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  The main thing I noticed on my recent hikes on the Niagara escarpment were Elderberries. A great number of bushes with huge amount of berries (in both green and red stage) abound. Personally, I have never tried to do anything with this berry, but this year,  I will try to make elderberry syrup. It is supposed to be a great remedy for colds and mild flu. [Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="49" gal_title="elderberry_2017"] In my last post I mentioned the apparent absence of the crown coral mushroom. Well, in the last several days it did show up in many places. Maybe the growth is not really abundant, but they are certainly present and were missed up until now. [Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="47" gal_title="crown_coral_2017"] Several days ago I was checking the south-east slope of the hill for Lactarius hygrophoides (my favorite orange milky, now moved to the new genus Lactifluus). The trees around these mushrooms  are mainly oak with some pines mixed in. Un...

It is the middle of April and all mushroom enthusiasts are thinking about morels.  However, in South-Western Ontario, overnight temperatures still dip down to around 0° C and even into the minuses, telling me that morel season is still a couple of weeks away. The other plants, edible and not, are progressing well. Chicory is now really best to harvest and can be consumed as a salad or a cooked vegetable. This plant is not native to North America and usually can be found around human habitats. It sometimes looks very much like dandelion, but it's leaves have fine hairs on the underside, while the dandelion leaf is totally hairless. Dandelions are everywhere and quickly preparing to bloom. It is a good edible and one of my favorites. The perfect specimen for picking looks like this: The Stinging Nettle is starting nicely. It is an excellent spinach substitute in any recipe. Coltsfoot (http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/coltsfoot.htm) can be spotted on the edge of fields ...

For a little bit different take on foraging and wild foods, I went out and harvested some wild grapes ( Riverbank Grapes ) - Vitis riparia . This is the first year for me to try and do something with this fruit. It seems wherever you look while walking the trails there is a blue tinge in the bush - abundance of wild grapes. [caption id="attachment_2726" align="alignnone" width="663"] Amazing abundance[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2727" align="alignnone" width="663"] Amazing abundance[/caption] It is probably happening every year, but I simple did not notice or did not pay attention. The taste of the grape itself varies, mainly being quite sour. That makes perfect trail side snack, very refreshing and thirst quenching. A little bit of reading shows that wild grapes were widely use by natives. Their technique was to wait for the first frost to harvest. Apparently freezing improves sweetness. Well, I am not waiting, at lea...

The Spring was   dry and nothing really spectacular happened in the world of wild mushrooms, especially not with edibles.  The weather was very unpredictable, with quite late frost nights and substantial temperature changes in short periods of time. Over all spring was quite dry. The usual finds ( Morels , Oysters , Reishi ) were   low in numbers.  It is partly result of my inability to find Morels in any significant quantities. In the Reishi case it is very likely result of over harvesting. It was almost impossible to find any of last year specimens on the trees or stumps, while the traces of the harvested ones were visible everywhere. [caption id="attachment_2001" align="alignnone" width="663"] Young Reishi Mushroom[/caption] The Umbrella Polypora was right on schedule and I found expected numbers around. [caption id="attachment_2006" align="alignnone" width="663"] Umbrella Polypora[/caption] The Dryad's Saddle was ev...

The great number of Dryad's Saddles around. Fresh oysters .  Some of these ended up in my frying pan. All of this indicates the end of Morel season - perfect timing for pickling ramps. The patches are withering away, the bulbs are big and succulent, preparing to wait for the next year cycle. This time around I do not dig clumps or use any tools except my fingers. The best technique is to stick your finger beside the plant, feel for the bulb and try to push it to the side. That usually brakes connection with root system and free the bulb. All the parts above ground are discarded. [caption id="attachment_1607" align="alignnone" width="3264"] The patch[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1608" align="alignnone" width="3264"] Ramp bulbs[/caption] The recipe   I use. Works Great

When my Morel hunt fails miserably one of the consolation prices is  Garlic Mustard . This is an invasive species brought to North America to be used as edible herb, but escaped to the wild and is now creating quite a problem for native species. It is listed as  Ontario Invading Plant and some info about ways to help can be found  here. . A quick Google search will show that it presents a serious problem in many northern US states and southern Canadian provinces. It is propagating at astounding rate and every year it is obviously spreading. My recommendation is to help by destroying the plant whenever you can by pulling the whole plant out of the soil, but the alternative way is just to eat it. It is very good edible and especially delicious at this time of the year when it is not yet overly pungent and garlicky. The best is to collect stalks with flowers before the flowers open. Use same technique used to prepare asparagus. Bend the stalk and let it break. The upper part is good to c...

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...