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!

Pro-Soup and Pro-Soap

One of my very favorite people, and fellow Alaskan moved South- Brittany of Pro-Soup Propaganda just recently started up a sweet little shop on Etsy- Pro-Soap Propaganda! Many of her soaps are Alaska themed- North Star, Chinook, Fireweed, and my favorite- Rain-Dogg! (That's Rainier Beer for the Alaskan challenged).

Cafe Au Lait

For the month of April- Brittany is donating 5% of all sales to the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad in Ketchikan, Alaska. In Brittany's words: "They are a volunteer-based organization in my hometown who provide search and rescue services, most recently for a friend who went out snowboarding and never came back. :o( They did the best they could and I'm happy to be donating to them this month because we need services like this in our community. Thank you for your support!"

Dwarf Star Lemon Poppyseed

Brittany is currently hosting a giveaway for a bar of her North Star. Click here to check it out- and you have until Monday, April 4th to enter! Good luck!

Edit! Holy smokes. I just came home and what do I see, but a link to a brand-new soap- Renai's Pinecone! Seriously serious. 

Weekending

Friday was my last day of work at the company that I've been with for three years.  It was an interesting day, to say in the least.  We drank champagne with lunch, and I shocked myself by crying when I finished packing up my desk and said goodbye.  Three years is a long time with this company, and with an average of 11 people in the office throughout- I was really close to a lot of my co-workers.  I had many reasons for leaving, and I know that all of them were right.  So while I felt sad about leaving people- I also felt (and still feel) very hopeful, and excited about what's going to come next.  My new job starts tomorrow.  I took an accounts payable specialist position with a large environmental science and engineering firm in downtown Seattle.  It will be a change of pace and I truly can't wait to see what kind of impact this has on my life.  Forty hours a week is a long time to spend at a place that doesn't make you happy, and it's a short amount of time to spend at a place that really does.

After work on Friday I had dinner with some of my favorite people. We toasted to the future with a cheap bottle of champagne poured into mismatched coffee mugs.  Perfection.

Saturday's culinary adventures consisted of mouse ear pancakes and butternut squash soup.  Renee came over to make soup with me, and after tasting and adding to the soup over and over again- Renee finally threw in half a stick of butter.  It was perfect.  I didn't think to take any pictures of the soup making adventure, but I did take one of my mouse ears!

Last night was a very rainy and quiet art walk in my neighborhood.  We poked into a few galleries, drank hot cider, and picked up a few tiny treasures from Lucca.  Afterward Renee and I made a pit-stop at Ballard Market for bulk Halloween candy and cash, and then headed out to Ouch My Eye for Hot One Inch Action!  We weren't quite sure what to expect when we got there- and we ended up having an absolutely awesome time.

It is essentially a juried button show, as well as a chance to mingle and trade buttons with other attendees.  Fifty artists have their buttons on display, and $5 will buy you a bag of 5 randomly selected buttons.  From there it's a bit of a mad dash to trade with anyone in the room, in the hopes of collecting all of your favorites.  Towards the end of the night the coordinators were passing out more bags to keep things moving, and after a few hot trades I ended up with a great little collection.

Today is going to be a bit more serious.  Lots of accounting homework and (attempting!) a six mile run with my aunt Fran.  She somehow convinced me that I'll be able to run a 10k with her two weeks from now, so I have some serious training to do!

Also- don't forget to go leave a comment on my Identify That Creature! post!  You don't need to get any of them right to be entered to win.  I'm going to randomly select an entry this coming Thursday (10/14), and the winner will get a little package of something special handmade by me, as well as another little something.  And for the record- no one has gotten the first one right so far!

Identify That Creature! Win Stuff!

If I were a game show host my show would be called "Identify That Creature!"  Here's an example:

Creature #1:

Creature #2:

Creature #3:

And just for fun- leave me a comment with your guesses as to what each of these are, and I'll do a drawing next week and send the winner a handmade (by me) surprise!  Please make sure that your blog or other contact info is included, and I'll post my favorite answers as well as the winner here next Thursday night!  Bonus points for creative answers, and extra bonus points if you get them all right!

Giveaway! One Pound of Fair Trade Organic Coffee from The Green Coffee Bean Company!

My good friend Brittany helps run a wonderful little coffee shop based out of Ketchikan, Alaska, and has offered up a pound of wonderful fair trade, organic coffee to one lucky reader!

 

Hello!
This is Barista Brittany from The Green Coffee Bean Company. We are proud to be hosting this month's giveaway!  We're a little coffee shop in Ketchikan, Alaska, where we roast all of our coffee in small batches with lots of love!

We are giving away one pound of our super delicious coffee of the month (which is also Fair Trade and organic), Ethiopia Harrar Longberry. Here's a little bit of info about the Harrar:

"The district of Harrar is located in the Northeast area of Ethiopia at about 5,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level . Longberry is a large, long-pointed bean. They are grown by hand on small peasant plots and processed carefully by the traditional, dry method which brings out characteristic wild, blueberry undertones, flowery aroma, medium acidity and heavy wine-like body. A very special treat with any blueberry dessert!" It's delicious and one of our best sellers, so we're happy to be sharing it with you!

