foraging

Cranberry Tart with Nut Crust

(16 ounces) fresh (or defrosted) whole cranberries

sugar

golden syrup

lemon

all-purpose flour

nut flour

salt

water

In a medium sauce pan, combine the sugar and golden syrup over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Add the cranberries and lemon zest and turn over several times to coat evenly with the sugar mixture. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Prepare the dough: If using a food processor, combine the dry ingredients in the processor bowl and pulse to combine. Drop in the butter pieces and pulse several times until the consistency of oatmeal. If preparing by hand, combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter pieces and cut in with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture is the consistency of oatmeal.

Continue preparing the dough by adding the water one tablespoon at a time until the dough just barely comes together in a ball. Turn the dough out onto the counter and gather up and shape into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Unwrap the dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to a rough 9-inch circle. Carefully transfer to a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Press the dough into the pan and then form a lip around the edge by turning the pan while gently pinching the lip between your left thumb on the outside and right thumb and forefinger on the inside. Chill the prepared pan for 10-15 minutes.

When ready to bake, remove the prepared pan from the refrigerator and prick the bottom a few times with the tines of a fork. Line the bottom of the tart shell with pie weights or a layer of parchment paper and uncooked beans. Bake for 10 minutes or until crust begins to show some drying and browning.

Remove the tart shell from the oven and pour the cool cranberry mixture into the shell, spreading it out from the middle so as not to drip on the lip of the crust. Drizzle any remaining sugar mixture from the pan throughout the shell, again avoiding the lip of the tart.

Bake for another 30 minutes, or until crust deepens in color and the filling is bubbling. Cool on a wire rack. Carefully remove the outer ring, and serve while still warm, or at room temperature. Top with a scoop of ice cream, or a dollop of cream.

<p>Adjust the amount of oil, butter, and garlic according to the amount of mushrooms you have. You really can't go wrong with the quantities, however, overcompensate for oil and butter as the mushrooms absorb them fast!</p>

Sautéed Lion’S Mane Mushrooms With Garlic

olive oil or butter

minced garlic

lion’s mane mushrooms, sliced 1/2-inch thick

cilantro or parsley

toss with quinoa dressed salt

Sautéed Lion’s Mane Mushrooms with Garlic

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat, don&#8217;t add any oil yet! Dry sauté the lion&#8217;s mane mushroom slices until the water releases and edges start to brown. Remove from the skillet and transfer to plate.

Add a healthy pad of butter (or olive oil for a vegan alternative) and the garlic. When the garlic is fragrant, add the lion&#8217;s mane mushrooms back into the skillet. 

Sauté the mushrooms on each side until golden brown, about 5 minutes. 

Fir Shortbread Cookies ~ these easy shortbread cookies are made with delicate evergreen needles of the Douglas Fir tree. They have a soft, citrusy flavor and the aroma of a winter forest. 

Douglas Fir Shortbread

unsalted butter

all purpose flour

cornstarch

fresh fir needles (substitute pine or spruce)

Put the sugar and fir needles in a food processor and process until the needles are finely ground.  Pulsing the machine helps to get the needles broken down. Note that you will measure out 1/2 cup for this recipe and then use more for sprinkling.  You will have extra sugar leftover, which you can use in tea, oatmeal, etc.

Cream the butter and sugar (just 1/2 cup) together until completely blended.  I use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Whisk the flour and cornstarch together until well blended.  Add to the butter mixture and beat until the dough comes together.  Scoop out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and bring it together with your hands.  Make sure there&#x27;s no dry flour left, and then pat into a flat disk.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2-3 hours, or until firm.

Preheat the oven to 350F

Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick, and cut out cookies with a 2 inch cookie cutter.  Place the cookies 2 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Sprinkle the cookies with more fir sugar if you like, I think it adds a nice crunch to the surface. I like to refrigerate the cookies right on the pan for 15 minutes before baking.  This helps the shortbread to hold its shape well.

