This is a neat ‘magic’ trick to impress your friends at dinner parties. Well… It really is the sort if thing that only a forager would do! Ingredients Any soup… Read More
Grasping the Nettle
You can get a cheery mood and energy boost from nettle leaf and particularly from raw dried nettle seed (technically fruits and seeds), rubbed through a sieve to remove the… Read More
How to pickle Ash Keys
Make a pickling vinegar by heating – in a Bain Marie – all your favourite spices with one spoon of soft brown sugar and a pinch of salt per cup… Read More
Wild Labneh Roule Cream Cheese
Recipe for a delicious ‘cream cheese’ substitute This is a very simple way to make a cream cheese replacement for those lovely soft herby French cream cheeses called roule. It’s not… Read More
Sweet Woodruff May Wine
How to make German May Wine using Sweet Woodruff In Germany, the first of May was traditionally celebrated with this delightful sparkling Maiwein drink, infused with sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum) a… Read More
Nettle & Wild Garlic Soup
Print Yum Nettle & Wild Garlic Soup Prep Time: 10 minutesCook Time: 30 minutesTotal Time: 40 minutes Serves 6-8 Nettle tips are delicious in the Spring and early summer although… Read More
Cleavers and Red Pepper Soup
Print Yum Cleavers & Capsicum Soup Prep Time: 10 minutesCook Time: 30 minutesTotal Time: 40 minutes 6Serving Size: 320 ml Ingredients100 g bundle of cleavers tops Galium aparine 2 cloves… Read More
Is Comfrey Edible?
Is Comfrey Safe to Eat? Common comfrey is a wild-growing herb that has a long tradition as both an edible and a medicinal species. It is a nutritious plant, being very… Read More
Wild Garlic Salad Dressing
This is a lovely dressing that goes well with a mixed leaf salad such as dandelion leaves, chickweed, sorrel and wild garlic leaf. 1 tablespoon finely chopped wild garlic stalks,… Read More
Japanese Knotweed Muffins
Yesterday I found two wild dessert foods. Wild growing rhubarb, a garden escapee, and Japanese knotweed (on the right of the basket. It was quite a coincidence as Japanese knotweed… Read More
Comfrey Leaf Fritters
How to make Comfrey Leaf Fritters Comfrey leaf fritters are delicious when cooked properly. I particularly like the sweet version as it especially suits the soft nature of comfrey. The… Read More
Hogweed Tempura
People often ask me what hogweed shoots taste like. It’s a hard question to answer as there is just no supermarket vegetable equivalent that I can think of. So hogweed… Read More
Homemade Bouillon Powders
Making your own bouillon could not be simpler. This process applies to any ingredient but I’ve started with wild mushrooms (in this case birch bolete) as they give an unrivalled… Read More
Wild Carrot Identification
The carrot family of Apiaceae contain both edible and deadly species. You need to “know your carrots” before foraging for them. With poisonous hemlock on the left and edible cow… Read More
Coltsfoot Honey
Coltfoot is a one of my favourite herbs for several reasons: • It used to be the shop sign of the herbalist in medieval times, like striped poles were to… Read More
Mushroom Ketchup and Powder
A recipe for a mushroom liquor and powder from The Compleat Housewife: Eliza Smith, 1736. This recipe makes a mushroom ketchup (liquor) to use instead of Worcester sauce in cooking… Read More
Scarlet Elf Caps
Scarlet Elf Caps Sarcoscypha coccinea are an edible fungus in the order Pezizale, that Orange Peel Fungus belongs to. They are widespread in February and love fallen branches half-buried in… Read More
How to make Horseradish Sauce
Print Yum Fresh Horseradish Sauce Prep Time: 10 minutes 200 gServing Size: 2 g Ingredients100 g horseradish roots, freshly dug and washed. 100 g crème fraîche 2 teaspoons apple cider… Read More
Glycaemic Index of Sugars
Glycaemic Index of Sugars Sugar Name GI Glucose 96 Sucrose (white sugar) 64 Brown sugar 64 High fructose corn syrup 62 Evaporated cane juice 55 Black strap molasses 55 Maple… Read More
Is Comfrey Cream Safe?
Comfrey in topical creams and ointments Comfrey (Symphytum spp.) is used in a lot of cosmetics because it contains allantoin and is fantastic for preserving skin elasticity. It binds the connective tissue… Read More
Hairy Curtain Crust bracket fungus
Hairy Curtain Bracket (Stereum hirsutum) is a great name for this wood loving fungi that thrives on dead wood and can often be found right through the winter months. It… Read More
Marinated Burdock Root
Ingredients 10 slim burdock roots 120 ml rice or white wine vinegar 120 ml miso or stock 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons medium soy sauce 1/4 teaspoon salt Nettle seed (traditionally sesame seed) Directions Peel… Read More
Scotland Tide Tables for Coastal Foraging
When you’re foraging at the seaside it’s handy, essential even, to know when low tide is! Here is a useful website link to all the tide tables in Scotland and the… Read More
Fungi season in Scotland
It’s early November and the fungi season is coming to a close in Scotland. Well, not entirely! September and October are really the bumper months especially for chanterelles, porcini, boletes… Read More
Sea Buckthorn Marinade for Venison
Here is my recipe for sea buckthorn marinade. This is especially good in the late Autumn and Winter months. The spices make it smell like Christmas and, after the warm… Read More
How to pick Sea Buckthorn berries
There are so many sea buckthorn berries (Hippophae rhamnoides) at this time of the year. They are very high in vitamin C and have an antioxidant (ORAC) profile just below… Read More
Winter Chanterelle mushrooms
The last week of October. It’s dark by 6, there’s a chill in the air, and the trees are wearing their full autumn colours. The wild mushroom season is drawing… Read More
Porcini Parma Lasagne
This is a delicious dish that’s easy to make using most kinds of mushrooms, particularly porcini (ceps), oyster mushrooms, chicken of the woods, and any other firm textured fungi. I’ve… Read More
Yellow Bolete
Found a bolete I could not identify today, so any pointers welcome. Have consulted Collins, Rogers, Wright and O’Reilly to no avail! Found two on a moss bank under old… Read More
Porcini Mushroom and Walnut Soup
This is an absolutely delicious soup. Ceps Boletus edulis and walnuts make perfect partners. It is also very quick and easy to make. Ingredients 1 onion 500 grams fresh porcini… Read More