To enter the giveaway, go to our Big Cartel shop and find a coffee that you'd like to try, then come back here and leave a comment with the type that caught your eye.  Extra entries can be made via Twitter. Tweet about the giveaway- and be sure to include a type of coffee, and @renaimarie to make sure that your tweet is seen!  One blog entry and one Twitter entry per person, and please remember to leave contact information in your comment so that we can reach you if you win!  The giveaway is open until the end of the day August 24th.  One winner will be chosen randomly and announced here on August 25th.
 
As our gift to all readers: for the rest of the month you can enjoy a 20% discount on all of the coffee in our shop by using the code "GHOST" at checkout.
Feel free to fan us on Facebook at or follow us on Twitter!

 A strong Coffee by the naked snail

Thanks, and good luck!

Giveaway! Canning & Preserving by Ashley English, and a Jar of Blueberry Honey Jam!

That's a mouthful!

I've mentioned about a million times before how much I love Ashley English's blog.  I am immeasurably envious of her lifestyle and am a huge fan of her writing style.  About a month and a half ago, she was celebrating the release of the first two books in her Homemade Living Series.  I got my jammy little hands on a copy of Homemade Living: Canning & Preserving, and just so happened to pick up a second copy to share.  With you!  Yes, lovely you.

More than just recipes- this book is full of information on canning methods, necessary equipment, and beautiful photographs. 

Also- because I promised something edible- I'm going to include a jar of my own homemade blueberry and honey jam.  The blueberries are sassy little sour things that I picked in Juneau with my mama last summer, and the honey is local raw Washington blueberry honey.  This jam is wonderfully tart and florally sweet at the same time.  I've been eating it off of my fingers, since we are currently out of bread.  The horror!  Don't tell.

All you need to do to enter to win is leave a comment on this post, telling me what your favorite thing is to eat from a jar!  I will randomly pick a winner, next Sunday, May 30th at 5PM (PST) and announce it here.  Un-registered users please be sure to include your real name and a means to contact you.  United States and Canada only, please.  Shipping is expensive!

Weekend Foraging, Homebrewing Kombucha, and a Giveaway...?

I'm currently supposed to be packing up my bags for this weekend- but the couch was looking a bit too tempting.
Remember this post?  Well I signed up for two of the classes, and am driving down to home-base out of Portland tomorrow after work with my friend Shana, then meeting up with another friend Brittany.  We're doing two classes with Wild Food Adventures: clam digging, and sea vegetables- I wish you could see the pile of stuff I'm trying to sort through.  Bah!  The list of clothes to bring is completely different than anything I've ever worn trudging around on the beach.  Right now I feel like I'm going on a run with a bucket and a hand rake tied to my backpack.  There will be no photo evidence of what I wore.

I will hopefully have lots of non-clothing related exciting things to blog about when I get back. 

Aside from all that- I'm brewing my second batch of kombucha.  My first batch came out absolutely fantastic.  I'm going to do an actual post about it once I have the time to sit down and really write.  At this very moment I'm making beef jerky out of our favorite Olsen Farms beef bacon which happens to make the best jerky ever.  My mom gave Matao a commercial grade dehydrator for Christmas this year and it's one of our favorite things. 

Oh, and I'm thinking about doing a giveaway maybe next week.  It'll have something to do with this:

Some of you already know exactly what's in those boxes.  I think most of you don't.  At one point there were 525 pounds in the back of the work truck.  In my living room there is somewhere closer to 60.  I haven't decided yet, though.  I might try to team up with another artist.  Anyway.  Let me know if you're curious about what's in the boxes.  Or if you just want to eat what's in them.  That works too.

Figs & Ginger's 2nd Annual Earth Day Giveaway

I just found out about this this morning, and I think it's fantastic!

Go here for details!

Giveaway! Organic and Heirloom Seeds for Spring!

So, yeah.  I did this thing where I overbought seeds.  Already.  Can you imagine!?  There is a wonderful little organic fertilizer company just down the street from our apartment, that finally just switched over to their spring hours- which means that they're open when I'm walking home.  They just so happen to sell heaps of wonderful seeds.  Who am I to resist?

 

Walts!

This giveaway is going to be set up a bit differently than the others.  I will be randomly selecting three winners, each of who will get to pick out four types of seeds of their choosing.  I will divide the seeds into individual baggies with detailed planting instructions, to be delivered to each of the winners.  Easy peasy! All of the seed varieties are listed below.  I have chosen varieties that lend well to container gardening, as well as the temperamental summers of the Pacific Northwest.  Most should thrive in other growing conditions as well.

