Wild Edibles

Wild Plant Recipes

Cold Soup for Hot Summer Days: Green Gazpacho

Baby Moose Frolicking in Pond. Photograph by Laurie Constantino

 

When days are long and the sun shining, there’s no better place than Alaska. We left a dinner at 10 tonight and drove to another, surrounded by brilliantly blue skies, balding mountains, and balmy 74° temperatures. Arriving home, a baby moose was happily frolicking in the pond. Hard to believe ...

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Safe and Ethical Foraging with One Final Cow Parsnip Recipe

Cow Parsnip Ice Cream with Cow Parsnip Chips and Strawberries. Photograph by Laurie Constantino

 

Eager to ensure enthusiasm doesn’t get the better of my taste buds, I’ve been carrying samples of foraged food with me wherever I go and offering tastes to anyone and everyone. Wild chips, roasts, curries, and ice creams are my calling card as I investigate whether my recipes have more ...

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How to Prepare Cow Parsnip for Cooking and Eating

Immature Cow Parsnip Leaves & Stalks. Photograph by Laurie Constantino

 

After reading my recent cow parsnip article and cow parsnip salad recipe, Susan asked “In Janice Schofield’s book Discovering Wild Plants, she says to peel [cow parsnip] stems. I didn’t see that step in your blog post, so maybe that’s optional?

Good question Susan. Discovering Wild Plants is the best resource ...

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Wild Edibles: How to Harvest and Cook Cow Parsnip Greens

Cow Parsnips Ready for Harvest. Photograph by Laurie Constantino

 

Young cow parsnips shoots and leaves have wonderful flavor. When prepared correctly, they’re a highly desirable wild edible.

I can hear the groans now. “Cow parsnip is a horrible plant.” “I’m allergic to cow parsnip.” “Cow parsnip stinks.” “Cow parsnip is the curse of the trail.” “Avoid it at all costs.” ...

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Juicy Salty Crunchy: Samphire, A Delicious Wild Edible

Fresh-Sea-Beans / Samphire

Sea beans, beach asparagus, samphire, salicornia, glasswort, pickleweed and many more; the names for this family of juicy salty crunchy vegetables is one of the wild world’s tastiest treats. In Anchorage, they’re generally called sea beans, but are stuck in my mind as samphire, what they were called when we ...

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Cookbook Review: Beginnings, My Way to Start a Meal by Chris Cosentino

Roasted Castelvetrano Olives & Cherry Tomatoes

San Francisco chef Chris Cosentino has a great new book called Beginnings: My Way to Start a Meal. It has wonderful recipes, Cosentino’s hand-drawn doodles and food musings, and Michael Harlan Turkell’s inspirational photographs.

Beginnings‘ recipes mirror the remarkable food served at Incanto, Cosentino’s San Francisco restaurant, and Boccalone, his artisanal ...

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