Passing on traditional skills like foraging, cooking from scratch and living well on less
We recently had a bounty of rhubarb and I found myself looking for a great way to use it past the usual recipes. When I stumbled across a rhubarb juice recipe, I had to try it. That original recipe was a little bit (okay, a lot!) too sweet for my taste and even my kids […]
This time of year, our family really loves making old-fashioned cookies and treats — especially sugarplums. These fruit-based treats are all natural, gluten free, easy and customizable, plus they’re really fun to make with kids. I’m sure everyone has heard of sugarplums at Christmastime (“While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads” from Clement Moore’s […]
So many homes and parks have crab apple trees and so few people put these tasty, healthy little fruits to use. Here’s a recipe to change all that! It’s easy, packed with vitamins and antioxidants, and delicious. It’s also practically free! I came up with this recipe to use up some crab apples that we […]
If you have a garden, chances are that you’ve been pulling up one of the best greens in it for years. Lambsquarters are a very common “weed” in yards and gardens, but they’re actually a really tasty plant that you should probably get to know! Lambsquarters are also known as lambs quarters, wild spinach, pigweed, […]
There’s nothing better when you have fresh tomatoes than homemade salsa — and luckily there’s almost nothing easier too. Here’s our 3-minute fresh salsa recipe, which is the type of salsa (pico de gallo) you get from authentic Mexican restaurants and so good. Our recipe is adapted from one I found years ago that we […]
A few years ago, we purchased a little sour cherry tree from some big box store because it was on clearance at the end of the garden season. That little cherry tree is now a huge, productive tree that we love! It makes the most beautiful white flowers in the spring. And then around July […]
There are some recipes I put on this blog because friends and family ask me for the recipe so often and I want to have an easy way to give it to them. Victoria’s cranberry sauce is one of those recipes. It’s so easy that it’s hard to believe that it is so tasty, and […]
Life is too short to eat bad gluten-free pizza, and there’s no reason you have to. Gluten free pizza dough is easy to make at home (it’s even quicker and easier than traditional pizza dough!) and it is honestly delicious. We’ve been gluten free in our family for over eight years now, and pizza was […]
This article was originally published in Daryl’s Cooking with Kids column at examiner.com in September, 2013. Some links are affiliate links, meaning we get a small commission on purchases made through our links. Making fresh applesauce is something every kid should get to do. We are lucky enough to know several people with apple trees, […]
(Note: This recipe was originally posted by Daryl in his Cooking with Kids column on Examiner.com in 2012.) Here’s a quick and easy way to make tasty gluten-free, dairy free muffins that doesn’t require any special ingredients or much effort. Since our family went GF last spring, we’ve tried a lot of recipes that have […]
Dock seeds are prolific everywhere you look right now, so this is a great time to gather them and make dock seed flour. If you haven’t ever cooked with dock seeds, they’re an easy and healthy source of wild flour to forage. Dock grows as an invasive weed all over the world. You can often […]
We try to use nettles a lot around here since they’re so healthy, so tasty and grow so plentifully all around us. One of the kids’ favorite ways to enjoy nettles are in smoothies. Yes, really! You probably know how healthy stinging nettles are for you, but most folks don’t realize you can use them […]
Got boat loads of zucchini this time of year? Here’s a delicious and easy way to make use of them. Zucchini fritters are kid-friendly and tasty, and the recipe can easily be converted to gluten free (the way we make them), paleo and/or vegan. The recipe is very simple and adaptable, not even really a […]
Here’s a super simple recipe that the kids like to make for fruit sorbet. I even let them make it for breakfast, because they think they’re getting a treat and I know it’s healthy. Just blend frozen fruit (pineapple is a family favorite and what’s pictured here) with sweetened vanilla non-dairy milk of your choice. […]
Here’s one of my favorite ways to use wild ramps, and you can use it to enjoy the wonderful flavor of ramps all year long. Dry the leaves and grind them with coarse sea salt for a simple but delicious wild ramp salt. Simply dry wild ramp leaves until crisp and then put them in […]
Flowers can turn meals positively magical. From drinking out of tulip cups to to scattering flower petals in Wildflower Pound Cake to tossing brightly colored nasturtium petals in a salad, edible flowers can take an ordinary dish and make it extraordinary. There are plenty of flowers that are edible, but you need to be sure […]
We love roasted cauliflower heads in our family but it takes a lot of time and effort to roast them traditionally to cook up tender and bake throughout. I’ve discovered that the Instant Pot can eliminate most of the cooking time and delivers perfect roasted cauliflower heads in much less time. It turns out the […]
