This Week at Foraged and Found 6/26

It is looking like a light week at the markets, but-

Porcini(King Bolete) are still on! Maybe just another week of good quantities so get them while they last. One of the easiest and enjoyable ways to enjoy them is grilled, check out the recipe below for a porcini salad.

Seabeans will be available every week until August. Shelf life is 1 to 2 weeks- store in a airtight container or plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Morels are very sparse but we will have small amounts off and on in the coming weeks as available.

Dylan gets very excited about fresh salmon

Also available at other farmers stands this week-

Fresh Salmon!
Loki Fish Co. will have the first fresh salmon of the season this weekend at the University District, West Seattle, and Ballard farmers markets. Dylan Knutson just started a blog- Loki Fish Co.'s Market Fresh Blog. Check out his post about his dad Pete and brother Jonah's trek up to Alaska to start the fishing season.

Greens, Peas and Young Onions- this is the time of year for an abundance of these crops-
every type of young tender lettuce, snap peas, shell peas, peavines, spring wallas wallas, scallions......
Local Roots Farm has a beautiful selection of these spring beauties- including lettuce varieties with cool names like Flashy Butter Oak and Brown Golding Romaine, Japanese pink turnips, and the sweetest shell peas( at the Ballard Market last week I ate them on top of fresh mint ice cream from Empire Ice Cream!)













Siri and Jason from Local Roots

Sweet Pea Flowers- these are my all time favorite flower because of the heavenly scent! Stick your nose in a bouquet and fly away. I have been lucky to be next to Children's Garden at the Ballard Market and I get whiffs all day long of sweet peas. They are doing a nice bouquet combo with big stalks of mint and sweet peas.


Foraged and Found Edibles is a northwest wild food business selling locally to restaurants and at farmers market in the Seattle area. Throughout the summer you will find us Saturdays at the University District Market, and Sundays at Ballard and West Seattle markets.

Grilled King Boletes with Wild Salad

This recipe from June in from The Illustrated Wild Foods Recipe Calendar 2009....

Grilled King Boletes with Wild Salad

My favorite way to savor king boletes is simply grilled. Pair them with truly wild delicate spring greens and you have a match made in foraging heaven. This recipe is a guideline to spark your creativity and to use whatever you have found and foraged in the woods or your local farmers market.

For each serving:
1 medium King Bolete
Olive oil
Garlic
A few herb sprigs such as marjoram, thyme, oregano, or parsley
Salt and pepper
A couple handfuls of foraged greens-chickweed, dandelion, fennel fronds, lamb’s quarters, miner’s lettuce, purslane, spring beauty, sheep sorrel, wood sorrel, wood violets, etc
Fresh squeezed lemon juice or wine vinegar
One small button king bolete, sliced paper thin, optional
A crunchy tasty garnish-toasted pinenuts, crispy bacon, or shavings of a hard cheese, etc.

Slice mushroom ¼ inch thick. Mix a spoonful of olive oil with a little minced garlic, fresh herbs, salt, and pepper. Brush liberally on mushroom and grill slices over hot coals until browned and tender. Toss wild greens with a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar or lemon, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and optional raw bolete. Serve next to grilled king boletes sprinkled with garnish of choice.

This Week at Foraged and Found 6/18

Morels are back this week!! Finally some forest fires are producing.

And we have a new item this week- Saskatoon Berries.
For the first time Jeremy found a large field of them in Washington. They are also known by the names serviceberry and juneberry, but I definitely like the name saskatoon- so much funner to say. Saskatoons are more prolific farther north in Canada and are very popular there as well. There are even u-pick saskatoon berry farms. Saskatoons look similar to blueberries but the fruit is actually a pome, such as apples and pears. The texture reminds me of a juicy soft apple, and tastes neither too sweet or sour with hints of plum and fig. They are very high in antioxidants, higher even than blueberries, and a good source of fiber. Native use of this bush included using the wood and leaves medicinally and drying berries into cakes for later use. Also often an ingredient in pemmican-a dried meat, fat and fruit mix-that is used as emergency food. This is the original energy bar of the native North Americans, so useful that it became popular with explorers and fur traders too. I would like to try making this- how does elk saskatoon pemmican with a touch of juniper and honey sound? Check out this detailed recipe. Not feeling that adventurous?- Sauces, jams, and pies are also good ways to enjoy these special berries.

We will have at the markets this weekend:

Morels
King Boletes
Sea Beans
Miner's Lettuce
Elderflowers- see following recipe
Saskatoon Berries


Foraged and Found Edibles is a northwest wild food business selling locally to restaurants and at farmers market in the Seattle area. Throughout the summer you will find us Saturdays at the University District Market, and Sundays at Ballard and West Seattle markets.

