161 replies to this topic

[heidih]

I "foraged" in the yard today for nasturtium seed pods. The first image is about a cup of the pods along with the debris of stems and petals. The second image is of the pods in a salt and water brine set to soak uncovered for a day. Will resoak again depending on how sharp the bite is versus the flavor tomorrow. Then they will get a hot vinegar bath with a touch of sugar. Anybody else pickle these? They are compared to capers. I love them in a caponata when the eggplant and tomatoes are at their peak. Of course they lend a unique accent in the same applications as capers in so many dishes.

[FrogPrincesse]

Heidi- My grand-mother used to pickle them. Similar to capers, with more crunch.

[Mallet]

Yajna, can you talk a bit more about making vin de pêche? It sounds great (and my parents have a peach tree!)

[Yajna Patni]

I used the recipe on David Leibovitz.com.. it was a bottle of red wine, with about 40 peach leaves soaked in it for a week. Then you add sugar and some brandy. You drink it as an apperitf over ice, and it was so good!

[Tri2Cook]

Went out scouting, the blueberries are starting. Early for here and it looks like it's going to be a good year. I'd say another week and they'll really be jumping.

[Kerry Beal]

Went out scouting, the blueberries are starting. Early for here and it looks like it's going to be a good year. I'd say another week and they'll really be jumping.

I bought blueberries from the side of the road a couple of days ago - saw a whole lot of people selling them on the way to Sudbury yesterday. Must be a really good year here.

[Tri2Cook]

Went out scouting, the blueberries are starting. Early for here and it looks like it's going to be a good year. I'd say another week and they'll really be jumping.

I bought blueberries from the side of the road a couple of days ago - saw a whole lot of people selling them on the way to Sudbury yesterday. Must be a really good year here.

I hope so. I hate those years when you have to plod around in the heat and bugs for 2 hours or more to get one bucket.

[Mallet]

Is this early for Ontario? Last year I was picking blueberries in NB in the first week of August and I was still about a 1-2 weeks too early.

[Tri2Cook]

It's a little early for the part of Ontario where I live assuming I'm not wrong and can start the serious picking within the next week.

[Mallet]

A came upon a good quantity of lobster mushrooms. Although they are not uncommon, it's very rare for me to get at them before the slugs do, so I've never picked them before. I fried up a few in butter and they were pretty good, but not particularly distinctive. Any favourite preparations?

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[Mallet]

We ended up making a mushroom risotto with the lobsters, which was pretty tasty. The mushrooms themselves are fairly mild but have a nice firm texture. This time of the year, I've moved on to better fodder.

Chicken of the woods


Also, while we were out we saw several giant swallowtail caterpillars on a prickly ash bush. Normally they just look like bird droppings but when you touch them they rear up a snake-like osmeterium, which apparently releases some pretty foul odour.

[Darienne]

No apples for us this year, after last year's amazing bounty. However, a bumper crop of wild grapes...more than I can use. Grape jelly is the result.

Out on our perimeter walk this morning, we saw several puffballs, still small, and we'll watch them for picking this coming week. Ed loves puffball fried in butter. I freeze the extra for a variety of mushroom uses during the year.