Category: Food
Sonoran Sweetness: A Gathering
The cherished time of year in the Sonoran desert is now upon us. While the desert heats up to temperatures above 110 F, many run for cooler, moister climes and foreign visitors are scorched in a short time. This heat is necessary, it is a natural process inherent in our desert’s ecology. To eliminate it in some way would be to lose one of the greatest gifts this desert has to offer us. Without the intense heat, the fruit of our Saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) would not mature properly. Not many people today know the characteristic sweet taste of the fruit of the Saguaro cactus, known as bahidaj in the Tohono O’odham (native peoples of the Sonoran desert region) language. It is the O’odham people (often referred to as Papago) who have preserved the knowledge on how to prepare such things as Saguaro syrup (bahidaj sitol), Saguaro jelly…
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Trap Garden: One man’s vision for food secure communities in Nashville and beyond
And The Award For June’s Most Bizarre Fungus Goes To…
Greetings!
Before I share a brand new video with you, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be presenting and leading a foraging walk at the annual West Virginia Mushroom Foray.
This upcoming event will take place from July 19th through the 21st at the beautiful Blackwater Falls State Park in Davis, West Virginia, and the lineup of instructors this year includes such notable mycophiles as Arleen Bessette, Walt Sturgeon, and John Plischke III.
And now on to this week’s brand new video!
It’s not every day that you get to see a fungus that appears once every 17 years in your neck of the woods. Such is the case with a fungal species that targets periodical cicadas.
Over the past few weeks, periodical cicadas have been emerging in parts of western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. Associated with the appearance of these cicadas is an incredibly fascinating fungus that destroys the genitals and alters the behaviors of these ephemeral insects.
Needless to say, this pathogenic species is highly deserving of the title “June’s Most Bizarre Fungus,” and if you’re interested in learning more about its relationship with our beloved cicadas, check out the brand new video!
Thanks for reading and watching… and as always, thank you for your support!
Wine Cap Mushroom Cultivation: Wood Chips, Garden Beds, Recipes, and More
How many times have you seen your neighbors getting tree work done or had tree work done yourself? The landscape company often comes with the big wood chipper and truck and then, after cutting up the wood, hauls that beautiful pile of chips off to some unknown location. Last year, our electric company came through and was doing tree work along our driveway and road to prune and cut trees too close to the power lines. We asked them to dump the wood chips on our property, and they were happy to do so. A lot of times, companies have to pay or go far out of their way to dump wood chips, and they see them as a “waste”; they will almost always dump them for free if you ask! But a pile of wood chips are harldy a waste–they can offer you multiple yields over a period of…
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Apricot Sponge Recipe
Apricots are my favorite June fruit. Around here, they are only available a few weeks, and each year I eagerly look forward to their appearance at the store. I recently bought some apricots, so was thrilled to find a hundred-year-old recipe for Apricot Sponge.
Apricot Sponge is a smooth, silky dessert that is served with whipped cream.
My daughter ate some Apricot Sponge, and said, “A top-five recipe.” In her opinion, this is one of the top five hundred-year-old recipes that I’ve served her. She thinks that it tastes like a luscious dessert that she ate at a fancy restaurant.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Edible Flower Biscuits
Wood Sorrel Mini-Cream Tarts: Wild Food Treats — Gather Victoria
Here’s another recipe from “Gather Cookbook” for Gather Patrons! I’m releasing a few of last year’s recipes to the Gather website – so the rest of you can see what you’re missing! First up was a Chunky Rose Petal Pesto (recipe here) and now these creamy & tangy yogurt mini-tarts. Made by processing wood sorrel leaves…
via Wood Sorrel Mini-Cream Tarts: Wild Food Treats — Gather Victoria
Chunky Rose Petal Pesto: Summer Savour — Gather Victoria
“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.” Maud Hart Lovelace It’s been a whole year since I first started working on the “Gather Cookbook” for Gather Patrons. And since I’m going to be adding some new summer solstice recipes to the cookbook this…
via Chunky Rose Petal Pesto: Summer Savour — Gather Victoria
Paths I Walk 
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