Fun with Rosehips

Alright so today I have something delicious to share!

 For those of you with a little experience in wild foods you probably know that rose hips are edible and extremely good for you. For those of you that don't, welcome to the know. All rose hips are edible; those little bright red berries in the forest, the huge juicy round things on ornamental 'wild' roses, and those beautiful oval orbs you prune off your prized roses each autumn.
I've heard people say that one has the same amount of vitamin C as a entire orange and will keep you from getting scurvy if you find yourself living out in the woods in the winter (they are usually best after a hard frost).
The problem is that they have such a small amount of flesh, and most rose hips are quite bitter and pithy. Last year when flipping through one of my wildfood books I stumbled upon a recipe for rose hip syrup. I am always trying to find the most delicious and healthiest sweeter so I gave it a try.
It turned out to be, hands down, one of the best wild food creations I have tried. I think it gives maple syrup a run for its money.
So today I'll share with you my recipe, if you call it a recipe. I'm more of a 'add a little of this and a little of that' kind of cook then the 'stick to the books and measure it out' type, but here we go.

 Alright, here are my very dirty, but delicious, massive rose hips. The bigger and sweeter the better, but you can make it work with any type.

 So I gave them a clean, pulled off the bits of stem and spent flowers, but I didn't bother removing the seeds. I then add just enough water to cover them, be sure to push down the hips to check the water level as they tend to float. Then turn the stove up enough to send them into a good simmer and go relax with a book. I usually leave them for 30 min  to 1 hr, depending how fast they cook up.

 When the rose hips are soft and just starting to come apart, strain them. Be sure to keep the juice that strains out, that's the most important part! For now just set the juice aside. If they have been cooking long enough the juice should be an semi opaque orangey liquid.
Put the rose hips back in the pot, with the same amount of water as last time and simmer again at the same temperature. This time cook them until they completely come apart into a mush, usually 1 to 2 hours.

 Again strain the mush, and press it to extract any extra liquid. I usually compost the seeds and mush after this step, although I plan on figuring out a good use for it. In the mean time it makes mean compost.

 After that you are left with the juice from the two extractions, combine these and set to simmer on the stove. Simmer until desired consistency, adding honey (I use unpasteurized wildflower honey, but I don't think it matters much) until desired sweetness. I know those are very vague instructions, but that is how I make it. I think the original recipe called from equal amounts white sugar to rose juice but I would estimate I only add 1/2 to 2/3 honey to rose hip juice. I usually boil it down until it is the consistency of maple syrup and I am satisfied with the taste.

 It can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks (could be longer, I'll have to experiment) or frozen for a year. I have never tried canning it, but I'd imagine that would probably work.

While crepes are the go to companion with this syrup here is a different use for it: rose hip syrup drizzled on baguette with cottage cheese:

Bon Appetit!

- Katy

Mushrooming About!

                       


              So it is that time of year again, the days are getting shorter, the weather wetter, most people are busy lamenting the end of summer, or getting ready for a long winter inside.
 

I'm not doing much of that, autumn has always been my favorite time of year to be outside. The leaves turn beautiful colours, the plants reinvigorate after the long hot drought, the forest becomes alive with smells and sounds and, best of all; the mushrooms start blooming!
 

This year we got spatterings of rain throughout August and I've been on the lookout for something mushroomy to eat since the first drops fell. So far my search had been in vain, so in the hunt for greener pastures (or forests) I headed out to the west coast of the island. The forests are definitely greener out here.
 

While tromping through wet humusy undergrowth deep in the rainforests around Port Renfrew I stumbled upon this treasure poking up through the moss.

 It didn't take me long to find a few more, and then, much to my glee and surprise I found another prized edible! Of course, in the moment of fervor I snached them up without first snapping a picture, so I'm afraid I can only show you them after the harvest.

 So here we have it, the light orange mushrooms are some beautiful chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius), as you can see the season has just begun and the mushrooms are still rather small. The other bright red mushrooms are Lobster mushrooms (Hypomyces lactifluorum)!

