Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them

by Katie Letcher Lyle

Overview

Edible wild plants, mushrooms, fruits, and nuts grow along roadsides, amid country fields, and in urban parks. All manner of leafy greens, mushrooms, and herbs that command hefty prices at the market are bountiful outdoors and free for the taking. But to enjoy them, one must know when to harvest and how to recognize, prepare, and eat them.

The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts provides everything one needs to know about the most commonly found wild foods—going beyond a field guide's basic description to provide folklore and mouth-watering recipes for each entry, such as wild asparagus pizza, fiddlehead soup, blackberry mousse, and elderberry pie. This fully illustrated guide is the perfect companion for hikers, campers, and anyone who enjoys eating the good food of the earth. With it in hand, nature lovers will never take another hike without casting their eyes about with dinner in mind.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762763030
Publisher:	Falcon Guides
Publication date:	05/18/2010
Series:	Guide to Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Katie Letcher Lyle is an award-winning cook and the author of nearly twenty books, including The Wild Berry Book. Her articles on wild food have appeared in Americana, Country Journal, and Blue Ridge Country. She was food columnist for seven years for the Roanoke Times.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	1
1	Gearing Up	8
2	Green Things	13
	Asparagus	14
	Asparagus Pizza
	Asparagus and Pasta
	Chicory	17
	Roasted Chicory Root
	Dandelion	19
	Traditional Dandelion Salad
	Italian-Style Nouvelle Dandelion Salad
	Fiddleheads	21
	French Fiddleheads
	Chilled Fiddleheads
	Fiddlehead Soup
	Lambs'-Quarters	24
	Lambs'-Quarters Bisque or Soup
	Lambs'-Quarters with Potatoes
	Land Cress	26
	Greens and Pot Likker
	Milkweed	29
	Boiled Milkweed
	Mustard	30
	Mustard Greens
	Poke	32
	Old-Fashioned Appalachian Poke Sallet
	Fried Poke
	Sorrel	34
	Sorrel Soup, 1898
	Stinging Nettles	36
	Steamed Nettles
	Creamed Nettles
	Watercress	39
	Spring Salad
	Watercress Bisque
	Watercress Sandwiches
	Wild Onions and Garlic	42
	Ramps with Eggs
	Onions with Pasta
3	Fungi: Mushrooms	46
	Morels	48
	Morels and Wild Rice Casserole
	Morel or Other Mushroom Souffle
	Puffballs	52
	Puffball Slices Saute
	Chanterelles	54
	Stewed Chanterelles
	Sulfur Shelf	55
	Creamed Sulfur Shelf
	Funghi Italiano
	Oyster Mushrooms	57
	Faux Oyster Stew
	Boletus	58
	Porcini in Puff Pastry
	Grilled Porcini
	Coprinus	60
	Sauteed Coprini
	Mushroom Pizza
	Field Mushrooms	62
	Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken with Gravy
	Mushroom Catsup
	Mushroom Quiche
	Escalloped Mushrooms
4	Fruits	66
	Apples	68
	Fried Apples
	Apple Cider
	Apple Chutney
	Crab Apples	71
	Pickled Crabs
	Apple/Crab Apple Sauce
	Apple/Crab Apple Butter
	Crab Apple Jelly
	Blackberries and Raspberries	74
	Blackberry Jelly
	Berry Mousse
	Iced Raspberry Vinegar
	Blueberries and Huckleberries	80
	Blueberry Buckle
	Blueberry Coffee Cake
	Huckleberry Cake with Hard Sauce
	Peach-Blueberry Cobbler
	Cherries	85
	Cherry Sauce
	Cherry Bounce
	Cranberries	88
	Cranberry Sauce
	Orange-Cranberry Conserve
	Elderberries	91
	Elder-Flower Fritters
	Elderberry Pie
	Figs	93
	Fig Ice Cream
	Figgy Pudding
	Grapes	96
	Grape Juice
	Dolmades (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
	Spiced Wild Grape Jelly for Venison
	Fox or Wild Grape Jelly
	Grape-Stuffed Chicken
	Pears	101
	Lizzie's Pear and Ginger Preserves
	Plums	103
	Plum Jam
	Quinces	105
	Quince Marmalade
	Strawberries	108
	Wild Strawberry Jam
	Fresh Berries for Winter
	Strawberry Souffle
	Strawberry Shortcake
	Berry Vinegar
5	Flowers & Herbs	114
	Rose Hips	115
	Rose Hip Jelly
	Rose Hips for Winter
	Candied Rosebuds
	Violets	117
	Candied Violets
	Mint	119
	Mint Tea
	Mint Jelly
	Mint Julep
	Catnip	122
	Catnip Mice
	Catnip Tea
	Nasturtiums	125
	Faux Capers
	Marigolds	126
	Flower Teas
6	Nuts	128
	Black Walnuts and Butternuts	130
	Walnut or Butternut Torte
	Pickled Green Walnuts
	Hickory Nuts and Pecans	134
	Beechnuts	135
	Nut Pie
	Coconuts	137
	Coconut Custard Pie
	Unbelievably Easy Coconut Pie
	Coconut Bacon
7	Miscellaneous Foraging	140
	Indian Corn	141
	Country Corn Bread
	Grand National Spoon Bread Champion
	Hoecakes
	Chess Pie
	Jerusalem Artichokes	146
	Jerusalem Artichoke Salad
	Jerusalem Artichokes au Gratin
	Wild Rice	148
	Boiled Wild Rice
	Popped Rice
	Oriental Salad
	Horseradish	151
	Prepared Horseradish
	Sassafras	153
	Sassafras Tea
	File
	Ginseng	155
	Ginseng Tea
	Ginseng Cordial
	Maple Syrup	160
	Maple Sugar Cubes or Leaves
	Sublime Maple Fondant
	Maple Nut Meringue Goodies
	Maple Custard
	Avocados	164
	Guacamole
	Cream of Avocado Soup
	Prickly Pear	166
	Prickly Pear Pads
	Prickly Pear Jam
	Watermelon Rind	167
	Watermelon Rind Pickles
	Foragers' Garlicky Hot Pickles
8	Annual Foragers' Calendar	170
9	The Last Word	173
10	Appendix: Basic Recipes	175
	Beef Broth
	Chicken Broth
	Vegetable Broth
	Mayonnaise
	Salad Dressing
	Souffle
	Pizza
	Quiche
	Piecrust
	Baking Mix
	Cream Sauce
	Bibliography	185
	Index	189

Editorial Reviews

Wherever foraging takes you, this is a handy [guide] to include in a daypack.”—farmersmarketonline.com “A great book for the wild-foods gourmand. . . . Lyle discusses the history, the lore, and the preparation of a variety of edibles.”—Grand Rapids Press “This fully illustrated guide is the perfect companion for hikers, campers, and anyone who enjoys eating the good food of the earth.”—Women in the Outdoors

From the Publisher