and nettles tender, about 5-8minutes.


• Drain the greens in a colander (and save the boiling water for use as soup stock forlater).  When the greens are cool enough to handle squeeze all the water out of them that you can.


• Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan.  Add the onions and saute untiltranslucent.


• In a medium sized bowl whisk the eggs, ½ cup of cream, dill, salt, and pepperwith a fork until well mixed.


•  Add the greens, onion, and feta and stir again untilcompletely mixed. If the mixture is too dry add more cream a tablespoon at a time until it is “loose” as it will firm up when baked.


• Spoon into a buttered pie dish or buttered ramekins and bake for 40 minutes or until egg mixture is cooked.

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Wild, Weedy & Edible: Garlic Mustard

*This is a guest post by Lisa Rose Starner. Lisa is an urban homesteader, wildcrafter, forager, gardener, and herbalist who lives in Grand Rapids, MI. She runs a small herbal CSA and writes about local foods and herbalism. Learn more about her work @ Burdock & Rose*

What is the adage, "A weed is a plant that is growing where you don't want it?"

[caption id="attachment_526" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Young garlic mustard shoot"][/caption]

Abundant in areas of disturbed soil—at the forest's edge, along roadsides, and on river floodplains, the Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is deemed by conservationist organizations like The Land Conservancy to be more that a noxious "weed," but an invasive species—choking out native vegetation and spreading wildly across the state. The National Park Service describes the earliest appearance of the Garlic Mustard on the Atlantic coast to be documented in 1868. It is believed that it was brought along by settlers to the area of Long Island, NY for food and medicinal purposes.

Since that time in the 1800s, Garlic Mustard has spread south and west and has wrecked havoc on natural areas throughout the Eastern United States, particularly throughout fields, floodplains, and woodlands here in the Great Lakes BioRegion.

What makes Garlic Mustard able to take over so much area in so little time? Garlic Mustard thrives on disturbed land and areas under development. It is winter hardy and can reproduce lightning fast with its ability to produce hundreds of seeds once it goes to flower. And once the plant sets its seed, the seeds can remain viable in the soil for many years.

Behind Every Vice… The Garlic Mustard's Virtue

And while Garlic Mustard continues to persist throughout our Great Lakes bioregion and threatens to crowd-out wildflowers and native vegetation, we can consider one of its virtues: It is edible!

Like many early spring greens, the flavors of the Garlic Mustard are predominantly bitter. Different parts of the plant, as well the age of the plant can affect the degree in the bitter flavor.

Great Lakes Herbalist Jim McDonald believes that the Bitter flavors of plants, while having a negative connotation to many, may be one of the keys to our wellness. Bitter flavors help stimulate digestion, bile production and can support healthy liver function. Other bitter plants that are beneficial to add into the diet include parsley, arugula, romaine, radicchio, endive, dandelion, and coffee. Best thing about Garlic Mustard as a bitter—it can be easily harvested for FREE with little concern of damaging its plant population!

Forager and wild food expert, Steve Brill, explains early basal roots are more bitter in the spring, the fleshy stems less so—and it is sweeter in the fall after a frost. The roots are slightly nutty, and the second year plant should be harvested just before it flowers… But don't get caught up in these rules—if you are pulling it to preserve other plants in your garden or a participating in a pull, use it and partner it with other flavors like parsley, walnuts and lemon to suit your palate!

One of the most popular ways to prepare Garlic Mustard is preparing it as a versatile, delicious pesto. Variations on pesto recipes can vary to suit personal taste preference and the flavor of the Garlic Mustard that is being harvested.

Want to prepare a large batch? Pesto can be made without the nuts (they tend to taste rancid after thawing) and froze into ice-cube sized portions that will last for several months until the local Basil is ready for harvest here in Michigan.

Need ideas for uses of the Garlic Mustard pesto? The pesto can be added to pasta, used in soups (like a French soup au pistou), served on crackers with cheese as an elegant appetizer, or even used as a base for a wild foods pizza of local Michigan Morels, homemade soft cheese, and wild onion.

Basic Foraged Greens & Garlic Mustard Pesto

What You Need:

4 cups leaves, stems of Garlic Mustard (washed)
1 cup wild chives
1 cup wild garlic scapes
1 cup parsley (if desired)
1 cup walnuts (or pinenuts - though I am not a fan)
4 TBSP olive oil
1tsp sea salt, pepper, squirt of lemon juice to taste

• Add all to food processor, puree.


• Check flavor, add parsley, salt, pepper to preferred taste.


• Serve over crackers, on pizza, pasta, soup… the ideas are limitless and the pesto can be used in similar ways to traditional basil pesto.

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Dandelion Blossom Pakoras

A super common way folks, including myself, recommend preparing dandelion in the spring is as fritters. They're fried, doughy, and delicious. What a stealthy and easy way to get anyone to try a wild food like this!

I was inspired by The River Cottage's recipe for cauliflower and sweetcorn pakoras—those savory and spicy indian treats—to switch up the run-of-mill dandelion fritter recipe.

