Green fig preserves
Green figs grow like mad in Vancouver, here’s a simple recipe for Persian style green fig preserves which are traditionally eaten for breakfast with bread, butter and nuts. When you cook figs the flavours really come out as the sugar caramelizes. I’m not one for eating them raw as they just taste like sugar at…
How to harvest bamboo shoots
There are hundreds of species of bamboo, all of which are edible. Some are better than others, many species only grow tough, bitter shoots, which must be cooked for a long time to be edible. Black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) grows well in our lower mainland (BC) climate and is very tasty, just make sure you…
Best Fish and Chips recipe
I’m be honest with you, I’m super picky about fish and chips. I only like thin batters and the best fish (not cod; halibut, john dory or snapper ONLY!). The chips must be fried in beef tallow or duck fat if you want to go really crazy, because I need them to have flavour. If…
Foraging for stinging nettles in BC
Stinging nettles are a nutritious and tasty forest snack, easily found in the forests and by waterways like ditches in BC. They taste a bit like spinach and are packed with the vitamins and minerals that are so good for a body. They grow plentifully and must be harvested in spring with gloves to protect…
Foraging for currants in BC
Learn how to safely forage for currants. There are many types of currant plants that common to BC that were eaten traditionally by many First Nations peoples. Black, golden, wax, sticky, red swamp and even stink currant are a few of the varieties. My favourite is Ribes sanguineum or red flowering currant. You don’t eat…
Fiddlehead foraging
Fiddleheads are the tasty edible part of a young fern shoot. All curled up in a tight green ball, you pick these delicacies in springtime. In our area (Vancouver), bracken fern and lady fern are the two that are found (ostrich fern is the commercial variety, you can find in Northern BC). Lady Fern fiddlehead…
Superfoods – How to harvest seaweed
Just got back from Galiano Island doing some foraging for Pilgrimme restaurant, they made this fabulous salad of mizuni, wild mint, elderflower vinaigrette, and fir tips that myself and a few other people collected for the chef that day, best salad I’ve had all year. They also play a lot with seaweeds and I thought…
Winter warm up – Celeriac truffle soup recipe
Winter is truffle season in BC, and yes both white and black truffles do grow and are cultivated in BC. A few notes on buying a good truffle oil and my favourite truffle inspired recipe is below. How to buy and use good truffle oil 1. Never buy products labeled truffle ‘essence’, ‘flavour’ or ‘aroma’…
Pan-seared wild salmon recipe
Salmon is so good for you and the perfect winter food. This is such a quick recipe, the brining is the key part that keeps the fish moist and helps prevent overcooking. My favourite way of cooking this gorgeous fish is in a hot cast iron pan, just simple as that. Enjoy this pan-seared salmon…
Braised wild burdock recipe
Alright, my guests on last weeks wild edibles tour really wanted my braised burdock recipe. So here it is: Ingredients Serves 4 (side) 1 Tbs. vegetable oil 1 clove garlic, minced 2 cups of burdock, peeled and chopped into 1/2″ chunks (you can buy burdock at Fujiya Market) 2 Tbs. soy sauce 1 Tbs ponzu…