Prepping Queen Palm Berries Step 2

 After you have placed the rinsed palm berries in a pot and covered with water (at least 1 or 2 inches over the berries), place on medium high heat. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. (If at any time before the boil, water drops below the top berries, add just enough additional water to keep berries covered.) Let berries simmer for at least one hour or until the liquid thickens. White foam will congregate on the top and should be removed as it forms. Thicker than water, but not as thick as a syrup. The berries can sit longer than an hour, if thickness isn't where you want it. 

When the liquid is at the desired thickness, allow to cool in the pot....berries and all. (Berries will be TOO HOT to handle at this point.)  When sufficiently cooled, strain liquid and place in a clean container. The liquid may be frozen until ready to use. However, remember to leave sufficient space at the top of your container to allow for expansion during freezing. 

Recipes will follow in additional postings.  

NOTE- BEFORE YOU COOK UP ANY PALM BERRIES, MAKE SURE THEY ARE EDIBLE. FOR EXAMPLE, QUEEN AND CHRISTMAS PALM BERRIES ARE GOOD, BUT THOSE NICE, BIG FOX PALM BERRIES ARE TOXIC!!! DO YOUR RESEARCH!

 

Pour into CLEAN container, leaving sufficient space at the top for expansion if freezing.

Cool and drain.

White foam can easily be skimmed off using a spoon.

Still Picking!

Out walking around the yard at 1840s Farm today picking wild berries and currants.

At the end of last season, I found a huge patch of currants in the hedgerow. This year I did the first harvest and with this first round, I probably got 3 or 4 pounds. (And I didn't even pick all of them, as I always leave some for the "critters".)

Also picked some berries. Not as much as usual, but I've already done 3 picks and looks like many more to come. And, it looks like this year's crop of wild rosehips will be pretty big.

Berries have gone into the freezer. Currants will be going into the dehydrators. With the next pick, I may put some juice in the freezer to make jelly later when I have more time, but I haven't decided yet.

If you are into wild foods or emergency preparedness, learn about what there is to eat right in your own yard. But always make sure you know what you are picking and when in any doubt, even the slightest, find someone who knows!

Later today, I will be harvesting more wild grape leaves to preserve for stuffing later.

Gathering Dandelion Seed

I took this picture just before I started cleaning the seeds fron the dandelion heads. Yes, they do grow wild in the yard, but I also want to have a controlled patch as well.

A Simple Dessert

I had a picnic to go to today, and wanted to take something simple. I still had wild berries in the freezer from last year's harvest that needed to be used, a friend had a package of instant pudding mix, so I decided to make mini tarts.

The filling was a cheesecake instant pudding (I needed something quick) and I made the crust using an old fashioned lard pie crust recipe that I have. Making the small crust shells was easy......I used my Babycakes mini cupcake maker. Works great and gave me nice, lightly browned little shells.

The nice thing was, I had no leftovers to take back. They were all gone by the end of the day. (I had made about 30 or so....)

I will definitly whip some of these up again!

Berries Are on the Way

The wild berries are coming in. There are a lot of these bushes around the 1840's Farm, the family farm in the Finger Lakes region. My favorites are the whites, as they seem so much sweeter than the red/black berries. My favorite way to eat these is to just stand at the bushes and chow down. But I do throw some in the freezer and leave some for the birds and whoever else.

I also have a few cultivated raspberries growing as well, compliments of some little critter who was spreading some seeds!  However, they are much smaller at this point.

Dandelion Head Harvest

Harvesting dandelion heads today for seed. I want to have a controlled patch, so I thought I would go out and gather heads that have gone to seed. Because there is no dew this morning (meaning it will probably rain today), it was a good time to get the dry heads before the seeds scattered.

Freezing Dandelion Greens

I decided to go out and pick dandelion greens to bag and freeze. Not sure how this will work out, but I decided not to blanch them first before freezing, to try to keep them a bit sturdier when they thaw. I'm thinking the will be very much on the limp side, but as i would only put them in the garlic and oil where they will wilt some during cooking anyway (and they don't have to be pretty in the pasta dish itself), I'm thinking it will work out fine.

A little later I am going to try to make dandelion pesto from some freshly picked greens too!

I also picked some of the tight flower buds to maybe deep fry later on today if I have the time.

