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There’s still lots of wild food out there (well, depending on where you live)…here are some ideas on how to incorporate it into your holiday meals.

In Western Pennsylvania, you can still find oyster mushrooms, perhaps hen of the woods (though it’s a bit late…but maybe you still have some around you recently harvested), nettles, dandelion greens, burdock root, chickweed, recently harvested black walnuts and hickory nuts and more. There are lots of ways to incorporate some of these yummy foods.

These days our meals tend to be vegan or vegetarian and gluten-free. So here are some ideas:

• Add burdock root to lentil sweet potato stew.

• Make candied black walnuts to top this raw cranberry sauce, you can find the recipe for this dish here.

Wild Mushroom Stuffing (gluten-free, vegan)

• 1 chopped onion
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 2 cups wild mushrooms (oysters or maitake/hen of the woods)
• 2 stalks chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped nettles (sure, why not! If you don’t have it you can omit or add spinach or parsley instead.)
• 2 cups cooked rice, quinoa, or cut-in-little-pieces gluten-free bread
• salt, pepper
• dried sage
• dried thyme
• olive oil
• optional: nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese (not vegan)
• optional: grated cheddar cheese (not vegan) or grated vegan cheese like Daiya brand, which usually melts.

1. Saute onions, garlic, mushrooms and salt in olive oil until soft, at least 5 minutes.
2. Add chopped celery and saute a few minutes more.
3. Add nettles until wilted.
4. Add pepper, sage and thyme and rice (or quinoa or bread. If adding bread you may need some water.)
5. Stir all together over heat, adjusting seasonings, adding nutritional yeast or Parmesan cheese if you prefer.

My favorite way to eat this stuffing this fall is in baked squash: either delicata or acorn squash.

To bake squash: Cut in half (lengthwise for delicata) scrape out seeds (and save seeds to roast: we are foragers! we do not throw away the seeds! We may save some to plant next year…but the rest we roast!) Rub squash with olive oil and place face down on oiled baking pan, baking at 350 for 20 - 40 minutes until soft.

• Put stuffing in squash, top with cheese (optional) and reheat in oven until cheese melts.

To roast squash or pumpkin seeds: wash off squash debris, coat with olive oil or melted butter, add salt, spread on baking tray and bake while squash is baking 10 -15 minutes, stir up, spread again and bake 5 to 10 more minutes, until dry and crispy.

Enjoy your holidays!

Stay safe, stay wild.

~ Melissa and the folks at Food Under Foot

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It’s morel season in Western PA! We are fortunate to have found about 100 morels this year, mostly the half-free (also called “snakehead morel” or “peckerhead morel”) and some black morels.

Morels (Morchella species) are delicious edible mushrooms, though they must be cooked. They are absolutely, always 100% hollow inside, which is one way to make certain you have a morel and not a false morel. Another way is that the cap is attached to the stalk, either at the bottom (black and yellow morels) or mid-way, with a bit of a skirt (half-free.) In false morels such as verpas (which are inedible) the cap is attached to the top.

Look for morels under elm and dying elm trees. Tulip poplar is another tree under which morels can be found. Also ash, sycamore…I heard a saying recently, “You find them where you find them.” But we always look for elm or tulip poplar groves when seeking out morels. If you are not familiar with these trees, you can google images for them.

Here you will see how hollow morels look inside. There is no question that they are 100% hollow! If you are not sure, throw it out!

The picture below is NOT A MOREL! It is an inedible Gyromitria, or false morel. They typically come out a little before the true morels appear, but they remain out during morel season. They are NOT HOLLOW inside.

If you are in Western PA, the Western PA Mushroom Club is hosting Morel Madness this weekend! Check it out, it is a great program with slide shows and ranger-led hikes looking for morels.

We have made some truly delicious dishes this year with morels, pictures and recipes are coming up.

If you haven’t signed up for our free newsletter, please do! The sign up box is on the top right (green box with the feet inside). You’ll receive 5 free ebooks as well!

Happy Hunting!

Melissa Sokulski

**Did you know our new e-workbook is pay-what-you-choose? Author and herbalist Melissa Sokulski has put together a workbook of what she feels are the best ways to learn about wild edible plants. Check it out today!**

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I have been so lax about posting here…I am so sorry! If you haven’t joined us on Facebook, please do so! It’s a bit easier to be active in little blurbs, and there’s a lot of action over there.

But there’s actually a lot going on here as well, just behind the scenes. I’ll make a commitment to put it up in the forefront…I’ll try to get more posts up here!

We’ve been having a fun fall, gathering and cooking acorns, finding black walnuts, and today was glorious when we found a Chicken Mushroom! (Also known as Sulphur Shelf or Laetiporus sulphureus).

