Reducing waste: New sunglasses.

Our culture is one of consumption. We purchase, use and dispose without looking for a different way to engage with the material goods in our lives. Convenience is king, and the many inexpensive options in big box stores make it so.

It takes discipline to begin down the road of lessening waste, and that discipline is tested in almost every purchasing decision. In my own family of three, if we forget the reusable grocery bags at home, do we put off the grocery store trip until tomorrow when it’s on our mind, and the store is in front of us, right now? Will we take home only one of an item if that second one, that we don’t really need, is half-off?

I was tested recently when I went into my local eye doctor to order a pair of prescription sunglasses. My non-prescription eyewear wouldn’t fit over my glasses, and the sun was getting too bright for my sensitive eyes to tolerate. I had taken to going everywhere – including in the car – with a large sunhat on, but even that was no longer cutting it.

I knew the lens to correct my very near-sighted vision would be quite expensive, so I was thrilled to hear that the frames were currently at a deep discount with a specialty lens purchase. The price still added up to a significant cost, but I was expecting it. I tried on frames, one after the other, all the while comparing them to the sunglasses that I already owned – a vintage pair, purchased at a consignment shop.

I asked about putting new lenses in my existing frames. I was told that a template would have to be made at the lens manufacturer, increasing both the cost and time of production. In all, I would save about 10% by dumping my old frames for new ones.

At that moment, I considered an article on Zero Waste Homethat I had come across recently. Though I don’t achieve quite that extreme, the article’s point, that the “cost” of waste should be factored into the price of replacing something for less than it costs to fix it, had been resurfacing for a few days in my thoughts.

Recipe: Garlic Mustard Pesto

Ohio has been invaded.
By garlic mustard.

This non-native invasive grows prolifically, choking out native species in its rapid spread. This makes it an extremely easy plant to find. Thankfully, it’s also quite tasty.

There are many accounts of garlic mustard pesto, and other recipes featuring garlic mustard, all across the Internet. Here is my take on this light pasta topping, also featuring the very delectable wild garlic. I found that the garlic plants were sporting heads on top (the bulb-y part that will open into a flower if left on the plants). The tiny bulbils inside of the heads are delicious, milder than the garlic bulbs we buy at the grocery store and slightly sweet. Wild garlic grows in patches or groves, so where you find one, you’ll find dozens or hundreds. It’s easy to harvest moderate quantities without trying very hard.

Garlic Mustard Pesto

Ingredients:
4 oz garlic mustard leaves (3 cups packed tightly full)
1.25 oz pecorino Romano cheese (1/2 cup)
.25 oz wild garlic heads
1 c toasted walnuts
1/4 c olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Using a food processor, combine everything except the olive oil, salt and pepper to the fineness you prefer.

With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Thin with pasta sauce as needed to top pasta, or enjoy as a thick spread on crusty, fresh bread.

Invitation: May 11 foraging trek

I’d like to offer an invitation to join me on a foraging trek on Saturday, May 11.

Location and time will be chosen by May 8

Please contact me as soon as possible, using the form here or by email at kateforagefiber at gmail dot com.

My tentative plan is to stay within a one-hour drive of downtown Columbus and spend between 2 and 4 hours in the field. If you have a time frame you need to stick to, please offer it up when you contact me. I anticipate that we will each need to bring heavy snacks or a light meal.

Due to the last-minute nature of this outing, there will be no charge. It is possible we will have access to privately-owned land and will be able to bring foraged items home with us, but there is a stronger possibility that this will take place on public land – acting as an outing to stretch our muscles and hone identification skills.

Join me!

Foraging: Let’s chat about PawPaws

Today I’d like to talk about courteous foraging via a Pawpaw discussion.

First, the Pawpaw. What is it? The sight of the Pawpaw tree is a true forager’s delight. The fruit of this native tree, custardy and sweet, seems like something from the tropics: even the broad leaves and chocolate-maroon flowers of the tree look tropical. If you haven’t heard of it before, it’s likely because the fruit has two distinct challenges to contend with that keep it from gaining popularity and recognition; the Pawpaw’s exceedingly short season and its even shorter shelf life. There has been recent development done by a select few farmers to cultivate the Pawpaw as has been done with our more prolific fruits and vegetables. Allison Aubrey of NPR’s Tiny Desk Kitchen explored that topic briefly in 2011.

In Ohio, the fruit of the Pawpaw ripens in late September or early October. The easiest way to tell the fruit is ripe is by letting it fall from the tree, on its own or with the aid of a gentle shake. The skin will yield slightly with pressure. The inside with be soft like a banana, yellow-orange in color and creamy. Inside there will be multiple large seeds you must eat around. A Pawpaw picked before ripening on the tree will not fully ripen before beginning to spoil and rot, when its skin will begin to turn black.

As mouth-watering as they may be, I have not spent much time foraging for this fruit. Why? In Columbus, there are plenty of Pawpaw trees growing in public spaces, so access isn’t the issue. The trouble is, and I have this on good authority from eye witnesses, that the vast majority of these fruits are picked before they’re ready. People see them, having heard about them, and they don’t make the effort to find out that they are pulling the fruits off of the trees too soon, leaving those who have been patiently awaiting a taste for themselves empty-handed.