These are particularly interesting mushrooms as lobster mushrooms are actually two different species. the first is a Short-Stemmed Russula (Russula brevipes) that is parasitized by the red mold Hypomyces lactifluorum. The Russula is edible just on its own, but can be difficult to identify and lacking in flavor. Once it has been infected it becomes pretty easy to tell apart and Hypomyces gives the Russula the most amazing flavor! I've always thought lobsters mushrooms smelled and tasted like sea food when cooked, and the firm texture of the Russula lends to this idea.

Here they are, sauteed in left over bean sauce over the campfire. Doesn't get much better then this.

I will try to get a few more good shots of my mushroomy adventures this fall and hopefully I will have enough material to do a post on idenficication of both of these species. But we will have to see how the forest treats me...

Until next time!
Happy hunting!

- Katy

Native Wild Foods Workshop this Saturday, April 27th!

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that I am teaching a 2-hour workshop on Native Wild Foods this Saturday, April 27th at the Compost Education Centre, Victoria, BC.

Here is all the info and registration:

http://www.eventbrite.ca/event/6129273823#

I will only be teaching about native plants at this workshop, and my focus is species that are found in enough abundance to be harvested without damaging the environment. I will go over identification, look-a-likes, current and traditional uses.

After this workshop you should have enough knowledge to go out foraging in any of our forests and find at least something to take home to the table, well... unless its January.



In other news, I got a new Camera! it's a Panasonic Lumix and it makes everything I take pictures of look brilliant! Here are a couple of shots from recent adventures:

 One of my favorites snacks! Stellaria media (chickweed)

 Some lovely Mahonia (not sure what species) also known as Oregon Grape

 One of the most showy spring shrubs! Ribes sanguineum (Red flowering Currant)

 Although I can't confirm this without the flower I am pretty sure this is Trientalis latifolia (broad-leafed star flower)

 When I first spotted this I thought I had found Tremella mesenterica (Witch's Butter) but quickly realized it is a type of cup fungi, possible Bisporella citrina

 A lovely moehringia macrophylla (Big-leaf Sandwort)

  Dodecatheon pulchellum (Shooting star)! one of our most populare wildflowers

 A little Fragaria chiloensis (coastal strawberry) in full bloom!

Every once in a while I look up and realize that the scenery is also breathtaking if you can tear your eyes away from the flowers. We're looking south at the Olympic Mountain range across the Salish Sea here.

 A wild viola! Not entirely sure what species, perhaps Viola sempervirens (Trailing Yellow Violet)

And lastly, a very photogenic coral fungi. I have no idea what species as there are a ton of species of coral fungi that grow here in the pacific northwest that can only be differentiated with the aid of a microscope and a dichotomous key.

Well that was a lovely little trip into macro land. Anyway, hope to see some of you at my workshop this weekend and for those that can't make it I will be posting a entry on the highlights shortly after. In the mean time head out and enjoy those beautiful wildflowers in bloom!

Cheers

- Katy

Early Spring Salads and Sauteed Maple Blossoms.

        Here in Victoria spring is well under way! While some plants are just putting out their first buds, others are already flowering and a few have even finished blooming already. This time of year finding delicious wild greens for salads is just too easy!

I'm a little picky when it comes to my wild food, there is tons of things that are edible, but not all of it is exactly worth eating, but despite that I was still able to find a meal almost completely made up of wild plants.

Lets start with my salad. Normally I am going to have pictures of where I found my plants in the woods, but my camera was dead when I was gathering these greens, so you'll just have to enjoy the picture I got after returning to the kitchen:

 At the front of the picture I have separated a few of each species so you can all see what I've mixed here, most of these greens were found growing together under a Douglas fir tree, one of my 'salad bars'.

When looking for wild edibles a good spot to look is the base of trees. There plants don't have to compete as hard with grass due to lack light and it is also often damp and protected at the base of trees so the plants can get large and juicy. :)

So here are all our plants, moving clockwise starting at the top left: Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata), Cleavers (Galium aparine), Chickweed (Stellaria media), Stonecrop (Sedum divergens), Purple dead-nettle (Lamium Purpureum), and everyone's favorite, Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).

