Passing on traditional skills like foraging, cooking from scratch and living well on less
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
As an avid home brewer of wines and ciders, I was excited to read an ARC copy of Modern Cider: Simple Recipes to Make Your Own Ciders, Perries, Cysers, Shrubs, Fruit Wines, Vinegars, and More, by Emma Christensen, through Net Galley. I am always looking for more recipes and for ideas to simplify the process. […]
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 […]
The unknown pear from Lake Talcot has been identified! I’ve seen it for years, and have never known what it is. The best term I ever found was “immigrant pear”, because it was something early immigrants brought over as animal feed. Chasing a lead down the rabbit hole today, I finally found it. I give […]
Today’s foraging report: It’s raining, so we have a very short window for picking but we’re showing a friend how to can tonight, so we needed pears. We picked two kinds at Talcot and one at GS, so I thought since we had them on hand I’d do a comparison. In the back […]
Yesterday we went to my parent’ house and picked 2 large boxes of pears. Today I checked one of my secret sites, and sure enough — 2 more boxes of pears off one tree (the eating ones), and I didn’t even get to start on the other (much fuller) one (the canning pears). Plus there’s […]
The pears are DONE. Between my parents’ house and my secret spot, we ended up with 11 gallons of pear halves. The first 5 were turned into 15 quarts of sauce, and I see a similar fate for the others when Alicia gets home. Now to start picking some more. Please follow and like us:
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 […]
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 […]
This is what we have waiting to process right now (canning as sauce or freezing for baking. Also some cider). Talcot pears. LPC apples. Chipotle apples. Sam’s Club apples. We missed out on the Talcot apples (they were early, and we weren’t) but there are plenty of pears left. There are also more apple trees […]
11 pints and 3 quarts of applesauce canned, and pears getting prepped. We should have 6 quarts of halves in syrup. Please follow and like us:
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, […]
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 […]
Talcot pear, Jeffers Apple, GS pear. The Talcot pears have a “bite” to them that makes them not great for eating, but wonderful for canning. The Jeffers apples are wonderfully mild, and the GS pears are great for eating, not so much for canning. Please follow and like us:
Foraging today: we finally picked apples from the Jeffers tree (about half a bag, I need a better picker), we prepped and canned 7 quarts of pears, and we’re off to get more. A slow day. Jeffers apples: full red when ripe, soft white flesh, I’d say sauce and cider. And eating, of course. […]
This is the new pear tree we have permission to pick. Please follow and like us:
Many foragy things going on today. I prepped and cut enough pears for 10 quarts to be canned (and they are), and then we got out the juicer. The results of the juice experiments: Chipotle apples: incredibly tart Sam’s Club apples: green juice, very tart LP crab apples- kind of tart, nice flavor, pink juice […]
It was back to the foraging today. I picked a bag of GS pears for a friend, and 2 bags of Robin apples for us. For 10 minutes of picking, we ended up with 7 quarts of beautiful pink applesauce (6 canned, one for eating). Please follow and like us:
So far today we’ve bagged up over a gallon of frozen chopped pears from the GS tree, and I’ve chopped and frozen another gallon plus of Sam’s Club apples (they’re tart, they’ll work great in bread). I’ve also peeled and prepped enough Talcot pears to make 8 quarts and a hair left over. Time to […]
1) The Windom hospital cut down its apple trees! I’m really sad, those were wonderful Red Baron apples. I mean, I still have too many to pick and process, but I liked those apples. 2) They *do* still have pear trees, though. Two different kinds – the larger ones (almost all gone) have […]
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 […]
The pears are falling from the trees, so it’s time to collect as many as you can and put them up for the winter. Here’s a roundup of ideas I’ve tried (or will be trying very soon!) Pear butter, crockpot style Pear butter, stovetop style Freezing pears in syrup Spicy pear preserves Canning pears in […]
The main problem I have with fruit trees is that they very seldom stop growing at 8′ tall. Most of the best looking harvest is far above that, so I need a way to extend my reach. Enter the fruit picker. I have a very old one my father passed on to me, and it […]
I was chatting with my friend Polly from Glasgow, Scotland (imagine Craig Ferguson’s accent, but prettier. A lot prettier.), and I mentioned that we had given our children some apple cider. She was horrified. “Ye do that with your weans?” I told her cider is no big deal, and she pointed out that cider is […]