Springtime, Invasive Weeds & Lovely Dirt

I am working very hard right now to remember that winter isn't forever. I know that winter in Seattle is incredibly easy going and relatively quick to get through. I know that back home they're dealing with highs of 28 degrees and feet of snow still on the ground. I know. I do. It's just that I'd be happy with four weeks of winter a year, with the rest of the seasons happily taking up the other 11 months. That's all.

I bought my house back in December, and up until the past few weeks had done a remarkably great job of ignoring the state of my back yard. I knew that I had huge garden beds and four fruit trees. I also knew that I had ivy, blackberry, mud pits, and an overflow of trash from my neighbors property. I had automatically assumed the worst and was nearly ready to admit defeat on having a garden this year. Yes, before I had even put my hands in the dirt. It seemed like such an overwhelming amount of work, and I had assumed it would take me countless hours and yards of new soil just to get my beds into usable shape.

I was so wrong. Well, at least half wrong. I have spent close to 9 hours just pulling ivy, blackberry, and tiny fruit trees out of my garden beds. I am less than halfway done. I have pulled out roots longer than my body. I have fallen on my ass, gotten dirt clumps in my eyes, tweaked my back, strained my hands, been stabbed by blackberry thorns more times than I can count, and am now fairly certain that my entire neighborhood is built on a giant foundation of ivy roots. 

But! But! My soil! My soil is magnificent! My soil is rich and healthy. It smells beautiful and earthy and dark. It had gone years without being cared for, but because of that it had been filled with rotting fruit and leaves and is full of worms and bugs and magic.

I went from thinking that I'd be growing a few herbs in pots this year, to now plotting the largest garden  I've ever had. I haven't planted anything yet, but am dreaming of root veggies and peas and tomatoes. I may even attempt watermelons and rhubarb now that I have the space. 

What's going in your garden this year? Any favorites or suggestions for someone who has never grown more than a handful of tomatoes and peppers?

Book Review & Giveaway: Pacific Feast- A Cook's Guide to West Coast Foraging and Cuisine

"An intimate guide to the food at our feet, Pacific Feast shares expert advice on how to identify the good eats, harvest responsibly, and create delicious meals." - Pacific Feast

Far more than just a field guide or collection of recipes- this book includes a section of full-color photographs, recipes from chefs including Christina Choi (!) and Tom Douglas, harvesting calendars and beautiful introductions to each species covering area history and the Authors personal experiences.

Recipes range from Sea Urchin Gazpacho to Maple Blossom Fritters to a Spotted Owl (Nettle Martini), and Jennifer perfectly explains how and where to harvest your goods. Her experiences have taken her from California to Alaska and British Columbia and she doesn't seem to overlook a single worthwhile edible.

Among the stack of books that makes up my current reading list- this is the only one that bounces around my living room and kitchen constantly. I find myself reading through recipes at random on an almost nightly basis. My copy was a gift from a dear friend- and I'm thrilled to be able to offer a copy to one of my dear readers! Read on for details!

There are four (!) ways for you to enter to win your very own copy:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite wild food is. If you don't have one- just tell me what's on your mind.

2. "Like" Skipstone Books on Facebook and leave a separate comment here telling me that you have.

3. Sign up for the Skipstone Books Newsletter and leave a separate comment here telling me that you have.

4. Follow Skipstone Books on Twitter and again- leave a separate comment here telling me that you have.

The contest will run for one week- ending April 13th at 9 PM Washington time. The winner will be chosen at random and contacted soon after. Please be sure to include a way to contact you in each of your entries. Good luck and happy foraging!

Food, Lately

Clockwise from top left: Popped amaranth salad with summer veggies and fresh goat cheese; upside-down tomato tart; grilled sockeye, arugula, and re-fried black beans with leeks and white wine; frozen Discovery Park blackberries.