Strawberry, meet Elderflower

...meet Onepot, meet Foodista.....

Elder flowers are one of the prettiest ingredients around. Tiny white star shaped flowers gathered on droopy pom poms, thousands full. I was shaking these pom poms around at the dessert course for a special event with One pot and Foodista last Monday. One pot is a organization that puts on experimental eating events in Seattle and around the world. Recent boring events have included a hike through LA culminating with dinner on a "island" next to I-5 and a slightly more plebeian dinner with the Master Musicians of Jajaouka from Morocco. (I saw these musical wonders perform in February. I wish I knew about that dinner!)
Foodista is a locally based website that is an editable(wiki) encyclopedia of food and all things related. Posts range from bacon grease to supreming(cutting citrus segments from pith). The cool thing is if you don't like a post you can change it!

Michael Hebb from One pot, Conor Donahue- a chef newly relocated from San Fran, and I created a menu featuring only foraged and local food for Foodistas core team and guests. All the recipes were transcribed as we cooked them and posted on the website. This was an interesting experiment to showcase the strengths of the Foodista website as and tool for instantly and easily sharing food inspiration and wisdom with the masses. Here is a description of the event on the Foodista blog with the menu and recipes attached. And here are links to some recipes:

I harvested 5 different varieties of basil, and 2 shisos from my garden for this scallop dish.
And we used Taylor Shellfish dry pack scallops. Taylor is the only company locally farming scallops and they are selling them fresh and untreated.
Go see Oyster Bill at the farmers market for these sweet tender morsels.



One of my favorite dishes from the event-

Elderflower Shortbread and Strawberries

At the dinner, Conor commented that this was a very feminine dessert after I heavily laced the strawberries with elderflowers- well I am a lady I guess. This would be very nice served with vanilla ice cream or ricotta. The syrup also can be used for summery cocktails or sorbet.

Elderflower Shortbread Cookies

This dough can be rolled and cut into desired shapes, or made into a cylinder and easily sliced into cookie rounds.

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup elderflowers, removed from stems, plus a handful more for baking
1/2 pound butter(2 sticks), softened
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour

In a food processor combine sugar and flowers, grind until flowers are fine. Add butter and salt, blend until well creamed. Add flour and pulse to combine, pushing down ingredients on the sides of work bowl. Remove to a piece of plastic wrap or parchment and form into a cake(if rolling out cookies) or a cylinder(if slicing cookies). Refrigerate dough for a few hours or overnight. Heat oven to 300F. Roll and/or cut dough into desired shapes 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle some elderflowers on top of cookies and lightly press on with fingers or a rolling pin. Bake for 18-20 minutes until edges are just beginning to brown.
Makes about 30 small cookies.

Elderflower Syrup

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 lemon, zested and juiced
5 cups elderflowers, removed from stems

Heat sugar, water and zest and lemon juice together in a sauce pan over high heat. Bring to a simmer, add elderflowers, remove from heat, steep at least one hour or up to 3 days. Strain through fine sieve. Makes approximately 3 cups.

Strawberries with Elderflower Syrup

Fresh local strawberries
Elderflower syrup
Elderflowers

You probably will need about 1/2 pint strawberries per person, depending on appetites.
Clean, trim and cut strawberries. Toss with enough syrup to coat berries with a little pool on the bottom of bowl. Sprinkle in some elderflowers. Let sit for a few to macerate. Serve with cookies and creamy stuff if desired.

This Week at Foraged and Found 6/10

Today we have a message from Jeremy out in the field.
He has been searching hard for morels this week.....

"2000 miles later, 5 pounds of morel total....That should explain the morel year so far. After a so-so year of natural morels, the burn morels are looking scarce. Without many fires from the previous year there is a limited area to look in. And what larger fires there were, they are mostly either too steep and dry or very high elevation to produce morels. But I have faith in one place that is within a few miles of a small fire which I picked near a couple years earlier. One large snow pile to melt, one more warm week and hopefully we will see morels once again. Porcini are still strong, but remember these babies will be gone soon. The last of the spring greens are being picked high in the Cascades- miners and violets. Elderberry blossoms should be on too."We will have at the markets this week:

King boletes(porcini)
Seabeans-see following recipe
Wild salad mix- Miner's lettuce and Wood Violets
Elderberry Flowers- use for sweet infusions(teas, syrups, sorbet) or for blossom fritters

Also seen at the other farmer's stands last week:

Fresh bamboo shoots from Rockridge-

I was so disappointed to see Wade hadn't sold out of these at last weeks West Seattle market. Luckily I got the leftovers, but go out and get them- these are too special to pass up! The easiest thing to do is grill them whole, peel and dip in a tasty Asian sauce.
Snap peas-
Many farmers have these now, snap peas are the perfect summer snack.