Bake for about 10 minutes ~ the cookies will still be pale, and soft to the touch.  They will firm up as they cool.  Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack.

Cookies will last about a week, and can be frozen for longer storage.

to make fir sugar

Make this seasonal apple and blackberry crumble for a comforting family pud. Pre-cooking the topping will make it extra-crispy, while also retaining the texture of the fruit

Apple & blackberry crumble

plain flour

caster sugar

Braeburn apple

demerara sugar

blackberries

cinnamon

vanilla ice cream, to serve

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Tip 120g plain flour and 60g caster sugar into a large bowl.

Add 60g unsalted butter, then rub into the flour using your fingertips to make a light breadcrumb texture. Do not overwork it or the crumble will become heavy.

Sprinkle the mixture evenly over a baking sheet and bake for 15 mins or until lightly coloured.

Meanwhile, for the compote, peel, core and cut 300g Braeburn apples into 2cm dice.

Put 30g unsalted butter and 30g demerara sugar in a medium saucepan and melt together over a medium heat. Cook for 3 mins until the mixture turns to a light caramel.

Stir in the apples and cook for 3 mins. Add 115g blackberries and ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, and cook for 3 mins more.

Cover, remove from the heat, then leave for 2-3 mins to continue cooking in the warmth of the pan.

To serve, spoon the warm fruit into an ovenproof gratin dish, top with the crumble mix, then reheat in the oven for 5-10 mins. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Fragrant and refreshing, springtime elderflower cordial is easy to make. Mix with sparkling water to create elderflower pressé, or add to wine, prosecco or champagne to start a party in style

Homemade elderflower cordial

½kg white sugar

lemons

elderflower heads,

citric acid (from chemists)

Put the sugar and 1.5 litres/2¾ pints water into the largest saucepan you have. Gently heat, without boiling, until the sugar has dissolved. Give it a stir every now and again. Pare the zest from the lemons using a potato peeler, then slice the lemons into rounds.

Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the pan of syrup to the boil, then turn off the heat. Fill a washing up bowl with cold water. Give the flowers a gentle swish around to loosen any dirt or bugs. Lift flowers out, gently shake and transfer to the syrup along with the lemons, zest and citric acid, then stir well. Cover the pan and leave to infuse for 24 hrs.

Line a colander with a clean tea towel, then sit it over a large bowl or pan. Ladle in the syrup – let it drip slowly through. Discard the bits left in the towel. Use a funnel and a ladle to fill sterilised bottles (run glass bottles through the dishwasher, or wash well with soapy water. Rinse, then leave to dry in a low oven). The cordial is ready to drink straight away and will keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. Or freeze it in plastic containers or ice cube trays and defrost as needed.

Rose Hip Ketchup

Rose Hips

Water

Anaheim Pepper

Onion

Garlic Cloves

Red Bell Pepper

Apple Cider Vinegar

Brown Sugar

Salt

tsp Allspice

½ tsp Dry Mustard

tsp Celery Seed

There is no need to separate the ends from the rose hips since you’ll be using a fine sieve to strain away all the ends and seeds.

Cover 12 cups of rose hips with water and bring to a boil. Turn down to a slow simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

While the rose hips are boiling, chop the anaheim pepper (deseed and devein if you want to remove some of the spice), onion, and garlic.

Put a fine sieve over a bowl and pour the pot of rose hips into the sieve to separate the liquid from the rose hips. Reserve the liquid as a broth for another recipe (chili maybe?) or use it to thin out the ketchup later.

Pour the rose hips into a separate bowl from the fine sieve and place the strainer over another bowl to collect the rose hip puree.

A cup at a time, push the rose hips through the fine sieve. Scoop out the rose hip part that remains in the sieve and put it back in the cooking pot you originally cooked them in. Do this for the remaining rose hips. It takes a bit of time to get it pushed through, and I remind myself every year that I’m going to get a food mill, but here I am still doing it the hard way. Taste the puree, so you know what you’re working with - kind of like a tomato paste.