Taking a food before it is ready for harvest is just not very courteous. The legality of foraging those places mentioned above is in question to begin with (though it does seem socially acceptable). And I think it is the cavalier attitude of some, who take all of the spoils, that may have put these laws in place to begin with. After all, public space is owned by all, so should the contents not be shared by all? (This gets into a much larger debate that I’m not sure I’m prepared to host, so I’ll stop there.)

By all means, if you have food growing on your own private space, use it – use it all if you like. If you know how to harvest it all while still ensuring that more will grow for your future use, then do it! But please leave the Pawpaw fruit on the tree until it’s ripe.

(Do you have any ideas on how to educated people who may be the ones ruining it for us all without stepping over legal boundaries? If so, I would love to talk!)

Recipe: Pickled Redbud buds

As a stark contrast to my last shared recipe, this one is so simple that it almost feels silly to classify it as a recipe. A simple brined pickle, Redbud buds shine as a stand-in for the ubiquitous caper. More delicate and a bit sweet, these unopened flower buds are far prettier, though collecting them takes a bit of work.

Pickled Redbud buds

1 part water
1 part white wine vinegar
Salt
Unopened flowers buds from a Redbud tree

In a clean jar, cover washed Redbud flower buds with mixed white wine vinegar and water. Pour the liquid back out into a measuring cup, and add 1 tablespoon of salt for every cup of liquid. Stir to dissolve, and pour brine back over the buds.

Use a lid or a smaller jar to keep the buds submerged in the brine. (You may have to get creative here, since you’ll likely have a small volume of pickling going on.)

Set the buds in a dark place for three days to pickle, checking daily to skim out any bloom.

After three days, cap the jar and refrigerate until use.

Easy, beautiful, delicious wild edibles.

Recipe: Ravioli with wild greens and chèvre.

With no documentation of the of the finished product except the above, admittedly lacking, photo, this is one moment that I implore you to take my word for truth. If you like pasta, and especially if you like making pasta, you deserve to treat yourself to fresh, homemade ravioli. A multi-hour affair, this one is not for the weak. But it’s a palate stunner; the perfect dish to serve to a dear friend for whom a bit of work is no sacrifice or someone that you really want to impress. Make it for people who will love it.

On to the recipe. Upon sourcing ingredients for a ravioli dish earlier this year, I learned that chèvre is a traditional ravioli filling. For my lactose-intolerant self, this knowledge (imparted by local Cheesemonger Michael Kent of Curds and Whey) was nearly life-altering. I had not eaten ravioli since 2008, and it surely had always been filled with ricotta. I thought that it was dish that was simply out of my reach now.

This recipe is heavily adapted from one in Tama Matsuoka Wong’s book Foraged Flavor. I feel comfortable posting it here due to the many changes I’ve made to suit the recipe to my dietary needs and the desires.

Ravioli with Wild Greens and Chèvre

Pasta dough:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rye flour
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon olive oil
pinch of salt

Filling:
1 Tablespoon butter, ghee, or olive oil
1 1/2 ounces red dead nettle (top 2 inches, including flowers)
1 ounce chickweed (tender parts only)
1 ounce wild garlic chopped coarsely (bulb and greens)
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 ounces chèvre
1/4 cup grated pecorino romano

1. Filling: Over medium heat, melt the butter (or ghee or olive oil). Add greens and cook until soft, 2 to 3 minutes.

2. In a food processor or blender, process cooked greens until fairly smooth but still retaining texture, less than a minute. Transfer to a medium bowl and combine with both cheeses. Add salt and pepper to tasty. Refrigerate until your pasta is ready to be filled.

3. Dough: Mix together flours, one egg, the yolk of the second egg (reserve white for step 4) olive oil and salt. Adding flour as needed to prevent sticking, knead dough on a flat surface for about 5 minutes, until it is supple, smooth and elastic. Wrap in plastic and allow to rest 30 minutes.

4. Using a pasta machine, roll dough to two notches from the thinnest setting (7 out of 9 for mine). On one sheet, place teaspoonfuls of filling, leaving one inch between each(this works out to two raviolis per row when I machine-roll my dough). Wet your finger with the reserved egg white, and run it between each drop of filling in horizontal and vertical motions. Include all edges, and re-wet your finger as needed. Place the other sheet of dough on top. Beginning with the center, press the dough down between each drop of filling to seal the ravioli, pushing air bubbles out toward the edges. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the ravioli into squares, checking the seal on the edges as you go.

5. In a non-stick skillet over low heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter or ghee.

6. Bring a large pot of salty water to a boil. Cook the ravioli in batches to prevent sticking. Test one to see how long yours take to cook. As each batch finishes, transfer them to the skillet and toss in the melted butter.

7. Serve immediately, topped with large shavings of pecorino romano.

If you make this, please do let me know how you find it. There are many options for substitutions, and I’ll happily provide some if you have questions about ingredients.

Yard edibles recipes, coming soon?

I have been receiving more traffic lately from people looking for recipes to use their found edibles. While I am more of a process-oriented kind of cook, I know there are many people out there who prefer to follow recipes.

Until I have the chance to properly measure and document some recipes, here are two websites that you might find useful:

Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook
(This is Hank Shaw, the author of this book.)

www.wildedible.com

And I can’t recommend enough Tama Matsuoka Wong’s Foraged Flavor.

Happy Foraging!