mix and match snack cake (gluten free)

Mix and Match Snack Cake (gluten free)

This is another recipe I’m putting online because friends ask me for it so often.  🙂    Here’s an easy, delicious way to use extra fruits and veggies you have on hand and create a fabulous gluten free treat at the same time.  Every time we make it, it has a different flavor since we […]

Our 2019 Foraging Wrap-up (elderberries)

Our 2019 Foraging Wrap-Up

Last year was a good year for foraging for our family.  We’ve been using wild foods as a major part of our diet for about 7 years now and it’s become a regular part of our routine for much of the year.  Here’s how it looked for us in 2019. https://www.instagram.com/p/B1yDwnQBsi1/ What was good We […]

The Joy of Foraging: Gary Lincoff's Illustrated Guide to Finding, Harvesting, and Enjoying a World of Wild Food

Review: The Joy of Foraging (What’s Good, What’s Bad)

I read The Joy of Foraging: Gary Lincoff’s Illustrated Guide to Finding, Harvesting, and Enjoying a World of Wild Food while vacationing at a friend’s house, courtesy of her library book pile.  It’s a good book to get from the library before purchasing it to get a feel for whether it will be a good fit […]

Trees of Power Review

Trees of Power: A Must-Read for Foragers, Homesteaders and Environmentalists

A somewhat nerdy looking new book was quietly published this year that has the potential to not just greatly improve your life, but greatly improve the world.  I admit that sounds like a bit of hyperbole, but Trees of Power offers a really inspirational look at how the trees that are all around us can […]

Tales from a Foragers Kitchen

Rodale Pulls Foraging Cookbook That Gives Dangerous Information on Elderberries, Acorns and Mushrooms

A well-known Instagram star’s popular new foraging cookbook has been pulled by its publisher, thanks to the fact that some actual foragers got a hold of it and alerted readers to some dangerous (and seriously unpalatable) recipes inside it. Tales from a Forager’s Kitchen: The Ultimate Field Guide to Evoke Curiosity and Wonderment with More […]

The Fruit Forager's Companion: Ferments, Desserts, Main Dishes, and More from Your Neighborhood and Beyond

A New Favorite Foraging Book: The Fruit Forager’s Companion

When I received a digital ARC of Sara Bir’s The Fruit Forager’s Companion, the only thing I didn’t like about it was the fact that it was deleted after the review period and I didn’t get to keep a copy.   I absolutely loved this book and plan to purchase a copy of my own. […]

How to easily identify elderberries, elderflowers and elder shrubs

Now Is the Time to Easily Find Elderberry Shrubs!

If you’d like to forage your own elderberries later this summer, now is the time to start looking because elder flowers are blooming (or are just finishing) and the elder shrubs so easy to spot.  Here’s everything you need to know to find elderberries and elder flowers. Whenever people find out that our family harvests […]

how to make elderflower syrup

How to Make Elderflower Syrup for Elderflower Cakes

If you’ve been following the royal wedding (or even if you haven’t), you’ve probably heard about the spectacular elderflower cake that pastry chef Claire Ptak designed for the much-anticipated wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. The wedding cake is to be served at the Reception. It was designed by Claire Ptak and features elderflower […]

How to Divorce Your Grocery Store

Here’s an easy way to dramatically lower your grocery costs and still eat well.  At the start of each week (or whenever your local stores change their sales), check out the sales flyers for any grocery stores near you.  Only check for grocery items that you either use regularly or would use if they were […]

Wild foods list of each of Samuel Thayer's foraging books: Incredible Wild Edibles, Nature's Garden & The Forager's Harvest

Which Wild Edible Plants Are Covered in Samuel Thayer’s Foraging Books?

Samuel Thayer’s foraging books Nature’s Garden and The Forager’s Harvest are well loved by foragers, and his upcoming book, Incredible Wild Edibles, promises to be another great resource.  Thayer doesn’t cover the same wild edible foods in any of his books.  Each book goes into great detail about a few dozen wild foods to forage, […]

It’s Elderberry Season!

Daryl and I have been faithfully checking our elder patches for the past few weeks and he brought home a bag of our first elderberry bounty for the year this week. This particular clump of elders is bordering a nursing home that has given us permission to pick their pears and elderberries.  He harvested them […]

Foraging and cooking with elderberries and elder flowers

Now in Paperback!

  My elderberry book is now available in a paperback edition!  We heard from many people who wanted a physical copy of the book, especially to make use of it while foraging and for the cookbook section.  I worked over the past couple of months to create the best possible paperback version, with black and […]

Elderberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Elderberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Elderflower season is coming to an end and that means elderberry season is coming soon!  Make sure you use some of this year’s elderberry crop to make some elderberry jam and elderberry pie filling, because they’re so wonderful in recipes like elderberry cream cheese cupcakes (and elderberry thumbprint cookies, and elderberry fluff, and elderberry frosting….). […]

How to make elderflower syrup (or elderflower sparkling wine)!