Cover the rose hips once again with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Strain them once again, as you did in the step above.

Heat olive oil and saute onion, garlic, and peppers for 8 minutes.

Add in the apple cider vinegar, stir, and then add in the rose hip puree. Stir to blend the ingredients.

Add in remaining ingredients and cook at a low simmer for 10 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, blend the ingredients in the pot until smooth. You can use a regular blender to do this too. If the pot you cooked the ketchup in is Teflon, transfer to a glass bowl before using the immersion blender. Then, like my chef, buddy said, “Throw out that Teflon pot and get something that doesn’t cause you cancer,” and then he threw my last Teflon pot away.

This recipe makes a little under three pints of ketchup, which is a lot to eat before it goes bad sitting in the fridge. I divide the recipe between two ball glasses that I can in a hot water bath for 15 minutes (adjust for altitude - my real-time at 7,000 feet elevation is 30 minutes). The remaining ketchup I put into a salad dressing jar to be used over the next few weeks.

Camas bulbs are native to North America, and there are several varieties -- all blue. The plant is most common in the Mountain West, where there can be whole fields full of it. Be very sure of your identification, as there is a similar plant, the death camas, that looks close enough to a blue camas to keep you on your toes. Camas needs to be cooked slowly and for a long time before you do anything else with it. If you skip this step, all the inulin in the bulb will still be present when you serve them, and you will all be farting like crazy in a few hours. Slow, moist cooking breaks the inulin down into fructose. I cooked the bulbs at 220 degrees for 12 hours to get to a point where the bulbs were still savory, but with a hint of sweetness like a parsnip. You could try cooking longer or hotter for different effects.

Twice Cooked Blue Camas Bulbs

blue camas bulbs, (about a dozen)

olive oil

verjus, lemon juice vinegar

Smoked salt

Remove the papery sheath off the bulbs and put them in an ovenproof container with a lid. Pour in just enough water to cover the bottom of the container by about 1/4 inch or so. Cover the container and bake the camas bulbs at 220-230 degrees for 12 hours. Check on them after 8 hours or so. You want them to look anything from pale gold to full golden.

Slice the bulbs into rings and lightly dust them with fine salt. Saute them in olive oil, butter or some other fat until they brown. They will be a little sticky, so keep the pan moving for the first minute or so to prevent the bulbs from sticking to the pan. Keep an eye on them, as the sugars in the camas will caramelize fast.

To finish, toss with the verjus and dust with the smoked salt. Eat at once.

Marinated Woodland Mushroom Medley

1-2lbs mixed fresh wild mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces

-2 red chilies, chopped

garlic,

Salt and pepper

Thyme

garlic clove,

tbsp high-quality vinegar

Flaky salt

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Clean and trim all of the mushrooms. Cut them into bite-sized pieces and add them to a bowl. Add the olive oil, chilies, garlic, thyme sprigs, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well.

Transfer to a sheet pan and put in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice halfway through.

Dump the cooked mushrooms into a bowl and add the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, vinegar, and a pinch of flaky salt.

Mix well, and let marinade for at least 30 minutes (you can also put in the fridge to marinate overnight, then warm to serve).

Serve with crackers, sliced baguette, or crusty bread. Enjoy!

I&#039;ll show you how to make lemon balm tea from fresh or dried lemon balm ~ this soothing caffeine free herbal tea is relaxing and helps you ease into sleep. It&#039;s good for the digestion, too!

How to Make Lemon Balm Tea

lemon balm leaves

Bring 1 quart purified water to a boil.

Put lemon balm leaves in a tea pot.

Pour the water over the lemon balm leaves, stir, and let steep for 10 minutes.

Pour or strain into your tea cup or mug. Add honey to taste. Garnish with a slice of lemon and a lemon balm leaf or two.

This covers everything you need to know about using your lemon balm to make a delicious tea.

