I’m using the hunting flair, but this is literally on our daily walks. We’re not hunting truffles, she has NEVER been trained (she’s a stray found on the side of the road about 11 years ago). I don’t know if she’s always done this and I haven’t noticed (she likes to eat them), but once I did notice I praised her extensively.

My pup is a dog who responds to praise like an addict. I’ve accidentally praised her for things before and she will now not stop doing them because of the ONE TIME she got an endorphin rush from my response.

The problem is that I first noticed she had found a truffle yesterday and praised her like the good girl she is. Now on our walks (three times a day, usually, in our back woods) hunting truffles is ALL she wants to do. I wouldn’t mind except she keeps finding them! I have five white truffles, the largest being golf ball sized, and while I love truffle flavor I don’t want to waste these. Already have ordered a very light oil to make some truffle oil, and plan to make a compound butter, but I don’t know how else to preserve these. I’m also concerned that they’re too early to be unearthed.

If I get a bucket of the same soil they’re growing in, can I just rebury them? I’d prefer to leave them where they are, but she’d just unearth them on our next walk, tail wagging furiously and so sweetly proud. (Dog tax included)

I’m so excited to finally get the book from my favorite forager!

one of my favorite things to eat.

They're mustang grapes (Vitis mustangensis) from Central Texas. This is only a fraction of the total amount I will gather each summer. They're one of the best foods to forage! I will dry out most of them for preservation, but I also make some into juice and can it.

Little Compton RI

Found in Huron County, Ontario

Sea Fig, also known as sour fig, pigface, or ice plant is one of about twenty species of creeping succulents in the genus Carpobrotus, most of which are native to South Africa. They were intentionally introduced in California (where I harvested them from) for erosion control and have become an invasive species. Specifically we have both Sea Fig (Carpobrotus edulis) and Chilean Sea Fig (Carpobrotus chilensis) all along the coast here. Both plants can produce yellow or pink flowers. The fruits and leaves are edible. Ripe fruit is sweet and tastes like skittles candy or kiwi and lychee or strawberry mixed with bubblegum and hit of saltiness. The texture is a bit mucilaginous similar to okra so they make a good emulsifier. I’ve included a few photos of the plant and the fruit preparation.

I used the fruits to make a jam that I added sweetener and lemon to. It is not pretty but it is quite delicious! I used that jam to make a menu:

Shaved Squash Salad with Macadamias, Pickled Shallots, Basil, and Sea Fig Vinaigrette. 

I mixed the jam with some champagne vinegar, avocado oil, and salt. I placed shaved squash that I halved so it would lay flat standing up on a plate inside a ring mold. Once it looked how I liked, I spooned the vinaigrette into the spaces between the squash. Topped it with chopped roasted salted macadamia nuts, Thai basil leaves, pickled shallots (with a touch of hibiscus in the pickling liquid for color), and some bachelor button petals. 

Sea Fig Glazed Black Cod with Kumquat Beurre Blanc And Samphire. 

I pan seared some local Black Cod so that the skin was crisp and glazed the underside while it cooked with a bit of the jam with some kumquat juice for added sharpness. I garnished with blanched samphire that I foraged as well as thinly sliced kumquats and a few pieces of shaved purple radish.

Sea Fig Ice Cream with Coconut Caramel and Macadamias.

I mixed the jam with an ice cream base so that there were still large pieces of the fruit throughout, which leaves bursts of the flavor in there. Topped that with a caramel made with coconut cream, some chopped roasted salted macadamias and a few cornflower petals as well.

Claytonia perfoliata, also known as miner's lettuce or winter purslane grows in abundance around my place (the taste reminds me of a pea pod or pea shoots and spinach). I found the most beautiful group of variegated plants one year (and made sure to leave most for seed). I love to make salads out of it and use it as a garnish for other dishes. I thought I’d share a few of the things I’ve made with it over the last few years. Also, just wanted to say thank you for all the kindness shown on this sub!

Blood Orange, Kumquat, Avocado and Miner's Lettuce Salad with Pistachio and Bee Pollen

Miners Lettuce, Apple, Pickled Shallot, and Fried Sunchoke Salad with Lemon Cream and Tarragon Oil

Duxelle Stuffed Chicken Ballotine with Confit Tomatoes, Crispy Chicken Skin, Tomato Butter, and Red Wine Reduction (just used the miner's lettuce as a garnish here)

Thai Leaf Wrapped Salad Bites (Miang Kham)

Apple, Pickled Apricot, Miner's Lettuce, and Romanesco Salad with Pine Nuts, Shallots, and Lemon Saffron Labneh Dressing

I’m thinking just some tea?

Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.) grows in abundance around where I am in California. Both the cactus pads (nopales) and the fruits (tunas) are edible. The fruits are ripe when they are deep pink or purple, typically late in summer and through early fall. You’d think the large obvious spines are the things to be most careful of but it’s the fine glochids that get into your hands and make you miserable. To get around those, I use tongs to hold the fruit, cut them in half, and scoop out the fruit. I’ve tried burning them off as well as rubbing/scrubbing them and still always managed to get the fine hairs stuck in my hands. 

The fruit tastes like a subdued watermelon to me. There are a few varietals and these particular ones have the most beautiful brilliant pink color. They are often used in sweet preparations but I decided to use them to make a savory, chilled gazpacho. I blended the fruit with some tomato, cucumber, shallot, garlic, Calabrian chili paste, and lime juice to make a gazpacho and the result is a smooth neon pink soup that is faintly sweet, vegetal, fruity, and refreshing chilled. I served it with sliced avocado and a charred corn and crab salad. I fried the corn silk in a bit of oil and used that to dress the salad to get a bit more corn flavor into it. Garnished with some cilantro and amaranth leaves. I included a few photos of the plating/process as well as the fruit and some unripe cactus growing.

Found this beautiful tree deep in the forest. It's in the shade and is in semi-wet soil. Fruit looks and tastes great and sweet, but is seeded. Surprised it hasn't got Citrus Greening yet considering it looks to be 10 years old or older. What do you guys think?

A solid ricing session in Minnesota. I'm so grateful.

So sour…. So juicy…. So delicious 🤤 😋