Foragers and back yard gardeners often have the happy blessing of buckets of fruit to make use of this time of year. Here’s a wonderful recipe to make use of blueberries, mulberries, black raspberries, mulberries, peaches, strawberries or any other fruit that you have a bounty of. Sometime around mid-July every year, we pick over […]
It’s acorn season, which means one of the best wild foods out there is abundant and free right now. Acorn rice patties are delicious ways to make use of acorns and also happen to be vegetarian and gluten free. We usually have dried acorns and acorn flour on hand for cooking all year long, but […]
It’s zucchini season, meaning that even if you don’t grow zucchini you probably have more than enough giant zucchinis to find something to do with. Here’s a delicious way to make use of it. This zucchini bread recipe is simple and quite versatile. You can use your favorite gluten free flour mix or a blend […]
The first month of summer is past now and I thought I’d do a little update on what we foraged in June this year. This might not include everything, but these were the major foods. Asparagus The wild asparagus season wrapped up here in Minnesota around the second week of June. All total, we harvested […]
It’s mulberry season! Whether you have a mulberry tree in your back yard or local park or you have generous friends or neighbors, these sweet treats are all over right now. There are so many reasons to gather mulberries. First of all, they’re incredibly healthy. Mulberries are loaded with nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and […]
We were thrilled when Daryl brought home two big bags of chicken of the woods mushrooms yesterday. While we harvest lots of pheasant back (dryad’s saddle) mushrooms and morels, this is our first time finding chicken of the woods and I was so excited as I’ve heard for years how much they taste like chicken […]
Whether you have buckets of wild mulberries or an excess of peaches that you can’t possibly eat in time, fruit leather is a fabulous way to make use of it. Fruit leather is wonderfully simple and you can customize each batch with whatever fruits you have and flavors you’re craving. Not only is fruit […]
We’re big guacamole lovers here, especially when avocados in season and affordable like this time of year. Guacamole is fantastically healthy and is also a great non-dairy way to cut the heat in Mexican dishes. Our whole family loves Chipotle (it’s a very affordable way to get healthy, tasty food on the go, and it’s […]
Daryl has made dandelion syrup several times with our kids and it’s always a big hit. Not only is it fun, but the syrup tastes delicious and it’s full of vitamins from the dandelions. It’s also a great vegan substitute for honey, with a similar color and taste. Although it’s the dead of winter right […]
Wondering what to plan for supper this week? Here are some healthy, frugal meals you can make if you’re vegan, paleo or anywhere in between. Even if you buy all organic ingredients, these are meals that are easy on your budget. 1. Soup — Use any veggies, leftovers, grains, meats or beans you have […]
I thought I’d share another acorn recipe from my acorn book, in case anybody else has a stash of newly foraged acorns waiting to be put to good use. This is an ice cream recipe I developed, and like the acorn drop biscuit recipe it is also vegan. There is a traditional acorn ice cream […]
It’s acorn season, and anybody who follows my Instagram knows that our family has been foraging, processing and cooking with acorns all month. Acorn processing #fallforaging #forageandharvest #wildedibles #foraging #foragingfamily #septemberforaging #fallflavors #acorns A post shared by Alicia Bayer (@magicandmayhem) on Sep 4, 2017 at 11:04am PDT I made up a batch of acorn drop […]
Our family has been busy lately with one of our favorite wild edible foods of fall — acorns. Acorn processing #fallforaging #forageandharvest #wildedibles #foraging #foragingfamily #septemberforaging #fallflavors #acorns A post shared by Alicia Bayer (@magicandmayhem) on Sep 4, 2017 at 11:04am PDT Yes, you can eat them, and they are absolutely delicious. They’re also nutritious […]
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 […]
Store-bought gluten free buns are expensive and generally taste something like dish sponges. The good news is you can easily make your own. This recipe is my go-to recipe for quick gluten-free buns. It’s also egg-free, dairy-free and soy-free (and vegan!), so it’s great for folks with multiple allergies. I tend to make these at […]
(Note from Daryl: This was originally shared in my urban foraging column on Examiner many years ago.) I shared how to easily harvest mulberries with your kids last week. Now, here are ten great ways to use your haul. A little about mulberries: You can use them in any recipe that calls for berries. If […]
I’m still busy cracking the walnuts I harvested last fall (I have over 14 cups of meats so far), and I’m still finding creative ways to use them. Here are some more easy recipes I discovered online. Many of them involve maple syrup, because the maple sap has been running and it’s another great treat […]