If you're interested in winning yourself or someone else a sweet little mix of organic and heirloom seeds, just in time for spring- all you need to do is comment on this entry- letting me know which four types of seeds you'd prefer.  I will randomly pick three winners next Thursday, March 11th around 5PM Seattle (Pacific Standard) time, and announce them here.  You should be able to comment via your Google account- unregistered users please be sure to include your real name and a means to contact you.  United States and Canada only, please!

 

seedlings galore from flickrich

Seed List:

Organic Heirloom Genovese Basil from Irish Eyes- easy to grow indoors or out, and most commonly used for pesto.

Heirloom Prairie Coneflower Echinacea from Botanical Interests- potent, and prized for its healing properties.  Yes, this is a flower, rather than a vegetable!


Mixed Combination of Hot Peppers from Irish Eyes- this guy is going to be a bit of a surprise.  The packet contains 5-7 different varieties, that the company changes every year.  We actually had great luck growing hot peppers in Seattle last summer.


Heirloom Siberian Tomato from Seed Savers Exchange- these are a dwarf sprawling variety with early onsets of 2-3" fruits.

Heirloom Combination of Tomatoes from Irish Eyes- this is the same idea as the combo of hot peppers.  A blend of 5 heirloom varieties that changes from year to year. Tomatoes were another winner for us last year.


Heirloom Red Russian Kale from Seed Savers Exchange- beautiful purple-veined blue green leaves that overwinter easily.


Organic Spicy Mesclun Mix from Irish Eyes- another mix!  This one contains: Verte Mar, Sierra and Rouge Grenobloise lettuces, Verte de Cambrai Mache, Arugalu, Red Giant and Kyona Mustard, Tres Fine Endive, and Ruby Swiss Chard.  I can't guarantee which ones you'll end up with!


Udumalapet Eggplant from Seed Savers Exchange- I think these might be my favorite.  Consistent heavy producer of teardrop shaped green and lavender fruits, 2-3" long.

Giveaway! Handmade Owl Pendant Necklace!

Hellooooooo.  So, because I love you, and because I love a good Etsy artist- I've teamed up with the lovely Danielle of Handy Maiden to give away one of her ridiculously cute handmade clay pendant necklaces!

HI!

I first found her pieces while randomly poking around on Etsy, and fell in love love love with her floral bib necklace.  When I decided that I wanted to do another giveaway, she was the first artist that I thought to bother.  Lucky for me she's a good sport and doesn't mind my obnoxious emails full of 300 questions!  Each of her pieces are hand sculpted and painted, and then dipped in a clear varnish to make them shiny and sturdy.  Her pieces range from dinosaurs, to whales, flowers, sweet little owls, and even a tiny yak!  (I seriously almost died when I saw the yak. I love him.)

After much deliberation and serious consultation from some of my favorite people, we decided that this little owl guy was just too cute to pass up. 

 

He's even got a cute little owl butt!

If you're interested in winning yourself or someone else this sweet little guy- all you need to do is comment on this entry- it can be anything at all (keep it classy- even just say hello), and you're automatically entered.  I will randomly pick a winner this coming Friday, January 15th around 5PM Seattle (Pacific Standard) time, and announce it here.  You should be able to comment via your Google account- unregistered users please be sure to include your real name.  Also, please be sure to check out the rest of her shop- and if you decide to purchase something- be sure mention that you heard about her here!

* All photos are courtesy and property of Handy Maiden.

Extras

I'm upping the ante!  If 25+ people enter for the Illustrated Wild Foods Recipe Calendar Giveaway I'm going to also send a 4oz bottle of homemade vanilla extract to the winner.  If 30+ people enter- I'll do a second drawing, and someone else will also win a 4oz bottle of homemade vanilla extract!  Get on it!

Giveaway! The Illustrated Wild Foods Recipe Calendar!

After falling so in love with the art and recipes in The Illustrated Wild Foods Recipe Calendar, I contacted the creator, Christina of Nettletown and Foraged & Found Edibles to see if she'd be interested in doing a calendar giveaway through my blog.  Whatever I said - it worked!

I first discovered Foraged and Found without realizing it- when I bought fiddleheads from them this past spring.  I came across Christina's blog about a month and a half ago, via Fat of the Land and instantly fell in love.  I bought three copies of her calendar right away.  She and her partner sell their calendars and foraged foods at the Sunday farmers market in my neighborhood, and she also sells via her Etsy store.  I do sound a bit like a creepy secret stalker, considering that we've never actually met!

The calendar features 18 recipes, 12 different foraged foods (native to Washington), and gorgeous illustrations by Emily Counts for each month.  Mine is going up in my kitchen, where I will hopefully be able to avoid sloshing food and dirty dish water all over it! 

If you're interested in winning yourself or someone else a copy of this lovely, lovely calendar- all you need to do is comment on this entry- telling me where you'd hang it!  I will randomly pick a winner next Tuesday, December 22nd around 3PM Seattle (Pacific Standard) time, and announce it here.  You should be able to comment via your Google account- unregistered users please be sure to use your real name.  Also, please be sure to check out The Illustrated Wild Foods Recipe Calendar Fan Club on Facebook!

 ♥ R.