My first book is now available to order. The first in a three-part series, Flora is the vegetable portion of my life, covering wild plants, herbs, spices, garden vegetables, nuts and starches. It will be followed in time by Fungi (mushrooms) and Fauna (meat). Is the book only for North American Plants? No. I wrote…
Preboggion: The Wild Edible Plants of Liguria
Preboggion, also known as prebuggiun, or prebugiun, is a traditional mix of edible wild plants (piante spontanee or erbe selvatiche if you’re Italian) harvested in Liguria and the Italian Riviera in the Spring, and a foraging tradition I think it’s worth taking a page from. As I researched different uses of wild plants around the…
Turkish Nettle Salad (Isirgan Salatasi)
Stinging nettle salad sounds like something you’d feed to someone as a punishment. The reality is that it’s a common, traditional nettle recipe from Turkey called Isirgan Salatasi. Last year I shared my new favorite way to cook every forager’s favorite burning weed by steaming them. I don’t think this salad will takes its place,…
Cheremsha: Siberian-Style Fermented Ramp Leaves
Cheremsha, also known as Tjeremsha and Черемша are a wild allium used to make one of the most interesting traditional foods I’ve tasted to date. Essentially, you can think of them as lacto-fermented ramp leaves, although the traditional plant used to make the ferment is Allium victorialis-the victory onion, reputed to have been brought to…
Spring Greens Pudding
A spring green pudding made from wild greens, allium leaves and barley flour is an old recipe from times when a household might have had just one pot. To me, it’s the sort of cooking that evokes ancient stone farmhouses with roaring fires heating a joint of game. As an American who grew up with…
Carbon Steel Pans
Carbon steel pans are an unsung hero of professional kitchens. In the last few years there’s been a carbon renaissance, and now they seem to be everywhere. Today I’m going to break down why I use them, what they’re good for, why I think it’s worth having one in your “batterie de cuisine” at home,…