Wild Harvest: The Giant Puffball

What a year its been for the Giant puffball mushroom - they are popping up all over the place! Got one today and cooked up a nice omelet for lunch with bacon and oyster mushrooms. What's your favorite way to prepare puffballs?

Look for giant puffballs on the ground in well-fertilized fields or pastures where the underlying fungus has plenty of underground manure to decompose.

The large puffballs have no poisonous look-alikes, so they're a good mushroom for beginners.

This mushroom is a choice edible. Trim away the cuticle (covering) if it's encrusted with dirt, and cut out any bad parts with a paring knife. Try not to wash this mushroom under water, or it will become too soggy to sauté.

Slice the puffball, sauté it, steam it, or simmer it in soups, like other mushrooms. It's also great baked or grilled. It has a rich, earthy flavor with a texture of marshmallows.

(Information sourced from "Wild Man" Steve Brill, naturalist.)

Wild Harvest: Ramps

Ramps are another favorite wild spring time treat. They are a wild leek having an onion like bulb with two broad leaves. Be a responsible harvester and take a few here and there, avoiding taking large clumps from a single location. Ramp leaves can be cut with scissors when gathering or bulbs can be dug if you'll use them in cooking.

I enjoy sauteing fresh ramp leaves or making ramp pesto. The pesto can be quite intense, so I usually do half and half ramps and another green such as kale. Seeds, nuts and cheese can be added to the recipe for extra flavor. Enjoy mixed into pasta or over your favorite local meats or wild game.

Wild Harvest: Morel Mushrooms

Morel Mushrooms are one of the most identifiable, sought after and delicious of the wild mushrooms. With all this rain and warm sunny days, morels have been popping up all over. As always, please take care when identifying and eating wild mushrooms. Consult with experienced gatherers or bring along a field guide.

Morels should not be washed with water, rather brushed dry or tapped out to remove dirt. I find the best way to cook Morels is to simply sautee them in butter. Try this delicious and simple recipe:

Serve white Basmati rice over a bed of mixed salad greens. Dress with oil and balsamic vinegar and top with sauteed Morels. I added Dryad's Saddle to the mix for an extra delicious meal.

For more information on identifying and enjoying Morel Mushrooms check out http://thegreatmorel.com/

Wild Harvest: Chicken of the Woods

With all the uproar in Athens surrounding raising chickens in town, we can rest assured that no legislation will take away one of my favorite mushrooms, Chicken of the Woods. An unusually late rush of these bright orange polypores has made me a happy camper these last two weeks. Chicken of the Woods are one of the more easily identifiable edible mushrooms, though caution should always be taken when foraging for wild mushrooms. It has great flavor and a wonderful chicken like texture-- a great mushroom for those who think they hate mushrooms.

I spotted Chicken of the Woods at the Athens Farmers Market this morning at Integration Acres. Chris Chmiel and I noted that this years harvest was a little woodier in texture than usual but delicious none the less. If you go out in the woods, they typically grow on dead or mature oaks and other hardwoods.

My favorite recipe for this mushroom usually comes in the form of a Thai curry or soups but after finding a few pounds worth in the woods last weekend, my partner and I decided to make a quiche. Using almost entirely local and foraged ingredients, the result was a beautiful and delicious feast. Click the link below for the recipe and enjoy your own!

Wild Mushroom Quiche Recipe

Wild Harvest: Blackberries

There's nothing like putting on long pants and shirt sleeves in August, braving the labyrinth of thorns and picking blackberries at sunset. Although I know they can't compare in size to their relatives on the west coast, but Ohio has its share of delicious wild berries, and blackberries are certainly up there on my list of favorites. If you can get them home without eating them all, try them on a salad of fresh micro greens with goat cheese and sunflower seeds, blend them into a fresh smoothie with yogurt, or bake them into a scrumptious cobbler or pie. I found this recipe for Goat Cheese Blackberry Tart via Delicious Living. It has a wheat-free almond and date crust. I'll be trying this one out over the weekend for sure.

Goat Cheese Blackberry Tart

Ingredients:
Crust

• 2 cups dates, pitted and chopped (about 20 large dates)
• 1 cup almond meal
• 1 egg white, slightly beaten

Filling

• 12 ounces goat cheese, softened
• 4 ounces low-fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 11/2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Purée

• 2 cups blackberries
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1-1/2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 1-1/2 tablespoons cold water

3 cups blackberries, for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Lightly coat a 10-inch tart pan with removable sides with cooking spray. Combine dates and almond meal in a food processor and pulse 15–20 times. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Stir in egg white with a fork until incorporated. Press mixture onto tart pan bottom. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven to cool.
2. For the filling, beat goat cheese and cottage cheese with an electric mixer until fairly smooth. Add sugar, lemon zest, and juice and beat until smooth. (For extra-smooth consistency, do this step in a blender.) Spread cheese mixture evenly over cooled crust and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.
3. For the purée, place 2 cups berries in a blender or food processor and purée. Transfer to a small saucepan and cook on medium heat for 2–3 minutes. Add sugar; reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook another 5 minutes. In a small bowl, dissolve arrowroot powder in cold water. Gradually add arrowroot mixture to berry mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
4. Spread cooled purée over cheese filling. Cover tart and keep refrigerated until serving time. Just before serving, arrange fresh berries on top. Slide a sharp knife around the inside edge of the pan and remove pan sides.

Serves 12