I didn’t have my camera on me at the time, but you’ll notice the unmistakable orange/yellow color. They grow on dead wood like old stumps of trees and the underside has very tiny pores (NOT gills.)

Like almost all wild mushrooms, these need to be cooked before eating, so I sliced some up and sauteed them in olive oil:

Then in a hot wok, I sauteed red onion, garlic, scallion, zucchini, and pumpkin seeds, adding the cooked chicken mushroom at the end. I seasoned with tamari and mirin.

Finally I served it over brown rice.

It was very good!

Do you have any favorite ways to prepare chicken mushroom? Any favorite recipes you’d be willing to share? I’d love to hear!

Thanks,

Melissa Sokulski
Food Under Foot

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In my small urban backyard which is only twenty feet by sixty feet, I am able to identify and collect over 80 edible plants, especially if I walk down my street and make use of other plants in the neighborhood.

Most of these plants are literally wild and grow there by chance. Others I have transplanted to the yard, and they now return year after year. Some, like Japanese Knotweed, are quite invasive and I am happy they are not in my yard, but I can easily harvest them around the neighborhood. And some food, fruit bushes and trees like peach, fig, blueberry and blackberry, I have planted.

The following is a list of wild plants, separated into categories, of what grows in my tiny yard (and these are only the things I identify and use! There are plenty of other plants which I don’t know or do not know how to use hanging out as well.)

Totally Wild in My Yard

1. Dandelion
2. Yellow Dock
3. Chickweed
4. Lambs Quarters
5. Amaranth
6. Quickweed
7. Lady’s Thumbprint
8. Garlic Mustard
9. Broad Leaved Plantain
10. Narrow Leaved Plantain
11. Red Clover
12. White Clover
13. Sorrel
14. Wood Sorrel
15. Shephard’s Purse
16. Cress (Peppercress)
17. Purslane
18. Wild Carrot/Queen Anne’s Lace (though we don’t use this as a rule, because of its resemblance to hemlock)

Transplanted to my yard, but considered a wild plant

1. Nettles
2. Comfrey
3. Blackberries
4. Black Raspberry
5. Oyster Mushrooms
6. Lemon Balm
7. Violets

In my neighborhood, an easy walk from my front door

1. Burdock
2. Black Walnut
3. Acorns
4. Japanese Knotweed
5. Chicory
6. Mulberries
7. Wild Cherries, Tart and Sweet
8. Maple (Maple Syrup, if I were to tap them)
9. Cleavers
10. Thistles
11. Sumac
12. Wild Grapes

Plants I use only as medicine (most of the plants above are medicinal as well as edible, but the following I use only as medicine or herbs)

1. Mugwort
2. Mullein
3. St. John’s Wort
4. Motherwort
5. Catnip
6. Feverfew

Food Plants Which I Have Added To My Yard

1. Grapes/Grape Leaves
2. Fig
3. Strawberries
4. Peach Tree
5. Plum Tree
6. Cherry Tree
7. Kale (3 Varieties)
8. Beets
9. Carrots
10. Radishes
11. Tomatoes
12. Arugula
13. Spinach
14. Zucchini
15. Broccoli
16. Collard Greens
17. Chard
18. Fennel
19. Cucumbers
20. Pepper
21. Asian Pear Trees…3 trees/varieties
22. Blueberries

Edible Flowers

1. Calendula
2. Nasturtiums
3. Borage
4. Day Lily
5. Squash Flowers
6. Violets
7. Pansy
8. Sunflowers (Seeds)

Cultivated Herbs (if not mentioned above)

1. Basil
2. Rosemary
3. Thyme
4. Lemon Thyme
5. Peppermint
6. Spearmint
7. Apple Mint
8. Oregano
9. Sage
10. Cilantro
11. Dill
12. Parsley
13. Chives

What do you have in your yard?

Enjoy the harvest!

Melissa

Birch Center for Health
Food Under Foot

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We have lots of campers here at Food Under Foot! Hello to you all! Thanks so much for your emails. We love camping, too, and camping is a fantastic time to find and use wild edibles.

There are some things to be aware of: not all parks want you to pick plants, so find out the rules at each park. Some parks do not mind if you pick invasive weeds like garlic mustard, burdock, nettles, Japanese Knotweed (etc) and will even spray or pull these themselves, so it’s worthwhile to ask. We’ve come across parks where they don’t want you to pick any plants (but mushrooms were ok there), to others who will say weeds such as the ones mentioned above are ok.

We also never pick endangered or protected plants like Trillium, Ferns, or Goldenseal.

When we do harvest plants to eat we only pick what we will eat immediately, so as not to overpick or waste anything. When we are harvesting something like garlic mustard or burdock root from places where they tell you it’s ok (sometimes they’ll be thrilled!) we sometimes do pick more to dry or use later.

