[vermont] Trillium

Red trillium here and there in the woods around the house:

Every year I see more and more, the green clumps are easy to spot in all the brown leaves.

I've never seen any white ones but I always look. 

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While I was out, I picked some ramp leaves for pizza:

There are a few wild leeks that grow near the house, I just picked some leaves and left the bulbs. I should haul my lazy butt up the hill this week to do a lot of picking at the big patch.

I chopped up the leaves and topped a pepperoni pizza:

I think it's time for fiddleheads, as well, I might walk along the road and see what's available to pick.

[cooking] Shaggy Mane Mushroom Tart

Fall shaggy man mushrooms have started appearing on the lawn:

Also known as ink/inky cap (and lawyer's wigs), they turn black and drop ink pretty quickly. But there are a lot and new ones are popping up every day. I pick ones that are still closed:

The only hard part is cleaning them- getting every last bit of grass and dirt off. I use a couple damp paper towels and swipe down, from the top of the mushroom to the end of the cap. This is probably the most important step when prepping these.

They are easy to break apart length-wise with your fingers:

One was starting to go a little dark, so I threw it away. The rest I sauteed in butter until most of the moisture was gone. Then added garlic and chives.

I made some fresh pastry dough, rolled it out, layered some cheese and then mushrooms and folded over the edge:

I brushed the dough with milk and baked at 350 for 50 min. The house smelled so good.

It was so beautiful and perfect. And it tasted so good.

Also, this is a very Vermont tart:

Pastry dough: King Arthur Flour AP flour, butter (Cabot), kosher salt

Filling: Mushrooms (my front yard), chives (my back yard), garlic (local, from my CSA), cheese (Cabot)

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Pretty quiet weekend. Had grand plans to can some jam and pick wild grapes but ended up feeling a little under the weather. I did the above tart Friday night but Saturday was kind of a wash. Sunday I had a gigantic chunk of pork shoulder going all day in the slow cooker and watched the footballs. I puttered on some knit pumpkins during the games (which turned out soooo freaking cute).

Should be a busy week but I'm looking forward to the VT Sheep and Wool Festival this coming weekend!

[foraging] Wild Blackberries

This past Sunday I was out in the yard looking at some flowers and saw lots of perfectly ripe blackberries hanging over the flowerbed:

I was immediately suspicious, because last year I was hardly able to gather more than one cup's worth. Birds and animals would always get them before me. But I ran inside to get a container and picked them all. Then I walked out along a fourth class road that leads to my great-uncle's hunting cabin, along which I saw many unripe bushes earlier in the summer.

More ripe blackberries!

I picked about three quarts in total- and it was all freeeeeeee.

I washed and froze most. I saved some out to make blackberry and peach bars:

These bars are my favorite way of using local, seasonal fruit. I made rhubarb bars in the spring, wild black raspberry bars in mid-summer and now wild blackberry bars in late summer. They are so easy to bring together and are sooooooo good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

[vermont] Foraging for chanterelles

I went out yesterday, hunting for chanterelles. I keep seeing pictures of them popping up at my local farmer's market so it must be time (drenching rain followed by oppressive hear- yup, that sounds about right). I've never looked for them before but did some research on proper identification.

What I brought home:

Not a lot. I wanted more but I've never picked/eaten these before so I decided it was the right amount for the first time.

I picked small ones. There weren't any big groups- just a few here and there. When I saw one and knelt down to cut it, I would inevitably see cap-less stems nearby. Something was eating them. (Deer?)

What to do with the small amount? Mushroom toast. I sauteed the few I had...

At the end, I finished with some dulce butter that I made a couple nights ago and scallions. I put it onto a slice of 12-grain toast and sprinkled a little parmesan on top:

C'est magnifique. (chef's kiss) 

Picking yesterday was tough. Stomping around for an hour (trying to be noisy because bears), the bugs, the heat, the relentless bugs... But the toast was sooooooooo nice and worth it. I have to go looking again this afternoon.

[cooking] Chive Flower Vinegars

Several weeks ago the chives were blooming:

The blossoms are edible and normally I just pull apart one of the heads and sprinkle the petals over an open face sandwich (speaking of which, it's summer and all I want is smørrebrød). This time I wanted to preserve them and opted for chive blossom infused vinegars.

From left to right- coconut, apple cider and brown rice vinegars. I stuffed three pint jars full of chive blossoms and then filled with each vinegar. I used wax paper to cover the top (the vinegar reacts with metal) and used the ring to seal. Plus, I was able to write on the wax paper which jar contained which vinegar.

Then I left them in the pantry for three weeks. I took them out:

Strained the vinegar into new jars:

They're so pretty! So pink! They don't have an overtly onion or chive flavor- it's mild but delicious.

I've made an Asian soy sauce marinade with some (ribs are marinating in it for tonight). These would make pretty salad dressings. Decanted into nice bottles, this would make a pretty gift.

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It was so nice to go grocery shopping and buy things that need refrigeration. What luxury. I bought so much Vermont Creamery cultured butter because it was essentially half price if you bought a certain amount. Butter freezes just fine, so I don't mind. And now I can do all kinds of compound butters. Some that have sounded interesting to me (based on what I have in the pantry and fridge):

- chai spice and maple

- dulse seaweed

- wakame seaweed and matcha

- carrot top maitre d'hotel

- harissa and mint

[vermont] Foraging for Ramps

My annual ramp foraging was made insanely easy this year. My uncle was camping nearby for the weekend- he stopped by with his new ATV on Saturday around noon and asked if I wanted a ride. I said I wouldn't say no to a ride up the hill to pick ramps. I grabbed my basket and off we went. I felt so incredibly lazy for not hiking up but it's so steep and I'm also sorrynotsorry.

Up at the top- he had no idea what ramps were and I was like, "Wait until you see. Everything is brown but once we get to the patch- it's a sea of emerald green." 

This is just a small area where we picked- the ramp patch extends so far.

My uncle helped me pick and we were done quickly. 

And then I got a ride back down. It totally spoiled me and I'm pretty sure I'm going to call him up next year and from now on and ask for a ride.

Another reason I'm not sorry is because it takes about three hours to clean them all. Normally I'd pick on a Saturday, keep the dirty ramps in the garage overnight and wash them on Sunday. It's takes many changes of water and time to strip the slimy outside skin off the bulb, then bundle them all up pretty. I saved so much time from the ride up/down that I cleaned them all as soon as I got home.

So beautiful! Bundles have already gone to my uncle (his reward for the ride and helping me pick!), my mom, sister, mother in law, sister in law... More will go to Wool band member at the next house practice.

During the washing up, I set aside the "seconds"- the lone leaves, broken bulbs, runty-sized ramps. These I keep for me:

Which I'll turn into pesto and compound butter. I'm thinking about pickling bulbs, dehydrating leaves. I have a block of cream cheese I'll mix some into (I can't wait- I'm buying bagels just for this). And a quick chimichurri last night to go with London broil steak:

It's a decidedly Vermont chimichurri- because of the ramps and I used cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar. It's so good with steak.

Lots of cooking to do this week to process it all but then I can keep a lot of it in my freezer and cupboards to enjoy until next Spring.

[cooking] Shaggy Mane Mushroom Rustic Tart

Shaggy mane mushrooms finally appeared in the upper and lower lawns:

I saw some start to pop up couple days ago but it's been raining non-stop. Yesterday was 80, sunny and dry and I was able to walk around to pick some that had not gone by yet.

These are also called "inky cap" mushrooms- as they mature, the caps drip away like black ink from the bottom to the top. Here's a cluster starting to get inky color at the bottom:

Here are some pretty far gone:

I think you can actually make homemade ink from these and use it for calligraphy. I'd rather eat them, though.

I cut away the bottoms, wipe away any dirt with a damp paper towel (my usual method for cleaning any mushroom) and quarter them lengthwise. I found two that were starting to get a bit gray at the bottom, which I could only see once I opened them up. I tossed those. I think it would have been fine but I don't use any that have grayness. Then I sautee in butter:

I made some pie dough and rolled out one crust. Add a layer of panko breadcrumbs to the center (to absorb any residual moisture from the mushrooms), some diced gouda cheese, sauteed mushrooms and some grated Parmesan cheese. Fold over the edges and brush the crust with milk:

Bake at 350 for 50 min.

So good, but anything stuffed inside a pie crust is going to be good.

These mushrooms are everywhere. I'll check on them this weekend- maybe pick a few for an omelette. And with all the rain we're getting, I should take a spin through the woods to see if I can find some chicken of the woods- and take some foliage pictures before all the leaves are done.

[cooking] Ramps / Wild Leeks

Last Thursday, before leaving for MD S&W, I wanted to take care of most of the ramps that I kept for myself. I really don't use my food processor much, because there are 400 parts to wash, but it does come in handy from time to time.

I threw in two large bunches of ramps and minced as-is. Then I used this for three different recipes.

Recipe #1: Compound Butter

I had the foresight to take out six sticks of salted butter from the fridge before work and leave them on the counter to come to room temp over the course of the day. Theywere soft(ish) when I put them into the stand mixer:

Mix a bit on low speed. Add a scant cup of the pureed ramps and juice from half a lemon. Mix on low and then on high, periodically scraping down the sides of the bowl and pushing unmixed butter off the paddle.