This looks great!  I’m sorry to hear you’re under the weather but so glad it’s not covid. ?. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

PS.  Bring you water to a boil. Wait 60 seconds to allow the water to temper before pouring over the leaves. This will prevent the leaves from scalding.   If making iced tea add extra leaves to steep to prevent ice from diluting the flavor.

Sounds good. A gentle reminder, this is not tea and should only be called an infusion. Only blends with actual tea leaves can be properly called a tea.  This is a tisane/ infusion. Will look forward to trying your recipe. EE

You will need some unusual ingredients to make this, notably sassafras roots. If you happen to live in the United States or Canada east of the Great Plains, you are in luck: Sassafras grows everywhere in that region. If you don’t live there, or don’t feel like foraging for your own sassafras, you can buy sassafras root bark online. The burdock in the recipe grows all around you as a weed. Otherwise, many good supermarkets have burdock in the produce section: They are long pale, skinny roots often sold under their Japanese name “gobo.” If you absolutely cannot get your hands on burdock, use dandelion roots. The root beer will be different, but still fine.

Homemade Root Beer Syrup

sassafras roots

burdock or dandelion root

molasses

clove

star anise

coriander seeds

wintergreen or peppermint extract

Chop the sassafras and burdock roots into small pieces, about 1/2 inch or smaller.

Put the roots in a medium-sized heavy pot with the clove, star anise and coriander seeds and cover with the water. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Simmer this for 15 minutes.

Add the molasses and simmer another 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the wintergreen or peppermint extract. Put the cover back on the tea.

When the mixture cools, strain it though cheesecloth to remove any debris.

Return it to the pot with an equal amount of sugar. Stir to combine. Bring it to a simmer and cook it for 5 minutes, uncovered. Pour into quart mason jars and seal. Keeps a year in the fridge.

Thank you so much for this delicious recipe and wonderful how to guide. The root beer was super straightforward to make and a huge hit in my house.

The recipe looks really good and I want to try it but need to reduce sugars in my diet for health reasons.  Do you have suggestions to reduce the calories and sugar?

Thanks.

I just made this today and and my son help me gather the ingredients from our property and we are both extremely satisfied with how it turned out

My boyfriend is overseeing a construction project here in Fredericksburg, VA and they are clearing the land. Amongst many, many great foraging finds, was a tree they tore up and as soon as he “smelled” it, he was like “omg, that’s sassafras!” He and his grandmother used to forage for it in Missouri, and we talk often of foraging with our Grandparents (Missouri and North Carolina, respectfully), but here we are in Virginia, and there it was!  I visit your site often and so when I googled “sassafras root” and your site came up, I’m like “this is my guy” I can’t wait to try this recipe! P. S. he brought a root into the house and said “here smell this” which of course I thought was going to be a prank and as soon as I did i was like “omg, sassafras! what the heck!?” score…. now my whole kitchen smells like root beer and I haven’t even brewed it yet ? Thanks for the recipe!

i've had sassafras in my backyard in central Virginia for the past 17+ years, and have done nothing with it. just now getting around to researching the possibilities. thank you for your contribution~!

Top 10 foraging recipes from across the web

The most viewed foraging recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Cranberry Tart with Nut Crust

Sautéed Lion’S Mane Mushrooms With ...

Douglas Fir Shortbread

Apple & blackberry crumble

Homemade elderflower cordial

Rose Hip Ketchup

Twice Cooked Blue Camas Bulbs

Marinated Woodland Mushroom Medley

How to Make Lemon Balm Tea

Homemade Root Beer Syrup

Top 10 foraging recipes from across the web

The most viewed foraging recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Cranberry Tart with Nut Crust

Sautéed Lion’S Mane Mushrooms With ...

Douglas Fir Shortbread

Apple & blackberry crumble

Homemade elderflower cordial

Rose Hip Ketchup

Twice Cooked Blue Camas Bulbs

Marinated Woodland Mushroom Medley

How to Make Lemon Balm Tea

Homemade Root Beer Syrup

The most viewed foraging recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine