We finally found some edible mushrooms — oysters growing on a dead tree down by the river
Tag: foraging
Rose Hip Jelly
Anya and I picked more rose hips today — we’ve got a LOT of the little things. About half a pound.
We boiled them (plus an apple) in enough water to cover by 1″, added a little lemon juice, then drained the juice. Added a whole bunch of sugar to make jelly (14 oz for every pint of juice), and let it cool and congeal overnight.
Rose Hips
Anya and I walked down to the farm by way of the river to get the trail camera card — coming up the western side of the river, I noticed there were bountiful rose hips. We stopped for a bit and picked the juiciest looking ones — not quite a cup, so I guess we’ll have to go out again next weekend.
Black Walnuts!
There are black walnut trees all over the farm — we should have loads of walnuts this year since we managed to get a cartload of walnuts from the back woods last time.
Spruce Tips
Anya and I harvested a bunch of spruce tips today — we can make spruce tip syrup and spruce tip ice cream — and gathered a big handful of willow branches to make a root stimulating liquid (also, the kombucha is still doing well!)
Foraging Black Walnuts
We were out foraging in the woods and happened across a bunch of black walnuts … and then found what I assume is a squirrel’s cache of the things.
Turkey Tail Mushrooms
We’ve been harvesting some turkey tail mushrooms — I’ve marinaded some in a jerky sauce and that made an interesting, chewy mushroom jerky.
Spruce Tip Ice Cream
I have a bunch of recipes from https://foragerchef.com that I wanted to make this year … but we seem to have missed the harvest this year. Reminder for next year — snip a bunch of the citrus-y spruce tips and make spruce tip syrup and spruce tip ice cream.
Ingredients
- 3 cups half and half
- 1/2 cup fresh spruce tips
- 5 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
Instructions
-
On low, heat the half and half, sugar, salt, and egg yolks in a small sauce pan, whisking occasionally until the mixture is hot and thickens slightly.
-
Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, then transfer to a blender.
-
When the mixture is cool, chop the spruce tips well, then add to the blender and puree until very smooth. It takes a bit of horsepower to break down the needles, for the best flavor you really need them finely blended.
-
When the mixture is pureed, pass it through a fine mesh strainer. If possible, allow the custard to sit in the fridge overnight, which will give a better texture in the finished product. Before spinning, whisk in the lime juice.
-
Place the spruce custard in the bowl of an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturers directions. Mine usually takes about 45 minutes.