Looks pretty good!! This is my favorite way to preserve the ramps- the compound butter lasts for a long time in the freezer and it makes the best garlic bread. Normally I roll the butter into logs in cling wrap but this time I decided to try out a never-been-used silicone mold from the cupboard:

Originally purchased as a mold for panna cotta but I thought it would make a pretty presentation for the butter. I scooped in some of the ramp butter, pushed it in evenly and leveled off with a knife:

Cover with cling wrap, pressing evenly over the butter surface, and into the freezer to store until needed for special occasions. Each mold fit a little less than one stick of butter- I had about 1/3 cup of "extra" butter that didn't fit. That went into a little covered glass dish and we're currently using it up here and there.

Recipe #2: Chimichurri

In glass bowl, I added a cup of minced ramps, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and whisked to make chimichurri. This went into a big mason jar and into the fridge.

Recipe #3: Pesto

With the remaining minced ramps in the food processor, I added pine nuts (not toasted because lazy), parm cheese, salt, pepper. I started to blend and drizzled in olive oil until I got a consistency I liked:

Presto! Pesto!

This wasn't a huge amount of pesto- I didn't have a lot of minced ramps left in the food processor after using so much for the butter and chimichurri but it worked out correct proportionally to the amount of pine nuts I had. The pesto was divided into three little tupperware containers.

So after not much time and effort, I had ramps three ways:

I still have one bunch of ramps left that survived the weekend just find in the vegetable drawer in the fridge. I'm trying to come up with a new/creative way to use it. I think I might dehydrate the greens- that might be a good way to store it as a dried herb to add to salt or bread/pasta dough in the future.

I have been using fresh ramps, chopped and sauteed with ground pork and some Korean spices/seasoning, to have over rice. Last night I made Loco Moco with a ramp twist- adding a spoonful of the chimichurri to the ground beef before shaping into patties and frying the eggs in ramp butter. This was so gooood.

[cooking] Shaggy Mane Mushroom Rustic Tart

A rustic fall tart with "foraged" mushrooms:

The last time we had any rain, it was a downpour the morning of Sept 14 and the next day white mushrooms started popping up all over my front yard.

They were impossible to miss- super white against the green grass. They are Coprinus comatus, aka Shaggy Mane, aka Inky Cap, aka Shaggy Ink Cap, aka Lawyer's Wig. The "ink" in the common name comes from how they deteriorate: 

From the bottom of the cap up, they wilt away as dripping black goo. Mmmm mmm, this is NOT "good eating" stage.

When they are first up and the caps are still slightly closed and there's no grey discoloration to the caps, they are good to pick and eat cooked. I feel like I should put some cautionary text here: you should never pick and eat any wild mushrooms, ever. The same way that Food Network says you should never eat beef carpaccio because raw beef is a one-way ticket to the emergency room. Better safe than legally liable.

I feel comfortable with shaggy manes. I first saw them along the driveway last year and COOKED and ate some. And even then, I only ate a little at a time to see how I would react. I also had no alcohol during and 48 hours after eating these; these particular mushroom can cause some gastrointestinal distress in some people when consumed with alcohol.

Most importantly, there aren't any deadly look-alikes. I recently saw some of what I *think* are honey mushrooms in the woods but I'm not going to play with them because I don't feel comfortable positively identifying them and there ARE deadly mushrooms that look similar. They say there are old mushroom hunters, there are bold mushroom hunters...  but there aren't any old and bold mushroom hunters, if you catch my drift. ... Because they're dead. ... From eating poisonous mushrooms. 

I picked quite a few tightly closed mushrooms:

Because of their tendency to not stay nice very long after picking, I had them cleaned and cut up within an hour. Into a pan with some local butter:

Cooked down:

I decided on a lazy, I mean rustic mushroom tart. Usually when I make a pie or quiche and there are leftover dough scraps, I'll pile them up, roll or pat into a thick patty, wrap in saran wrap and throw it into the fridge for a simple, small galette some days down the line.

Also, this means the mushrooms will be cooked twice. Once in the pan with butter and again in the oven in the tart. I would never, never, ever, never eat any mushroom I foraged for raw. Raw mushrooms will usually cause more gastro distress. Plus, cooking helps make them more palatable.

So I roll out some dough on parchment paper, layer some panko breadcrumbs (to absorb moisture and keep the bottom of the tart from getting soggy) and parm cheese. Then layer on the mushrooms. I topped with some grated semi-soft half cow/half goat milk cheese. Sprinkled some seasoning and flopped over the edges:

Baked at 350 F for 35 min. Topped with scallions.

This was amazing. Would be just as good with any mushrooms you can get at the grocery store- button, crimini, oyster. If you have access to more exotic ones like maitake or beech or king trumpet- those would be nice. A mix of any of those. I think mushrooms, cheese and pastry dough are a one way ticket to contentment.
Because it was a small amount of dough, this tart is probably only about 8" in diameter. Still, I only ate a small wedge so as not to consume too many wild mushrooms at once.  I'm hoping for another rainfall that will make these sprout up again.