Making Orange Marmalade

 

“This is awesome! Yesterday I saw my first orange on a tree and today I get to pick them!”- Anna (visiting from New York).

I got out with some friends the other day and harvested a few Valencia orange trees I had been eyeing. It had become clear that these trees (all in the public right of way) were not being picked and the precious tasty fruit were all going to waste. We were not about to let that happen any longer.

The first stop yielded a couple of dozen ripe sound fruit while the second tree blessed us with even greater abundance.

Anna did the honors and grabbed the first fruit.

 

Nick took over soon after and he and I tag-teamed the highest oranges in the canopy.

 

The Harvest was bountiful to say the least!

Nick and his girlfriend Kate dehydrated some for backpacking snacks and made a small batch of marmalade with the rest…which they celebrated with what appears to be an elaborate interpretive dance.

 

 

 

I followed and made a delicious little batch of marmalade as well.

 

While enjoying some of this years home brewed hard apple cider!

It is so cool to experience the whole process… from early season scouting as you find trees with immature fruit, returning with friends and backpacks to harvest, juicing, cooking, cooling, and eventually eating the seasonal and sweet freshly made preserves.

Makes me wonder what we can do with the abundant local pomegranates when they ripen!

Keep the old ways alive!

Creek by Kayak

Captain White Legs and First Mate Abalone the Knife Blade

Over Spring break my dog and I got out on a local creek. We had been checking out different areas that might allow for a kayak launch and landing and finally decided on our path for a half-day adventure. Abalone had never been on a Kayak before, but she loves to swim and she had been really patient with me over my busy finals week at school, so I had to bring her along to say “Thanks.” We pushed off from shore a few miles from our intended landing point with no idea what to expect. We knew the flow was slow so rapids were unlikely, but there would almost certainly be some swift riffles and fallen tree snags that we might have to portage around or over.

Abalone took to the boat straight away, leaning into the turns, ducking under branches and low hanging thorny Himalaya blackberry vines. She especially liked the speedy riffles.

We stopped off to fish the slack pools, though Abalone couldn’t help but get out and “fetch” a fallen tree or too…and continually jump in whenever a fish was detected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bottom line was it seemed quite unlikely that I was going to land a fish on this trip. But then again, the bass are on beds right now and seem not to be at all interested in feeding anyway.

Shifting my focus, I began finding lures right and left! If I wasn’t going to get a fish at least I could get some pricy fishing gear! In the branches and submerged root snags I ended up significantly expanding my tackle box. It also seemed that every slack water spot held a bobber or two.

 

 

While searching the brush I saw a bass jump and try to snatch a hummingbird from the air. He missed, and Abalone jumped in after him… so again, I knew I wasn’t catching that fish! A few moments later I glanced at some overhanging brush, and there, situated on the tip of a branch where the bird had been hovering, was a small ornately camouflaged hummingbird nest with one egg and one newly hatched feather-less chick! So cool to see!

 

 

We kept paddling and after two minimal portages, came around a bend and spied a small cluster of willow-loving gems…oyster mushrooms!

 

I waded across and using my Grandpa’s old knife, I filled my hat with a bounty of fungi!

 

A little later I snatched up a handful of wild mint!

 

 

Though I never landed a fish that day, I saw some nice ones, otters, raptors, and Abalone and I enjoyed all the rest of the sights and smells of a mellow day on the water in this stunningly beautiful riparian corridor.

When we got home and I unloaded the kayak and asked abalone if she liked her new boat. She promptly hopped back up onto the seat and lay down. I took that as a firm “Yes!”

Though I would love to say that I found a flock of wild turkey’s on public land and brought one home at the start of the spring season, the only birds I have seen have been in odd locations safely in the confines of suburban areas. With no fish or game we settled for pork chops and green beans as a nice meal to complement our wild harvested oyster mushroom stuffing. Not too bad!

 

 

 

 

 

A few days later I enjoyed a sweet cup of fresh wild mint tea while examining all of the new additions to my tackle box.

 

Remember, even if the fish aren’t biting, it is still nice to trek out to the more wild side of things– and if you take your dog along she will appreciate it completely.

Keep the old ways alive!