What You'll Need:

2 - 3 generous handfuls of dandelion blossoms with stems
Sunflower or coconut oil
A few sprigs of fresh parsley (or any fresh herb from the garden, really)

Batter:
150g gram (chickpea) flour (use any flour you like, really)
1/2 tsp salt
2 heaped teaspoons of ground cumin
2 heaped teaspoons of ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1/3 tsp cayenne
1 tsp baking powder
125ml cold water

[caption id="attachment_508" align="alignright" width="140" caption="Pakora Batter"][/caption]

• Pick the dandelion blossoms mid to late afternoon when they are in full bloom. Try to get at least 2 or 3 inches of flower stalk as well.


• Heat 1/2 an inch or so of oil in a small pot (i use a 4 inch pot so I don't have to use too much oil to get a nice depth). Put it on medium heat while you prepare everything else.


• Whisk all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.


• Slowly pour the water into the dry ingredients while you stir. The mixture should be the consistency of a thick custard—you may need to add more water to achieve this.


• Pop the blossoms off of their stalk and plop them into the batter.


• Chop the stalks into 1/2 inch segments and toss them into the batter  as well.


• Stir the blossoms and stalks into the batter until coated.


• 
  
  [caption id="attachment_509" align="alignright" width="140" caption="Frying Pakoras"][/caption]
  
  Once the oil is heated, spoon the mixture in and fry on each side for 1 minute or so, until dark golden brown.


• Set finished fritters on a plate covered in layers of brown paper bag or paper towels, whichever is handy.


• Salt the finished fritters. Finely chop the parsley and sprinkle on top.


• Enjoy!

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Crafting a Springtime Wild Food Meal

*This is a guest post by Lisa Rose Starner. Lisa is an urban homesteader, wildcrafter, forager, gardener, and herbalist who lives in Grand Rapids, MI. She runs a small herbal CSA and writes about local foods and herbalism. Learn more about her work @ Burdock & Rose*

Local food isn’t a trend. What we’ve been seeing in the marketplace - an increase in organics, profiles of local farmers, talk of healthy soil - these are all important facets getting more attention in a new food and wellness paradigm that is taking shape and is here to stay.

Our culture is starting to shift. We are beginning to understand the connection between healthy soil and healthy people. We are beginning to make choices and invest in good, healthful and local whole foods as part of our health *insurance.* Lifestyles are adjusting to choose values of cooking, gardening, and eating together. It’s a refreshing shift in our community’s way of life.

Springtime in Michigan is an easy time to re-visit your own commitment to living hyper-local for your health. A few popular ideas, if you haven’t considered them already include joining a Community Supported Agriculture program and perhaps cultivating your first herb and vegetable garden.

Beyond gardening, what about learning about the wild plants that live in your yard, neighborhood or nearby fields and forests? The land around us offers many different plants that can be used as wild foods and herbal preparations to keep us well, and spring is an excellent time to learn to forage - There’s nothing more hyper local or healthy!

First course: Re-wilding the Salad

[caption id="attachment_479" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="The nectar rich flowers of the violot, viola spp. A welcoming sign of spring."][/caption]

Violet leaves and flowers (Viola spp), dandelion greens and wild chives mix together well for this flavorful, spring salad of bitter greens. While the wild chives can be found in the wooded areas near your home, you may find these greens as close as your own lawn -- don’t mow these *weeds!*

Assuming you haven’t sprayed your yard with chemicals, these plants can be eaten and are highly nutritious. Don’t be scared off by the bitterness found in the dandelion - the greens are not only packed with Vitamin C, but the bitterness is exactly what our Americanized diets of salt and sweet need.

Bitter greens like dandelion help the stomach in digestion by increasing bile production and it’s a good for the liver, too. We need to integrate more of these flavors back into our processed diets.  The violet greens do not offer the strong bitter profile the dandelion green does - it is a sweeter green, with a bright flavor similar to purslane, but not as strong. It, too, is packed with Vitamin C.

The violet flowers - both white and purple are both beautiful and add a splash of color to the salad.  They are slightly sweet and can be ever so peppery.  They are very fun for children to pick with their little hands.

To harvest - Simply pick the leaves and flowers by hand, and trim the chives with scissors. To ensure maximum sweetness in the dandelion greens, harvest in the cool morning before it gets too hot (same rules apply for all salad greens) and choose the smaller, tender leavers before the plant goes to flower.

Rinse the greens in a water bath and gently dry in a tea towel if you don’t have a salad spinner. Don’t wash the flowers - they will wilt. Top the wild harvested greenery with a zingy lemon-balsamic vinaigrette.

Perfect alone or topped with anchovies for that added flavor and protein. Pairs well with a crisp white wine. I might reach for a local Michigan Riesling.

Main Course: Wildcrafted Nettle Risotto 

Many of us have met the stinging nettle (Urtica doica).  As kids, we most likely encountered them horsing around in the fields of grasses with friends, only to be surprised by those stinging plants.

