My early porcini spot finally started fruiting a couple days ago, a full month behind last year's schedule. My guess is that the mushrooms decided to wait for my parents' arrival in Colorado. After so many trips to check for them, Gregg doubted I'd find any, but there they were, … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2014
Lamb’s quarters pesto
The other day we tore ourselves away from our computers and headed out into the forest in the fading light to sneak in a brisk walk before bed. I have mushrooms on the brain, always, these days, so I was hoping to find some. Our neighborhood at 10,000 feet on the mountainside … [Read more...]
Colorado’s wild blueberries
If you’re looking for blueberries like the kind you buy in the grocery store, look elsewhere. The Colorado high country “blueberries” I’m talking about are not those, but several related species of Vaccinium that are smaller, and grow not on a bush but in the groundcover under … [Read more...]
Ellen Zachos’ ‘Backyard Foraging’
Did you know that hosta—the large-leaved and oft variegated landscaping plant that the deer love so much—is edible? I had no idea until I picked up Ellen Zachos’ book, Backyard Foraging: 65 Familiar Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat (Storey Publishing, 2013). Go figure. The … [Read more...]
Hawks Wings Mushrooms – Free Download
I find and eat a lot of hawk's wings mushrooms (Sarcodon imbricatus) in the Colorado high country, and they have already started flushing this year. I've eaten them marinated and grilled, dried and reconstituted and sauteed with sauerkraut like my Polish grandmother used to do … [Read more...]