Mustard Leaf Curry

“There’s tons of good greens popping up right now!”-Me

“I always picture you squatting in a field somewhere eating grass.”-Nick

“Yeah, that’s pretty much accurate.”-Me

“When I was a kid, I wouldn’t eat my lunch. I would just wait for recess, go out to the edge of the playground and eat leaves. I think I did it because lettuce is green and tree leaves are green, so clearly they must be good for you…that and I loved the movie Land Before Time.”-Nick

“That’s a classic movie! Well, you used to eat leaves and now you’re in a Ph.D. program, so maybe there’s something to it!”-Me

“Maybe”-Nick

“And, while you were eating leaves I was ‘eating grass’ and I'm in the Ph.D. program too!”-Me

“Hey, that’s two data points right there!”-Nick

“We should write a paper on this!”-Me

I got out on my longboard the other day for a cruise. The pines were pollinating the air, the dandelions were blooming bright yellow-orange, but what I was excited about most were the vibrant greens! While cruising the back country roads I came upon a patch of fresh mustard greens. On a whim I decided to fill the bag in my pocket and make a spring seasonal staple- Saag!

 

In India, saag is traditionally made with spinach which is cooked down with tomato, onion, and spices to make a “gravy” for chicken or traditional farmers cheese (paneer). In Kashmir however, the abundant fields of mustard which are grown for producing mustard oil also yield an incredible food source…mustard greens! In Kashmir, Saag is made with spinach or with mustard greens. I have often thought twice about making Saag because spinach is so expensive, but when you are a forager, this is no issue!

I filled my bag and headed to the store to get a cheap can of tomatoes. As much as I would love to say that I had just got a nice rabbit, I have had no time to hunt lately, so we were stuck using the rest of the free-range chicken in the refrigerator. When I walked up to the cash register with my on-a-budget purchase consisting of a can of tomatoes and a cheap beer, the woman next to me inquired “What’s for dinner?” I looked at my “ingredients” and chuckled. She continued “It’s just that I am a chef, so I am always interested in what people are making…pasta?” she guessed.  I replied “actually,” pausing to lift my bag of greens, “I just gathered up a whole bunch of wild mustard greens and I am going to make a traditional Kashmiri curry tonight!” The woman was certainly not anticipating this response and replied with excitement “Wow! Those are beautiful. I can’t believe how vibrant green they are! Where on Earth did you find those?” I took a look back in the bag and realized that she was completely right. These greens seemed to glow compared to the lettuce, spinach, etc. I had seen around the store! I replied with a grin “Once you learn to identify them, there’s food growing everywhere!”

That night I blanched and pureed the leaves, sautéed them up with tomato, onion, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, coriander, etc. and made a batch of the best Saag I have ever cooked! My girl and I cleaned our plates with big smiles.

The next day we had Saag again for lunch…it was just as good, if not better the second day!

The following week I was out walking the dog near another mustard patch. The bright yellow blossoms moved in waves with the breeze and that is when I noticed them. A group of three Asian foragers were happily browsing the patch with bags full of greens. I approached the oldest man and asked if he was after the mustard greens. He replied with a chuckle and a sign that he didn’t speak English. I signed to the mustard growing beside me, and pretended to sautee and eat it, then pointed back to him. He laughed nodded his head, pulled a handful of leaved from his bag and gestured that he was indeed going to eat them. I replied with gesture and words that “I eat them too!” and promptly picked and ate a leaf with a grin. The man was pleased…so was I. This is one of my favorite things about foraging. Here we are, two guys who can’t understand a word from each other, yet we can relate beyond cultures, and beyond language, over our common love for harvesting and eating the bounties of California’s wild side!

Thistle, mustard, minor’s lettuce, chic weed, lambs quarter, dandelion…and so much more are perfect for harvesting right now. I hope to see you out there!

Keep the old ways alive!

Mushroom Pizza Revisited

 

“Bu-bu-buuuuuuu!”- Jessie making a trumpet call through the coastal forest to alert us to the presence of illusive black trumpets.

Some of my favorite seasonal recipes include variations of delicious mushroom pizzas. We finally got another short burst of rain the other day and so we headed out to the coastal forests armed with baskets and pocket knives in search of edible fungi.

The forest air was sweet and cool and though the mushrooms were scarce, we had plenty of fun tracking them down. The incredible views of the stark contrast between rocky reef and the white waters of the pacific also inspired us to gather up a basket full of late season mussels from the inner tidal zone (which I ate so fast I forgot to take a picture…but trust me, they were delicious as always).

We found little patches of yellow foots, a few black trumpets, the occasional hedgehog, and a couple of oyster mushrooms under the tanoak and fir trees.

 

 

As always we were very happy to be back in our element gathering seasonal delicacies for the table.

 

When we got home, Abalone slept like a baby dreaming of waterfalls, moss covered boulders, fallen tree trails, and all the sights and smells of a good day in the woods.

I sautéed up the mushrooms with onion and olive oil…

 

…whipped up a gluten free crust…

…and baked a sensational pizza for dinner! Coupled with a glass of our homebrewed Zinfandel and what more can I say other than “life is good!”

Keep the old ways alive!