Will it snow tonight?
We've been having a heat wave in Santa Fe, and with the construction going on at our house (don't ask!) our a/c has been out for three weeks. I've been doing my foraging as soon as it gets light, to avoid the desert heat.
Things are about to change. It's the 8th of September as I type this, and the most recent weather report says we're expecting temperatures in the freezing range tonight. Surprise!
So what do you do, as a forager, when your season is cut short? Call in sick so you can go out and gather as much as possible? Enlist your family and friends to help harvest before everything freezes? Learn not to procrastinate in the future? (Good luck with that last one.)
The wild foods of fall are richly colored and flavored, and I hope an early cold snap doesn't keep you from enjoying them. If you've been telling yourself, "I can harvest those [fill in the blank] tomorrow," you might want to re-think that. Get out and forage while the getting is good.
I've included some of my favorite fall harvests below. You all know what I'll be doing today...right up until it gets too dark to see what I'm foraging for.
Happy Foraging!
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Want to know more? Go to www.backyardforager.com.
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I know where there's a patch of perfectly ripe prickly pears, and that will be my first stop of the day. This gorgeous, flavorful syrup makes a great sorbet, granita, or cocktail ingredient.
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Next up? The arroyo where the dock seeds live. Every spring this is my first stop for early greens, but in September my focus is on the seeds, which I'll turn into a gluten-free flour.
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Don't let those Oregon grapes wither on the branch! The very sour fruit has an intense flavor and color and makes a rich, velvety, sweet-tart dessert that will make you forget all about lemon curd.
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It's easy to forget about mallow cheeses. They're low to the ground and easily hidden by the plant's leaves. But once you try this recipe (thank you John Kallas), you'll never overlook mallow cheeses again.
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