Lately we have found the best wild edibles camping! Chickweed, violets, lambs quarters and garlic mustard make wonderful salads. We usually bring a bottle of salad dressing, but really these wild edibles are so fresh and delicious you could eat them plain!

These flavorful edibles also make a good trailside nibble if you get hungry on a hike. Also wild berries will be in season soon…those are always fun to nibble while camping!

Other wild edibles such as morel and other edible mushrooms and nettles are excellent sauteed, and can be eaten over rice or pasta.

Roots such as burdock are excellent cooked into soups or with rice, giving a rich earthy flavor.

Some wild edibles you can find while camping are great as medicines, too. If you get stung by a bee look for plantain (some call it fairy bandaid) to chew and place on the sting.

If you get stung by nettles, you’ll likely find burdock or yellow dock leaves nearby…chew those and apply to the nettle sting.

Poison Ivy? Go back into the woods and look for jewelweed, crush and apply this plant to your itchy rash. Plantain will also work to take the itch away.

Wild edibles are full of nutrition and medicinal properties and are excellent to use while camping!

We’ll be sure to bring you more camping adventures as the season progresses (we’re going again later this week!) Make sure you let us know about your camping wild culinary adventures as well!

~ Melissa Sokulski

Food Under Foot
Birch Center for Health

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On our last morel hike, we found four small black morels, and some larger yellow morels. This time we added them to a potato kugel. The flavor of the morels was somewhat lost in this dish, so it wasn’t the best way to showcase the morels. But it was delicious, so I wanted to share it with you!

A Kugel is a Jewish dish made traditionally with pasta or potatoes and eggs. It is often sweet but can be savory like this one.

Morel Potato Kugel.

• Morels, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chopped spinach
• 2 Tbsp butter or olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 4 potatoes, cubed and steamed
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup grated cheese, such as cheddar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.

Peel and cube 4 potatoes and steam them.

Saute chopped morels, onions and spinach in butter for about 15 minutes, until onions are translucent and morels are wilted.

Mix four eggs with 1/2 cup milk, yogurt or cream, salt and pepper.

Mix eggs, potatoes and vegetables together and pour into a 9 by 13 baking pan.

Sprinkle a cup of shredded cheese on top.

Bake about 45 minutes.

I hope you enjoy the kugel!

Have you found morels this year? What do you like to do with them? What else are you eating this spring? We’d love to hear from you!

~ Melissa Sokulski

Food Under Foot and Birch Center for Health

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Today I want to share with you a delicious recipe I made using the morels we gathered at morel madness! (Actually, we weren’t as lucky on the evening hike as we were in the morning, but we had generous hikers and camping neighbors who actually shared the morels they found with us!!!)

Morels must be cooked to neutralize their toxins. Eaten raw, morels will make you sick. Even when you cook them, you should avoid consuming alcohol when eating morels, as this also is known to cause problems.

Morels should also be cut in half lengthwise. Always cut morels open to make sure they are 100% hollow inside. Edible morels are 100% hollow…poison look-alikes will have chambers or cottony filling, that is a give away! Double check every mushroom by slicing it open. Also, there are sometimes bugs inside so you’ll want to get those out of there!

Recipe for Morel Mushroom Frittata:

• Morels, cut in half lengthwise and cleaned
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2 cups spinach (or use a wild edible like lambs quarters or nettles), chopped
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp milk, cream, or half and half
• 1 cup shredded chedder (or other favorite) cheese

1. Turn on broiler.

2. Crack eggs into bowl, add milk or cream, salt and pepper and whisk. Set aside.

3. In a cast iron skillet, melt the butter and saute onions and morels until morels are soft, about 15 minutes. (Medium heat.) Add spinach and cook another minute until spinach wilts.

4. Pour in egg mixture and cook until bottom sets but top is still wiggly, about 5 minutes.

5. Put cheese on top and put in broiler for a minute, until browned.

Serve immediately and enjoy! (Also good cold.)

~ Melissa

Food Under Foot
Birch Center for Health

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We finally found and tasted edible morel mushrooms!

Thanks to the incredible generosity of the Western PA Mushroom Club (this is an amazing club…weekly hikes, monthly meetings and special events) we had a great weekend learning about morel and other edible mushrooms!

Three hikes were led by experienced park rangers and mycologists, and we actually found morel mushrooms!

The event is at Mingo Creek County Park near Washington, PA. We camped and got the chance to meet friendly people. Two slide shows, three hikes, an astronomy program at the planetarium, bonfire, roasted marshmallows…you couldn’t ask for a better time!

We sauteed the mushrooms with butter and onions and they were delicious.

Tomorrow you’ll find my recipe for the delicious morel frittata I made!

~ Melissa

Food Under Foot
Acupuncturist, Birch Center for Health
Pittsburgh, PA