How to Make Elderflower Soda (or Elderflower Sparkling Wine)

Have you heard of elderflower soda?  This is a traditional elderflower delicacy that is so popular in Romania that it inspired Coca-Cola to release their own version, Fanta Shokata (though theirs contains no real elderflowers). It is also known as Socată or Suc de Soc. Here’s the recipe to make your own, which is another […]

Elderberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes

A Magical Life Cake and Cupcakes (Gluten Free, Delicious and Easy!)

I have been making homemade birthday cakes and cupcakes for my kids for almost 20 years now, and they’ve been gluten free for the past 6 years.  With five kids, that means that I have baked a lot of birthday cakes and cupcakes! I tried recipe after recipe, with none of them giving me the […]

Make your own elderberry schnapps from dried elderberries

Make Your Own Elderberry Schnapps!

Here’s another easy recipe from my new book, Elderberries: The Beginner’s Guide to Foraging, Preserving and Using Elderberries for Health Remedies, Recipes, Drinks and More (available now on Kindle and in paperback). This is a beautiful, deep purple schnapps that is so simple to make with either fresh or frozen elderberries.  See the directions at […]

elderberry cream cheese spread

Elderberry Cream Cheese Spread

Here’s a quick, easy and delicious recipe to make use of elderberry jam that you may have put up.  I featured it in my new book, Elderberries: The Beginner’s Guide to Foraging, Preserving and Using Elderberries for Health Remedies, Recipes, Drinks and More, which went live on Amazon at the Kindle store on Friday and […]

Elderberries, 8/30/16

The elderberries are ripening! From 2 small spots, we picked almost 14 cleaned cups of berries, so just shy of a gallon. The major patches are yet to come — I haven’t even checked them yet! Please follow and like us:

Foraging records

Foraging, 8/30/16

It’s been an odd year for foraging. Something about the spring weather, but this year we had bumper crops of asparagus, elderberries, pears, and apples (some trees that haven’t produced in years are going crazy). On the other hand, there were no mulberries, black raspberries, gooseberries, wild plums, or pin cherries. I guess pick and […]

Trio, 9/1/16

Today’s foraging haul – Lake Talcot pears (2 very full bags, many more to pick, wonderful for canning), Chipotle apples (1 very full bag, very tart, going to make cider), and Sam’s Club apples (1 full bag, crisp, for pies and baking). Also checked on the elderberry patches – we may be too late! Save […]

Foraging, 9/5/16

Another non-foraging day of foraging. I picked many elderberries and prepped them (elderberry wine is on the slate this year), didn’t get to ask about a pear tree (but will), didn’t get around to asking about an apple tree (but will), and got some free roadside tomatoes. Also prepped a bunch of pears for canning, […]

Foraging, 9/6/16

Forage a jolly good fellow… Around doing everything else, we found out there’s no elderberries left near Lakefield (And precious few walnuts), but there’s still some elderberries west of town. We also got permission to pick a new pear tree, and cooked down some of the Sam’s club apples. It makes a very tart green […]

How to make simple elderberry syrup

Natural recipes: Elderberry honey syrup

Every family should keep a jar of elderberry honey syrup in their refrigerator. This simple, natural elixir is fabulous at preventing and treating illnesses and it couldn’t be easier to make or more natural. What’s so great about elderberry syrup? Elderberry syrup is one of the best things on the planet to fight illness. It […]

50 Wild edible superfoods

50 Wild edible superfoods

With our world and our foods are becoming increasingly contaminated, it’s more important than ever to regularly consume foods that help provide extra nutrients and protect our health. Wild edibles can be some of the best foods to help do this. Some of the most commonly foraged foods are also the types of plants that […]

31 Wild foods to forage in July

July is a fantastic time to forage for wild edible foods. Whether you’re in the country or the city, there are wild foods all over that are tasty and nutritious. This is a good month for wild fruits, such as black raspberries and wild plums. Wild greens are still plentiful, such as purslane and lamb’s […]

11 Must-try ways to preserve elderberries

We’ll be picking wild elderberries soon, and after we get them off the stems we’ll need to cook with them or preserve them. This article is about preserving them for later. Why preserve them? According to Wildman Steve Brill: “Avoid unripe, green berries–they’ll get you sick. Even raw ripe elderberries make some people nauseous. Cooking […]

What is urban foraging anyway?

By Daryl I consider myself an urban forager, and many people have asked me exactly what I mean by that. To me, urban foraging is more than just walking through the woods (although that’s definitely a part of it). And it’s more than just wandering through town looking at people’s yards and gardens. First, let […]