Come Join Me! Nettle Foraging Workshop with Slow Food Seattle- March 30th

Come join me & other Slow Food Seattle members & friends - I'll be leading a nettle foraging workshop on March 30th, from 12 PM - 2 PM at Discovery Park in Seattle! Tickets are $10 per person, and you'll go home with a bag full of nettles, as well as plenty of ideas on how to use them! Tickets are available here!

"Join Slow Food members & friends on Saturday, March 30th at Discovery Park for an afternoon spent identifying, harvesting, and sharing recipes & uses for stinging nettles.

Experienced nettle foragers & Slow Food Board Members Renai Mielke & Julia Wayne will be leading this two hour class. We'll go over how to identify stinging nettles, safe & ethical harvesting practices, as well as our favorite ways to use & store them once home.

Please meet us in the grassy area at the end of the North parking lot, promptly at 12 PM. We'll spend a few short minutes talking before heading out into the park to hunt, and will not be easy to locate once we begin. We will be doing some easy paced hiking, likely no more than 2 miles.

We ask that you bring a pair of gloves to wear while harvesting (rubber gardening gloves, or dish gloves are best), and a plastic or cloth produce bag to collect nettles. We highly recommend wearing both long sleeves as well as long pants, and avoiding open toed shoes. Please dress for Seattle weather.

Each attendee will leave the class with their own harvest of nettles and an information sheet to use as a resource once home.

We will have some nettle filled treats to share at the end of the event. Please feel free to bring a light snack to share once we are done harvesting."

Slow Food Seattle & Canning Wild Pacific Albacore

A few months ago I was invited to apply for a position on the board of directors with Slow Food Seattle, my local chapter of Slow Food International. I was thrilled to come on as their new treasurer, and while I'm definitely still finding my feet- yesterday was my first Slow Food event, and I had an absolutely fantastic time of it.

Jeremy Brown, charming tuna fisherman and canning expert- came down from Bellingham with 800 pounds of locally caught Wild Pacific Albacore tuna and a whole lot of patience. He talked members through the process of canning tuna- from cleaning and trimming fish to stuffing jars and testing for a proper seal. It was at times chaotic and crowded, always cold, and absolutely smelly. We had a seriously great day. And a tremendous "thank you" to Gourmondo for hosting us!

Step 1: Cutting tuna into chunks, removing skin and guts

Step 2: Fine trimming, cutting tuna into smaller pieces to fit into jars

Packing jars

Step 3: Adding salt, olive oil, and our special "secret" ingredient

Filled and cleaned jars waiting to go into the pressure cookers

Step 4: 90 minutes in the pressure cooker

Checking pressure. Yes it takes four people.

Removing cooked jars 

Cleaning and separating unsealed jars

Cooling- the bubbles in the jars are a good sign- it means pressure is built up and they're properly sealed.

Waiting on the last three cookers to finish.

Huckleberries, Wild Flowers, and Rain Clouds

The Canning Queen & A Tale of Three Seasides

Two really wonderful videos showed up on my Google Reader this morning:

The first is from Etsy on a delightful woman named Classie Parker- The Canning Queen of the Desert. "I teach people how to put the love in their food- by canning!"


The Canning Queen of the Desert from Etsy on Vimeo.

I love her!

The second is from The Perennial Plate on foraging wild foods along the West Coast, and features one of my favorite bloggers and wild food enthusiasts Langdon Cook.


The Perennial Plate Episode 68: A Tale of Three Seasides from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.

Events: August 20th & 21st- Arts in Nature Festival & September 2nd through 5th- Radical Mycology Convergence

I'm a little late on this post- as Arts in Nature Festival starts in less than twelve hours- but I do love last minute plans.

"This experiential performing-arts based event which includes a wide variety of live music performances, dance troupes, aerial & fire performances, interactive arts activities, illuminaria, and sound & visual installations in 8 of the rustic cabins creating a Museum of Sound that festival attendees can explore and interact with.  Some of this year’s festival artists include: Trimpin, The Moondoggies, The Legandary Oaks, Lelavision, The Cabiri, Christian Swenson, Caspar Babypants, and The Early Music Guild to name a few.  The event is free with a suggested $10 donation.  It is also a waste-free event with food served on reusable plates and cloth napkins." 

More information can be found here!

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The Radical Mycology Convergence is happening over Labor Day weekend and is going to be a weird and awesome weekend full of weird and awesome mushroomy things. I am almost a little embarrassed about how excited I am about this.

"A free, volunteer-run gathering of mycologists, hobbyists, and Earth healers coming together to share skills and information related to  the benefits of the fungal kingdom in terms of remediative properties as well as human uses. This weekend-long event will culminate in a remediation project to put theory to practice and will also be a unique chance to build community with like-minded mycophiles (aka mushroom lovers) from around North America."

More information can be found here, and please do note that you need to RSVP to attend. I will be leaving from Seattle that Saturday mid-afternoon and have room in my tiny car for another two people. Shoot me an email at renai.marie@areyoumyghost.com if you're interested in carpooling! Car is FULL!

Events: June 11: 5th Annual SLEE Dinner

My beautiful friend Amy has been working for months to help organize this event! I'm donating a dozen vegan cupcakes, and will likely be attending as well. This is a wonderful event that supports a great cause, and $40 is truly a tiny amount if you consider how much you'd spend on a normal evening out! Find out more about Community Alliance for Global Justice and what they do here!