But what we probably didn’t learn is how nutritious the nettle is! Nettles have great virtues as a wild edible food that nourish the body with plenty of vitamins and minerals. Nettles are very nutrient dense; rich Vitamin C, Vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, cobalt, copper, potassium, B-complex vitamins – even protein.  And they are extremely high in chlorophyll.

Look out, spinach. Pop-eye’s got a new superfood.

In seeking out the nettle, go on spring-time (April-June) hunts in areas of nutrient-rich, damp soil. One can often find them in areas that are adjacent to rivers, streams and lakes, or along drainage areas. Take care to know the area from which you are harvesting and it’s history of use -- try to avoid areas adjacent or downstream from large factories and farms.

Wear your harvesting gloves and long pants! They don’t call them *stinging* nettles for nothing! The stinging sensation and hive-like bumps that can occur from handling the nettle are caused from the hair-like needles found along the stem and leaves, and the sensation is similar to rolling in fiberglass.

Fortunately, the nettles will lose (most all) their stinging properties as they dry or are cooked (steamed or sauteed). Choose smaller leaves before the plant goes to flower mid-summer.

Once harvested, nettles can be used either fresh or dry.

If you plan on drying the nettles for use later in the season, prep them by chopping them into large pieces, taking care not to smash the fragile, fresh plant material. And do this immediately upon harvesting - you want to dry the plant in a vibrant state. You don’t want to let them wilt or deteriorate in your hot car on on the back counter.

To dry, spread them out onto racks (screens are easy for this) and let them dry completely before storing them in glass jars. If they are not completely dry before storage, they will most likely mold.

The dried leaves can be enjoyed year round added to soups and brewed as infusions for drinking.  The infusion should be left to steep overnight as to best extract the minerals of this plant.  The flavor can be a bit swampy to some, and blending the nettle infusion with a choice of green tea, jasmine tea, oatstraw and/or red clover makes it less “swampy.” Add a bit of honey to sweeten to taste and it is a refreshing, nourishing beverage that should be consumed daily.

Fresh nettles can easily replace spinach in recipes that call for the greens.  They can be lightly cooked and added to soups, egg scrambles, quiches, or other similar recipes. Bon Appetit!

Wildcrafted Nettle & Michigan Morel Risotto

What You Need:

1/4 pound young nettles (about 3 big handfuls - it will wilt like spinach)
12 oz risotto/arborio rice
1 onion, chopped
4 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dry Michigan white wine (an extra glass for the chef)
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 oz grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped fresh Michigan morels (if lucky) or fresh shitakes
¼ cup chopped, fresh parsley
Salt, pepper to taste

• Heat the stock in a large saucepan.


• Wash the nettle leaves. Blanch for 2 minutes in boiling salted water, drain and chop very finely. Set aside to add at the end.


• Cook onion and morels gently in half the butter in a large saucepan for a few minutes until tender.


• Add rice and cook over a slightly higher heat for 2 minutes while stirring. Pour in the wine, deglazing the pan. Cook, uncovered, until all the wine has evaporated, then add about 1 cup boiling hot stock; leave the risotto to cook, stirring occasionally and adding about 1/2 cup boiling stock at intervals as the rice absorbs the liquid.


• After about 14 - 15 minutes' cooking time the rice will be tender but still have a little 'bite' left in it when tested.  Add the prepared nettles and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring.


• Take off the heat and stir in the remaining butter which will melt and make the rice look glossy;


• Sprinkle with the freshly grated Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir gently and serve immediately.

read more "Crafting a Springtime Wild Food Meal"

How to Use This Information

The articles section of the website serves as a resource for those wanting to learn various things about foraging and wild food. I will be posting plant profiles, recipes, and the occasional essay. The plant profiles are written from my own direct experience with the specific plant. I've chosen to describe each plant from the perspectives of botany (useful for identification), ecology (useful for locating), medicinal qualities (useful in self-healing), and culinary (useful for eating).

To go along with a theme I've drawn from two of my favorite wild food guides (by Samuel Thayer and John Kallas, respectively), I've chosen to claim, rather than disclaim, the information posted here.

You, dear reader, are responsible for the use to which you put this information, the state of mind with which you put it to use in, and to your own common sense and intuition when working with wild plants. Wild food unfortunately gets a bad rap in society today, due to misinformation, heresy, and outright misconstruing. This could be because people can be careless, because there is an innate fear of wild things in the majority of what passes for culture, or because very few people truly know what nature really is—for whatever reason wild food and poisonous plants get put into the same mental box. What I know for certain is that the information and prose that I write is from my own experience and observation—I write about plants I harvest, the parts I am familiar with eating and working with, and ways I have cooked or prepared them (sometimes many times and sometimes in only a few experiments). However, from time to time I will work off of other peoples findings and information. I will do my best to cite those sources as I go along.

Have fun, be smart, and by golly,  harvest the abundance all around you!

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