As the season for abundant leafy greens wanes, I find myself more and more obsessed, tiptoeing daily around my yard and garden to fill my bowl. I steam greens and eat them with eggs for breakfast, fold them in great quantities into omelets, whiz them into pestos and green … [Read more...]
Eating chicory greens
The other day, after years frequenting the same rushing creek in southeast Denver, I finally figured out a way across. On the other side, I found chicory. Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a non-native plant that’s widely naturalized across the U.S. You probably know it from its … [Read more...]
Seaweeding the Eastern Shoreline
My parents shot me quizzical looks last summer when I announced my plan to gather seaweed in Long Island Sound, off the Connecticut coast. Not only would I collect, but also dry the seaweed at their house so I could take it back to Colorado with me for cooking experiments. I … [Read more...]
Fruiting forward
We went for wild plums in the cold, misty morning, gathering them with fingers freezing and lethargic, my feet squishing in icy, wet boots. It was worth enduring the thorny thicket, the musky scent of catnip tall around us, to come home with 20 lbs or so of plums, without making … [Read more...]
Wild Greens & Potato Pie with Kochia
I’m having wild greens and potato pie for breakfast again, as I have for the last two mornings. You wouldn’t think greens mixed into mashed potatoes in a pie crust would be all that exciting, but I am definitely smitten. The inspiration came from Ellen Zachos’ book, Backyard … [Read more...]