Baby turnips-
Eat these raw like radishes, or roast whole with greens for the treat.

Basil plants-
Still huge basil plants in different varieties available from Billy's. Lime basil is my favorite, also holy basil, a pretty ruffly variety(forget the name), and classic big leaf basil. They also are selling big healthy tomato plants, strawberries(so sweet), rhubarb, basil in bunches, spicy heirloom arugula, and a few greenhouse tomatoes are coming in too.















Foraged and Found Edibles is a northwest wild food business selling locally to restaurants and at farmers market in the Seattle area. Throughout the summer you will find us Saturdays at the University District Market, and Sundays at Ballard and West Seattle markets.

Grilled Spot Prawns with Sea Bean Carrot Salad, Fresh Herbs and Nuoc Cham

This is a classic interactive Vietnamese meal with few separate fresh and flavorful components that make a delicious whole. Using our northwest local bounty- spot prawns and seabeans- makes it even better. Though not found in Vietnam, sea beans aren’t out of place with Vietnamese foods’ briny undercurrents.

Regular prawns can be used in place of spot prawns but spots are worth seeking out at local fish markets; I think they are superior to lobster. The spot prawn season goes through the summer.

Eat components together in a rice paper leaf or toss over chilled rice noodles. Serves 4- 6 people.

4-5 scallions, green part only, sliced
1/3 cup vegetable oil
½ pound sea beans
½ pound carrots, julienne
½ cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 pounds prawns, peeled
Fresh herbs- such as basil(any type), shiso, dill, mint, cilantro, Vietnamese cilantro(rau ram), fennel, lemon balm
Nuoc cham- recipe follows
Cooked rice vermicelli noodles or dried rice paper wrappers
½ cup crushed peanuts

Make scallion oil- In a small pan heat oil over medium, add scallions a pinch of salt and turn down to low, cook for a few minutes, remove from heat and let cool.

Sea bean carrot salad- blanch sea beans in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, remove and shock in ice water bath; drain and toss with carrots and rice vinegar. Chill until serving.

Toss prawns in a little scallion oil and salt, skewer and grill. After removing from grill pour over the rest of the scallion oil.

Serve all components together for guests to assemble themselves. Tip for using dried rice paper wraps- dip dried paper in warm water for a moment to get wet, set on plate, top with fillings. By the time filling is added rice paper should be pliable enough to roll. Roll into cylinder and dip in sauce to eat. The moisture in sauce should be enough to finish softening the wrapper with out the insides breaking through.

Nuoc Cham

This is the all purpose Vietnamese sauce. Use as a table condiment, salad dressing or marinade. This version is tangy, salty and sweet though some prefer it sweeter, more sour or saltier - adjust to your desire.

¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup fish sauce- nuoc mam
1/3 cup sugar
¾ cup water
1 garlic clove, minced
1-2 small shallots, thinly sliced
1-2 chilis, minced, optional

Mix all ingredients together until sugar dissolves.

Orcas Island Wedding Feast

I was lucky to have one of the greatest cooking opportunities of my life placed before me on Memorial Day weekend. Let me set the scene:

What: Two old friends, finally tying the knot with their families in tow. End of May bounty at my disposal.

Who: A beautiful highly accomplished creative chef and the other a handsome wine-know, well posed server - a striking duo.

Where: Orcas Island, waterfront cottage and lush homestead on a small inlet.

My inspirations were overflowing for the event. First of all, it's a wedding - bring out all the stops, feast ‘til you drop, and only the best ingredients! Secondly, cooking for great lovely foodie friends- creative freedom and reasons for extra special touches. Thirdly, it's spring - so many awesome things to work with!
I made a list of possible ingredients - morels, porcini, seabeans, watercress, miner's lettuce, violets, asparagus, peas and favas (from down south), green garlic, spring onions, oysters, spot prawns, razor clams...to name just a few. The bride and groom had some requests which were a good jumping off point- they knew they wanted lamb two ways and lots of seafood. My head exploded with ideas, I never had the occasion to do such a lush menu. For some reason I had this obsession with adding flowers to everything...the wedding bells were ringing in ears!

Looking at the bounty that we gathered for the meal I was floored by all the beautiful ingredients we procured from our gardens, friends and farmers in the area. Local Roots Farm radishes and baby turnips. Foraged and Found mushrooms and wild greens. Kurtwood Farm raw milk for making yogurt. Coffelts Farm Lamb from Orcas. Spot Prawns and Razor Clams from my friend Doug in Grayland. A dozen or so herbs from the Corson Building's garden and my own yard too....
the Menu....

