Wild Foraging

Forage: To wander in search of food or provisions.

It's unbelievable what delicious bounty our city has to offer for free if we'd only look for it. My friend Brad has a secret spot for wild asparagus. A nature hike near my cottage turned up fiddlehead ferns long before I knew they were one of my favourite vegetables. Almost every forest contains copious amounts of rhubarb. And you'll find an unreal variety of edible berries within our city. You can eat dandelion leaves, sorrel and nettle to name a few.

Yesterday I picked a quart of saskatoon berries from a tree outside my work. I ate a few and then made the rest into jam. The only tricks to eating wild edibles are finding them and confirming that they aren't poisonous. Sources tell me that all wild berries with a crown are edible. Typically if I see animals eating them it's a pretty good sign - but a quick check at the library and a test on my lip a few hours before the big chow down is my standard protocol.

Spring Fiddlehead Pasta & GF Vegan Brownies

Calvin worked late tonight so Mom and I found time, in between planting of course, to make a wonderful dinner.

Spring Fiddlehead Pasta

1. Prepare 4 cups of brown rice penne pasta.
2. Toss with 3 T butter, 1 T lemon juice and a sprinkling of sea salt.
3. Lightly boil (3 minutes or so) 2 cups of fiddleheads. These are currently in season! Check your grocer, market or backyard forest!
4. Toss the fiddleheads in the pasta along with 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese. Top with grated parmesan and fresh basil.

GF Vegan Brownies

Preheat oven to 350.
1. Sift together 3/4 cup gf featherlight flour mix*, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.
2. Whisk together 1/2 cup coconut cream (the thick white part of a can of coconut milk), 1/4 cup oil, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.
3. Fold dry ingredients into wet and stir until just mixed.
4. Bake in a greased 8" pan for 15 minutes (gooey brownies) to 20 minutes (firm brownies).
5. Let cool? Maybe not.

* Look for my previous entry on how to make this mix, or in a pinch for this recipe use 1/2 cup white rice flour, 3 T tapioca flour, 1 T potato starch and 1/8 tsp guar gum.