WILD BLACK CHERRY SAUCE By Lisa Caccamise

Makes about 3/4 cup

2 cups black cherries, no need to pull the stems as they will be strained out along with the pits.

water to cover

1/4 cup sugar or more to taste

1.  Add cherries and water to a medium pot and bring to a boil.

2.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, then uncover and simmer another 15-30 minutes or until cherries are soft and liquid is reduced by 1/2.

3.  Cool slightly.

4.  Add cherries to a food mill, or to a fine sieve and mill or press the cherries until the seeds release and the juice strains into a clean pot.

5.  Add sugar to a taste.

6.  Bring the liquid, if watery, to a boil and reduce until desired thickness.

to read more about black cherries, click here

The post Recipe: Wild Black Cherry Sauce appeared first on Suburban Foragers.

2 cups wineberries or raspberries
1 750 ml bottle of Riesling or other fruity/semi sweet wine – Grape juice or ginger-ale can be substituted for non-alcoholic version.
2 bottles of Kombucha – flavor of choice – we used 1 bottle citrus and 1 bottle hibiscus
2 T honey
Fresh orange slices – plus more for decorating sides of serving glasses.

1. Mix all together and chill well.

STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES
Makes about 30

30 wild grape leaves
Sea salt
1/4 cup white vinegar
DRESSING:
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup red clover or apple cider vinegar
1 tea Dijon
2 T honey
1/2 cup olive oil or more to taste
FILLING:
2 onions, chopped finely
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olives – black, green or a combination, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
3 T milkweed buds
1 T milkweed pods, chopped
2 T field garlic kernels
1 T black mustard seeds
2 crisp apples, cored and chopped fine
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 T herb spice blend of choice – TJ’s 21 salute is very nice
4 cups COOKED millet

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add 1/4 cup white vinegar and grape leaves. Simmer at least 10 minutes, then turn off flame and steep leaves until cooled enough to touch the without burning.
2. In a jar or food processor, add all the dressing components and mix well until smooth.
3. In a large bowl, combine all of the stuffing components** and mix well.
4. Add 1/2 the dressing to the stuffing and mix. Add more dressing a little at a time or until the filling starts to clump together easily.
5. To stuff: Lay one grape leaf down on a flat surface – pretty side down – and top with about 1 T filling. Fold both sides over the filling and bring one flap up then the other and, while guiding the stuffing inward, roll the leaf away from you until a tight cylinder is formed.
6. Continue with rest of the leaves and brush with olive oil to keep the leaves moist and glossy.

** The ingredients we used were what we had on hand. Please feel free to add, subtract or change any of the filling ingredients. Rice for millet, cranberries for apples, sunflower seeds for pumpkin seeds. . . etc. Also, if you have a favorite bottled dressing, you can use that vs the homemade dressing above, although in our opinion, homemade is always best :)

to watch the video click here

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Caramelized milkweed pods

Here’s a recipe for this month’s seasonal ingredient Milk Weed Pods: simple and delicious.

CARAMELIZED MILKWEED PODS

2 T coconut oil
3 cups fresh milkweed pods, cut in half horizontally

1.  Add coconut oil to a large skillet over high heat.
2.  Add pods, cut side down, and sear for about 1-2 minutes or until nicely browned.
3.  Flip pods carefully with tongs and cook on second side about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
4.  Season lightly with sea salt and pepper add to pot with meatballs.

To Learn More about Milkweed click here

Pork and Lambsquarters Meatballs in a Coconut Chicken Broth

Serves 8-10

MEATBALLS:
1 T coconut oil
1 stalk lemongrass, tender part only, minced
2 cups onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups lambsquarters or spinach, chopped
1 T lime juice
1-2 eggs
2 lbs ground pork
1 tea salt
1 T liquid aminos or soy sauce or soy free coconut aminos
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup spelt flour or all purpose flour