Drying Dandelion Greens

Although I am not a big fan of dandelion greens, I actually do like them in angel hair with garlic, oil and chile, with a little peccorino romano.

However, the older the greens get, the more bitter they get. And it seems like as the season progresses, they get more bitter as well. So, I decided to try and dry some of the early, young, greens, just to see what happens. If it works out, I'll have to go out into the yard and harvest more!

If you want to see a picture of the dish, check out the "Throwback Kitchen" blog.
http://throwbackkitchen.blogspot.com

Onion Tops are Done

The first batch of young wild onion tops are dried and packaged. I left this bunch whole, but the next will probably be chopped afterwards and stored in a spice jar. I use them just like chives and store out of the light so they don't lose their color.

Time to Start Drying

Had to mow today up at the 1840s farm (I'm up here in the Finger Lakes for a bit working on my latest book). Now, anyone who really knows me, knows I absolutely HATE mowing lawn, and I put it off for as long as I possibly can.

Well, today the grass was long enough that I had to grit my teeth and get the lawn tractor out. But before I did that. I went around the lawn and trimmed off the young wild onion tops so that I could dry them. I already have a big patch by the house and those straying into the lawn would be lost anyway. So, I cut off the tops and use them like chives. Sometimes fresh, sometimes dried.

Now,  I'm filling one of my dehydrators with wild onion tops. I have 4 machines, and fortunatly brought on with me. One is a very basic, bare bones, 1 has a fan, and 2 have adjustable temperature controls with fans. And depending how much I have to do, there are times when I have had all 4 going at one time! My favorite thing to make? Jerky, of course! But this year I plan on making some tomato powder and garlic powder as well.

Pine Nuts pt.2

Now that the pine cones have throughly dried and are begining to open, I  transferring them to a grocery bag. You can use plastic or paper, but as the seeds fall down into the bag, you'll be able to see them better at the bottom of a white or brightly colored bag rather than brown paper.

By allowing the seeds to drop to the bottom of a bag, rather than keeping the cones on a cookie sheet or other flat surface, you lower the risk of accidentally spilling it all to the floor, dropping seeds when picking up the cones, etc.

Pine Nuts

Yeah....I know the size of the seeds in these cones probably won't be worth the effort, but I'm letting these open up so that I can try to harvest pine nuts. I'll have to put in a better pine for that, but just using what I had access to right now.

But, it wouldn't be the first time I put tons of work into something that was easier to buy, just because I wanted the experience.

Last year I got a bovine stomach when a friend sent a steer in, and prepared it into fresh tripe. It took quite a while, between the scraping and soaking and heating. Days actually.... But my dad, who is the tripe guy, said it was the best he'd had. But again, it was fresh...fresh...fresh.... LOTS of work, but at least I know how to do it now.

On Lilacs

It is too bad that lilac season is so early and so short. Not even around for the summer. I have a few lilac trees at 1840's Farm, but perhaps my favorite is the French. I love the color and the scent.

But, did you know that lilacs are edible? I had heard about a few things you could do with them, but hadn't looked too much into it until recently. The one thing that I have not tried as of yet, is a lilac sorbet. I have found that there are also lilac wines, honey, syrup and other things to make with the flower. So, next spring may be a bit busy. However, it will be difficult to cut those flowers off, as I do enjoy seeing them in the yard.

They're Coming

The wild grapes are begining to turn. They seem to be good sized this year. However I think the birds are beating me to them as alot of them disappeared while still green!

Berry Time!

The wild berries ripening are all over 1840's Farm. I'm getting these ready for the freezer. I like to spread them out on a cookie sheet first and let them freeze a bit, just so they don't freeze into a giant berry block. Then I'll bag them for pie making later on when I have the time.

Collecting Thistle for Rennet

The other day, my friend Martha was talking about making rennet from thistle. As it sounded interesting, we decided to begin harvesting the purple flowers (before they dry and explode with seed, at which time it is too late, I guess). This is the first bunch that I harvested here at the 1840's farm.

According to directions, they need to dry for about 3 weeks before we can go to the next step. In the mean time, more flower heads should be blossoming soon. The thistle plant is so pretty, that I hate to cut the heads off.

Stay tuned for the progression of rennet making with thistle. (It should be noted that it is said that this rennet should be used with goat or sheep milk only as it can make cow's milk cheese bitter. )