Here they are all mixed and chopped up! I always cut my wild plants into small pieces for salads. unlike domestic lettuces a lot of wild greens have very fibrous stems, which only really bothers you when you don't cut them up fine enough before adding to a salad. 

 

I found this beauty when I was out for an evening walk with my dog. We have here some big leaf maple flowers (Acer macrophyllum)! These are great to collect as they are usually above the 'dog-zone' along the sides of paths and they grow with great abundance. They're also easy to ID, I'm sure even non-planty people can recognize our massive majestic big leaf maples. 

 Here are the blossoms all cleaned and ready to cook with! To clean them I simply put them in a salad spinner, filled it with water, swished them around a little, drained, and spin them.

 

I figured some wild carrots (Daucus carota) would compliment the maple flowers well so I dug a few out that I had grabbed from a field a few days before. Always exercise extreme caution when gathering wild carrots as they have a lot of poisonous lookalikes. I will usually choose carrots that are growing in a well drained location (its' lookalikes prefer wet conditions) where I can observe last years flower heads. I also always make sure all my wild carrots have that distinctive carroty smell. None of the wild carrot's lookalikes smell and taste like carrot.

 After chopping up the wild carrots and maple blossoms I sauteed them for maybe 5 minutes with some chopped garlic, and a combination of sesame and olive oil. after that just add a touch of salt and pepper and its ready to serve!
 For my wild greens salad I mixed up a bit of olive oil, balsamic and apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard, and garlic powder. this is my usual salad dressing, its simple, delicious and extremely good for you!

and here we have the entire meal! don't be deceived by all the green, I actually found the blossoms and wild carrots surprisingly filling, and there is nothing quite like a early spring wild salad to make you feel awesome.

Until next time!

Happy hunting!

- Katy

Disclaimer: Always exercise extreme caution when gathering wild plants for food, triple check your identification and never eat a large quantity of any wild foods without extensive experience with the species in question. If you are unsure about any plants, don't eat them until you have checked your identification with an expert.

West Coast Wild Foods Background

Hi,

I'm Katy, you may hear me called Katherine, if I'm doing something offical or important, or Brushfire, in relation to my artwork.

I'm a nature freak, you know, one of those weird people who doesnt just spend time outside but lives it. When I'm not running around in the woods I'm usually reading about it, researching it, or fighting to protect it.

I took a diploma in environmental technology with the intention of getting a degree that would help me save the planet. When I finished I had the terrible realization that this direction in life would have me sitting behind a computer, either in my house or worse, an office. I might as well be an animal in a cage.

 So I took off traveling, working jobs in between that would allow me to be outside. I worked as a ranch trail guide, carriage driver and tour guide, Garry Oak recovery technician (fancy name for a wild weed puller) and finally as a gardener. During this time I picked up everything I could about the flora and fauna that surrounds me; I learned how to turn rose hips into delicious syrup for pancakes, weeds into fancy nutritious salads, toad stools into gourmet soups and even invasive frogs into exquisite french cuisine.

Last autumn it finally hit me; where this has all been leading. I am going to create an adventure tourism business, something different then your normal trekking company. I plan to take people out into the woods, teach them about the forest, its inhabitants, its threats, its cycles and its natural bounty. All while striving for minimal impact.

Some trips will be relaxed one day nature walks pointing out some especially useful or tasty species, there will be some comfortable 3-4 day camping trips learning to live well with what we can gather in the immediate area, and finally there will be intense backpacking trips into the wildest regions with the bare essentials.

I plan to use this blog to showcase the species I gather, how I process them, and of course how to enjoy them. At this point my strengths are with wild plants and mushrooms, but I plan to further my knowledge of fishing, and hunting as well. I would like to live 100% off of things I gather, hunt or grow. Pretty soon I plan to be able to run off in the woods with little more then a knife, and a warm sweater to live comfortably for as long as I'd like. 

In the meantime I'll be posting my adventures here, as well as information for workshops, nature walks or camping trips I'll be teaching at.

Until then!

Cheers

- Katy