SAUCE:
2 T coconut oil
1 stalk lemongrass, tender part only, minced
2 tea fresh ginger, grated
2 fresh tomatoes, diced – or 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can coconut milk
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tea palm sugar or brown sugar
squeeze of lime juice to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
2.  Heat 1 T coconut oil in a large skillet and cook onion, lemongrass and garlic until soft.
3.  Add lambsquarters in batches, folding in until all are wilted and reduced to half their volume.
4.  Add lime juice off heat and mix well.  Set aside to cool slightly.
5.  In a large bowl, mix pork, sea salt, liquid aminos and cinnamon.
6.  Add greens and mix well.
7.  Add spelt flour to firm up the mixture if too wet.
8.  Roll meatballs into 1/2 inch or quarter sized balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.
9.  While meatballs are in the oven, add 2 T coconut oil to a stock pot over medium high heat.
10. Add lemongrass and ginger and cook 1 minute, or until fragrant.
11. Add diced tomatoes, coconut milk and chicken broth and bring to a boil.
12.  Add sugar and stir to dissolve bringing the broth to a simmer.
13.  Add meatballs and simmer in the sauce for anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour.  The longer they simmer, the more tender they will be.
14.  Serve with Caramelized Milkweed Pods and soba noodles, if desired.

Recipe by Chef Lisa Caccamise, Simple Earth Cuisine Personal Chef Service, LLC.

 To watch the cooking video click here

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Spring is a beautiful season with life blooming all over. Vibrant greens sprouting on the ground, tiny buds on the trees and colorful flowers springing up all over. Did you know that most of the cold tolerant flowers are edible such as pansies, petunias and, oh yea, dandelion? I know, I know, but dandelion is a weed. Well, it’s the give and take of all this beauty around us as with beauty comes the weeds. But to a forager, the beauty is indeed beautiful, but the weeds are even more appealing. The dandelion is one of many examples.

Did you know that every part of the Dandelion plant is edible? Flowers, leaves and root. Dandelion is a rich source of vitamins A, B complex, C, and D, more beta-carotene than carrots and more iron and calcium than spinach as well as tons of potassium, and zinc. Medicinally, the plant is used as a diuretic, producing urine to eliminate toxins from the body, curing mild stomach aches and acts as an inflammatory. Hence the prescription to eat your dandelion greens in spring for a perfect body cleanse as dandelion is a powerful diuretic but does not deplete the body of potassium. The beauty of this plant is now increasing, isn’t it. This is one hearty little plant, ask any frustrated gardner. But here’s another fact, the plants give off a ethylene gas which actually accelerates the ripening process of crops, fruit, shrubs and trees. Try this little trick. Want peaches, tomatoes or avocados you purchase from the market to ripen quickly? Place some dandelion (leaves or flowers) in a paper bag with the fruit on the counter overnight and it will indeed cause the fruit to ripen much more quickly then just putting them in the paper bag alone. Better yet, make an infusion of the leaves and root and water your plants with it as a natural fertilizer.

A grassy field in the heat of summer is quite a lovely site with sunny yellow flowers popping up. Dandelion’s solitary, bright yellow flowers open with the sun in the morning and close in the evening or during overcast, cloudy weather. The deeply notched leaves are shiny and hairless and funnel the rain to the root making the plant very drought tolerant. Collect the flowers from an open field on a sunny day and bring home some sunshine to put into simple syrups or make into dandelion wine.

This is a plant that gives and gives and gives some more. In the fall, the roots are ready to harvest as they have grown significantly during spring and summer giving life to the plant that will now start to go dormant for the long winter months. Harvest the roots of the plant with a little elbow grease, as the tap roots are fleshy and can be up to 10” long, and make delicious dandelion coffee! Dry the roots well and grind in a coffee grinder. Keep them in your winter storage medicinal cabinet as the roots store potassium and calcium, which are very valuable in curing a number of disorders and illnesses including constipation, inflammatory skin conditions, joint pain, eczema, liver dysfunction and conditions such as hepatitis and jaundice. 

So this year, instead of trying to get rid of what most people believe is a “problem” why not harvest them and enjoy the benefits?

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