I found and wrote about this patch of wild onion in August, and all winter long it’s been in the back of my mind. The long stretch of lack of fresh, green flavors would be abruptly broken by the reappearance of this lovely piece of culinary geniusness. This particular one is allium senescens, its common name ‘german garlic’. I have … Read More
Excavating Shaggy Parasol Mycelium
When we bought the property we’re now on I started digging up lawn almost immediately. What once was 99% lawn is now maybe 5-10% lawn. I’ve become pretty adept at destroying lawn. 5 years ago, when I started digging up soil that looked like that in the photo [currently excavating for the big-ass wood oven project] – white, granular, entirely … Read More
Mmmm…pesticides.
Dear whoever will read this, [this letter has been sent to the mayor and a number of city councillors] I would like to add my voice to all the others asking the city for a non-essential or cosmetic pesticide ban. I’m a local food writer heavily involved in the urban agriculture and foraging communities. I lead groups of Edmontonians to … Read More
Slow Food Edmonton Highbush Cranberry Foray
Headed out this evening to hit the urban bush with a bunch of Slow Food Edmonton members. I organized the event hoping it would be an easy, casusal way to get us like minded folk outdoors enjoying some wild food and good company – maybe even expose some folks to something new that grows in their own backyard. Turns out … Read More
The Evening Walk
I’ve written about foraging so much lately, I’m not sure what to say anymore other than: do it. A couple notable things about tonight: First, I was *this* close to staying home and doing nothing, really. Maybe read stuff online. Maybe watch a movie. But I couldn’t do it. I had to go do some more exploring. Yes, I was … Read More
Foraged Fruit, Veg, Mushrooms, Herbs + more
I love how exciting foraging can be. Again, free couple hours in the evening, so went for a walk in the river valley. Found some Agaricus Campestris [meadow mushroom] in nice shape. Spent a fair bit of time seeing a lot of not much, then found some nice, plump saskatoons. Again, not much for some time, then came across a … Read More
Wild Saskatoons
I find saskatoons have an interesting reputation – there are those that are into them, and the rest hate them. With the wild ones, I can see texture being an issue. Without some attention to triage, one risks chewing on an unpleasantly dry berry. Not ideal. They also, even when plump, have a bit of texture to them – although … Read More
Shaggy Parasol Giants & First Amanita
This is a rare find. I’m wondering whether it’s one in a lifetime. I had a free evening, so figured I’d go check to see if any more Agaricus Campestris had showed up where I found them last – in the river valley only a couple km away. No dice. So I picked a few sad looking saskatoons. Deciding that the … Read More
Fairy Ring Love
If the dandelion holds #1 spot in our lawn culture’s ‘Most Misunderstood Plant‘ category, fairy ring mushroom must win an equally prominent award in the ‘Most Misunderstood Fungus‘ category. Fairy rings are the bane of a lawn perfectionist’s existence, if one is present. Pure evil. They put that unsightly curvaceous scar upon the utopically manicured monoculture of grass. I’ve heard … Read More