Tag Archives: foraging

Foraging for maitake mushrooms–the time is now.

Maitake season is upon us. I was mourning that we had not gotten any this year, and that my supply was getting rather slim, and that it was pretty late, and whine after whine. Then, a burst of rain, and they were popping up all over. Now I have to scramble to freeze or cook […]

Samphire, seepweed and seaside salad.

  Samphire, seepweed and seaside salad, that’s a tongue twister, and after a samphire-Sapphire adult concoction, I prefer to savor the flavor of these Maine edible plants instead of trying to say them. Samphire is a lyrical word for an earthy and salty edible plant that grows along the seaside. It frequently keeps company with […]

Cranberries in March? Yes, it’s the best time to pick.

We went cranberrying in Northeast Creek in November, but did not get many. It was a banner year for cranberries, too. All my fellow foragers and gatherers were telling tales of over a dozen gallons, and easy picking. But I needed cranberries for the holidays, so gave up hunting, and went to Snugglemagic Farm pick-your-own […]

Stalking the wild turkey, and doe, and black trumpet…

Father and daughter team to hunt, forage and cook   Three deer pass by the window. It is the Sunday before Thanksgiving and John Allgood has not gotten his deer for the winter. He shakes his head, but leans forward to watch their postures and movement. “Her tail is tucked down, and she has that […]

This Peary Godmother Makes a Mean Apple Pie

This is the season of abundance and fear. Our leisurely summer days seem endless, but autumn days bring urgency. Pick the last of the garden before frost, get the wood in, can those pears! Winter is breathing down our necks. Kristy Cunnane has apple pies in the oven and jars of spiced pears simmering on […]

Hey Baby, look at all that Bayberry!

I forage as much for the pleasure of the hunt as for the tasty reward I bring home to my kitchen. Sunny autumn afternoons peering at the base of oak trees for maitake and dark summer evenings jigging for squid are deeply satisfying ways to spend time. Some harvests are so plentiful, however, that there […]

Consider the oyster mushroom

The fleeting oyster mushroom season is here. In early June I start scanning the Aspen groves for a flash these luminous, pale fungi which grow in layers like shelves off the tree trunks. It is usually a week or even three after I start looking that I spot the first ones. We go to collect, […]