After the ceremony - served on a lookout deck over the water
Hibiscus Orange Flower Water Ice Tea
Judd Cove Oysters With Celery Shiso Mignonette
Spring Seven Layer Dip- ricotta, peavines, peamole, fennel lemon salad, sheep cheese, scallions, pinenuts
Hazelnut Dukkah With Olive Oil
Pacific Razor Clam Seviche with Aleppo Pepper,Whole Lemon, Parsley
Mt Townsend Seastack Cheese
Crudite and Crackers
Sit down - served family style on the cottage deck
Shaved Bolete and Artichoke Salad on Lemon Balm Leaves
Razor Clams with Dill, Scallions, and Fried Shallots
Spot Prawns with Soft Almonds, Butter and Saffron

Seafood Fiesta Platter!
Chilled Spot Prawns, Tiny New Potatoes, Asparagus, Sea Beans, Fiddleheads, Hard Boiled Eggs, Baby Miners Lettuce, Creamy Sorrel Anchovy Sauce

Roasted Leg of Lamb rubbed with Sumac and Cinnamon
Lamb Kefte with Cumin and Allspice
Morels, Peas and Fava Beans
Yellow Violet Mint Sauce
Homemade Yogurt
Rose Petal Harissa

Pickled Fennel with Golden Raisins and Coriander
Red Wine Pickled Spring Onions with Rosewater
Homemade Pita

This Week at Foraged and Found Edibles

The seabean season has begun. Also known as salicornia, glasswort or pickleweed. This salty tide flat plant adds texture and fun. Can be eaten raw or cooked. Perfect with fish dishes, potato salads, soups, and dishes with an Asian flair.

Spring kings are here! The spring flush is on. Kings Boletes (also known as porcini in Italian) will be available off and on into July. Quantities are limited but it is worth coming to the market in early hours to hopefully pickup some of these beauties.











Porcinis grow from small firm buttons to large spongy giants. Because of this difference in size, texture, and gill formation we sell them in different grades. One is not necessarily better than the other, just different and used for varying types of preparations. It is like the difference between baby vs mature zucchini.

Small button boletes(#1's) are firmer fleshed, and can have a longer shelf life. Use for roasting, sauteing, and can be eaten raw. Also good if you want a picture perfect presentation. Medium to large boletes(#2's) are softer moist fleshed, with a slightly more pronounced flavor. These are perfect for sauces, sauteed, or my favorite, grilled. The mature gills on the older mushrooms are delicious when grilled- crispy on the outside, custardy on the the inside. Remember boletes are best eaten asap, shelf life can vary but you don't want the bugs to beat you to the feast. And always refrigerate.

Also still in season- fiddlehead ferns, miner's lettuce, watercress, and morels.

Seen at the farmers stalls this week-
The first snap peas! from Alvarez Farms from Eastern WA (I could live on snap peas- minimum allocation -2 lbs a week)
Lots of greens- spinach, scallions, spring onions, mint and garlic scapes
Asparagus is still marching in droves- great with morel mushrooms

Foraged and Found Edibles is a northwest wild food business selling locally to restaurants and at farmers market in the Seattle area. Throughout the summer you will find us Saturdays at the University District Market, and Sundays at Ballard and West Seattle markets.

Raw King Bolete Salad on Lemon Balm Leaves with Chive Flowers

Here is a recipe for a easy little pre-dinner bite - fancy enough for guests, easy enough for movie night.

Small King Bolete Buttons- need a 2-3 per person depending on size
Large Lemon Balm Leaves- 2-3 per person. Not usually sold at markets but easy to find growing like a weed in yards across the city. Looks like a large wide leafed mint. An awesome but under-appreciated herb
Chives with Flowers- a few flower tops and a smidgen of the unflowered stems- if you don't have any growing in your garden I bet your neighbor does.
Lemon
Olive Oil
Salt

With a sharp knife or mandoline cut boletes into very thin slices. Toss with a sqeeze of lemon, drizzle of oil, sprinkle of salt, and chopped chives. Place a spoonful on a lemon balm leaf and sprinkle with chive flowers. Enjoy!

Variations- Try adding thinly sliced raw artichoke hearts, chiffonade of mint, or shavings of parmesan or young pecorino.

Welcome Fat of the Land readers!

Thanks for visiting! One of my favorite recipes from the 2009 calendar was the pickled fiddleheads, and was happy to hear that Langdon had tried them. As you can see I'm just getting started here but hope you'll be able to stop by for more wild foods goodness. With all the summer bounty starting to appear I'll be doing a weekly post on what's new at the market along with yummy ideas. Please stay tuned!