I realized the other day that I barely post recipes anymore.  This isn't due to a lack of cooking- I am in my kitchen cooking from scratch almost every single day.  The problem is that I forget that it's exciting and new.  It's just dinner- who cares, right?  Most of my cooking is about using up the things that we have in our fridge and cupboards, and more often than not- I don't have a clue how much of what I put into a dish.  That popped amaranth salad is actually from a few months ago, and I was so excited about sharing it- but then I never did.  It seemed so simple, and so obvious that I felt a little like I might be insulting some of you by posting it here!  I forget that everyone thinks and cooks differently, and often we don't think to change our routines unless prompted.  My cooking style is unique to me, and my recipes are too.  The recipes that I get the most excited about are the ones that use ingredients that I already know and love- but put them together in new (to me) ways. 


I'm working on writing things down, taking more pictures, and remembering to share.

Discovery Park; Blackberries, Nettles & Snails

We went on a short hike and picked blackberries at Discovery Park on Wednesday night.  I about fell down the hill when I saw this little dude cruising along.  I love snails.  It's unhealthy how much.  They don't seem to have much interest in me, however.

Hi buddy!  Matao was not amused.

He was in a bit more of a hurry than I was, as he wanted to get down to the beach before the sun set.  What a mush.

All in all- a great little hike.  It's short and sweet, and for being so smack-dab in the middle of Seattle- it feels fantastically far away.  We picked two yogurt containers full of blackberries and I walked through a bunch of nettles wearing Teva's.  Perfection!

Cougar Rock Campground, Mt. Rainier Pt. 2

Days 2 and 3!

We finished off our second day exploring a bit more of Elbe (the other side of the street haha), and driving up the mountain to Paradise- stopping a million times to take pictures. 

They had the prettiest dumpsters I've ever seen!

Our first stop on our drive up from the campground was at the Nisqually River.  Standing on this bridge made you feel incredible and tiny and sort of off balance all at once.  The river basin is so massive.  I would love to see this river in early summer when the snow is still melting.

Onward!

Can you see Paradise Lodge tucked back in there?  This area was quite developed, considering the rest of the park.  We spent a good few minutes picking up other people's trash (UGH), but were rewarded for our efforts when this little man came sneaking out of the bushes right after we got back into the car!

We finished off our second day with a short hike to a waterfall, more salmon, Carlo Rossi + Pepsi (pure class!), and an extra noisy cricket bombarding the campground (yes, just one).

Sunday morning Becca dragged me out of our tent and up the mountain on a morning run.  Yes!  I started following this 5k training program about four weeks ago now and am doing an awesome job of sticking with it.  Becca kicked my ass, and we honestly couldn't have asked for a better view.  Take that, downtown Ballard.  After our run we ate an awesome breakfast (eggs! muffins!), broke down the campsite, and headed down the mountain to Carter Falls trailhead.

Carter Falls is a fairly short and easy hike, with some great views and lots of neat things to check out along the way if you know what to look for.  It's also a great location to kick back and enjoy a fresh, cold Rainier tall-boy.  Oh yeah, we did.

Brittany the Naturalist discovered a bush of red huckleberries that had most likely been avoided by other hikers, not knowing what they were.  Score for us!

I love glacial dumps!  The woods near my dad's house growing up was full of these crazy huge boulders that had been dumped by the Mendenhall Glacier years before.  Mt. Rainier is full of these, and I really can't get enough.  They're so fascinating.

Things quickly deteriorated once we reached the falls...

 

  

We got some silly looks and some looks of envy from ladies who got it, and then headed back down to hit to road back home.

I suckered Amy into making a pit-stop with me at Copper Creek Inn to pick up pie.  Yes, pie.  Of all of the things to research before this trip- the one thing I figured out was that there was pie.  Good pie.  I actually just bought a frozen pie to bring home and bake, so that Matao might still love me a little.

All in all- a great weekend!

*Photo credits for the sly fox, and ladies w/ Rainier go to Brittany!  Thanks love!