“Strengthening Local Economies, Everywhere”
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Happy Hour 5:00 – 6:30
Dinner 6:30 – 9:30
Same great location: St. Demetrios Church in Montlake: 2100 Boyer Avenue East
Buy your tickets now at Brown Paper Tickets!

Sliding scale $40-$75: Please be generous in your support! We want to make this event accessible to everyone while also recognizing the need for us to raise crucial funds. Paying at the $75 level will support a farmer/food worker! This gives you entry and also ensures that a local member of our food economy can be an honored guest at our event!  Kids are only $10! If you are unable to afford a full-price ticket, please contact us for solidarity tickets! Limited amount available! Email: volunteer@seattleglobaljustice.org

This year’s Keynote will be given by Aba Ifeoma, Organizer with Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. Aba will speak about the resurgence of urban agriculture and bee-keeping in Detroit! DBCFSN was the winner of the 2010 Food Sovereignty Honorable Mention Prize. You can learn more about their important work in this video showing Aba accepting the prize at the Community Food Security Coalition Conference.

Get involved! Help CAGJ organize our annual celebration of the food justice and food sovereignty movements! Contact us at volunteer@seattleglobaljustice.org

Nettlefiddle

Last Sunday I drug my dumpling Julia out into the woods and threatened to torture her if she didn't help me pick nettles.

We also managed to scrounge up a few of the last fiddleheads along the way. I nearly lost a shoe.

What have you been up to? I've been busy with mushroom identification classes, marathon training, a crazy work retreat, hosting a bake sale for Water for People (we raised nearly $500!), eating cheese, and drinking beer. So much good!

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!

Nettle Foraging & My Favorite Green Smoothie

Prickles!

Last weekend I spent a few good hours tromping around Discovery Park with some folks from The Seattle Wild Foods Meetup Group and my bff Amy. The two of us eventually split off on our own and found a few really good spots for nettle picking. Honestly- this time of year it's nearly impossible not to find good spots all over the place. They're coming up like the wild little weeds that they are.

Blanched or dried- the vicious little things quickly turn into a culinary dream. Their flavor is earthy, fresh, and a little zippy. They make an easy replacement for cooked spinach in recipes, brew into an earthy tea, and blend into a gorgeous pesto or ravioli filling. I blanch mine for 2-3 minutes, run them through the food processor, and then freeze into ice cube tray portions. From there I can thaw and add them to just about anything. Most recently I've been adding them to my smoothies.

Cranberry & Nettle Smoothie

This has been my lifeblood lately. In an effort to cut down on gluten- I started making myself smoothies for breakfast most mornings. It took me a few tries to get a combination down that really did it for me- but I am over the moon about this one. The great part about smoothies is that everything is more or less interchangeable. If you don't have access to nettles- no problem. There are an infinite  number of things that you can use instead. I've included some good alternatives in notes marked with red astrix below.

This smoothie is pleasantly tart, and lends its creaminess to raw cashews soaked in water. Ideally it's best to soak cashews overnight- but an hour will suffice, and in a pinch I've just thrown the cashews and water in without soaking at all. Still great, just not as smooth. If you're freaked out by the idea of adding greens to a smoothie- try it first with a small amount of spinach. You'll be pleasantly surprised- you truly can't taste it at all. Feel free to adjust the amount of honey that you use based on your tolerance for tartness.

Cranberry & Nettle Smoothie:
- 1/3 cup raw cashews + 1/3 cup warm water
- 1 handful nettles*, blanched
- 3/4 cup frozen cranberries**
- 1/2 cup kefir***
- 1-3 tsp honey or agave nectar
- 1 tsp flax meal
- 2 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in blender (they layer best in the order listed), and blend using quick pulses until smooth. That's it! Seriously. Smoothies aren't hard.

* Spinach, kale, chard, arugula, etc. (no need to blanch these greens before using)
** Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, etc.
*** Yogurt, fruit juice, non-dairy milk, etc.


More great information about nettles can be found here.

Finnriver Cidery & Point No Point

Last weekend, as my final birthday request- I wrangled up two of my favorite people and we hopped the ferry to Kingston.  From there we had a bit of an eventful drive, full of sugary coffee drinks and bizarre fender benders (not us).  Our intended destination was Finnriver Cidery & Farm in Chimacum, on the Olympic Peninsula.  I sort of offhandedly decided that 2011 is going to be a year full of ciders.  So far- I've done pretty alright for myself.  There seems to be an uprising of local cideries in Washington, and I'm totally in love.

 

"Come quickly, I am tasting stars!" - Don Perignon

Crystie humored us for over an hour- letting us taste every cider that they had available, as well as a pear cider that they're still experimenting with.  We brought home a bottle of their Sprited Apple Wine- which is an apple wine that's been combined with apple brandy.  I'm drinking a glass right now.  We also brought home their Farmstead Cider, made with heirloom apples.  It's very dry and not very sweet- quite different than what I'm used to.  I love it.

We had a few hours to kill before we needed to catch the ferry back- and so we made a bit of a detour to check out Point No Point.

 

We also made a quick pitstop at CB's Nuts to pick up some of their Oregon pumpkin seeds, and peanuts.  It's a tiny little space, but worth checking out- mostly for the free samples.

If you're in the Seattle area, but aren't able to make it out to Chimacum just for cider- Bottleworks in Wallingford carries a few of their varieties, and from what it sounds like- Finnriver is working on getting some of their ciders into some local bars as well. 

All in all- a pretty fantastic day.