TEST

This weekend I decided to pick some Ramps . At this point they are still young, excellent as cooked vegetable. They can be used as addition to veggie sups or mixed with other wild greens ( Chicory, Dandelion, Nettle) as a simple side dish. Cook for 5-6 min, add some olive oil and salt. That's it! My favorite chef  uses ramps in many inventive and delicious ways. As the first wild edible showing in the wide range of woods in Eastern Canada, it is very popular and sought after. Greed and reckless harvesting diminished this plant considerably. Some great information can be found here . Taking all that into account there are some rules that I always apply when digging Ramps, and I think everybody should consider at least some of them. Never take more than 10% of the growth from any patch Always dig in the middle of the patch; don't disturb edges - they are used to propagate and expand given patch Try to cover digging spot and return them into original state as much as possibl

After really unpleasant start of April and very busy work schedule, I spend a long weekend in Boston, supporting my daughter during Boston Marathon. Finally on 21st of April I had a chance to do some hiking and snooping around. Bottom line, no signs of morels yet! [caption id="attachment_1017" align="alignnone" width="3264"] Skunk Cabbage[/caption] Skunk Cabbage is going strong. Trout Lily is everywhere. It is excellent trail side nibble (I am referring to the underground bulb, not leafs!). The flowers are beautiful .   [caption id="attachment_1015" align="alignnone" width="2088"] Trout Lily flower[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_1012" align="alignnone" width="1877"] Trout Lily flower[/caption]   Mayapple is starting to grow (the whole plant is poisonous - wait for the fruit) [caption id="attachment_1010" align="alignnone" width="3264"] Mayapple[/caption] [cap

After a week spent in Northern Ontario, more precisely Timmins, I am back in Southern Ontario. [caption id="attachment_839" align="alignnone" width="3072"] Timmins - where Spring is delayed[/caption] It is time to check for Stinging Nettle ( Urtica dioica ), but seems that white stuff followed me home. [caption id="attachment_865" align="alignnone" width="3264"] My front yard on April 4th[/caption] With heavy snow warning and cold weather in forecast it was obvious that any trail visit needs to be postponed. Finally, on 9th of April, sun showed up again although daily temperature still hovers around zero. Checking for stinging nettle showed some humble start: This is excellent stage for harvesting, young and succulent, but numbers are too low, so I will wait several more days hoping for some higher temperatures. The weather conditions are unfavorable for morels and I am not even bothering checking yet. One of the first sac f