Maple Roasted Walnuts

Pictured: maple roasted walnuts (with maple from out backyard).

Original recipe from Food Network.

Ingredients:

• 2 c walnuts, chopped
• 1/3 c real maple syrup
• 1/8 t salt

Directions:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add all ingredients, stirring constantly until nuts are toasted, about 3 min.  Let cool, store in an airtight container.  
2. Serve as a snack or topping for salads, quick breads, ice cream, etc.  

Persimmon Cake

Pictured: wild persimmon cake garnished with wild hickory nuts and mandarin oranges. 

Original recipe from Missouri Dept of Conservation.

Who isn't entranced by Autumn's vibrant colors, nippy winds, and all the warm and savory flavors that accompany it?  True, gardens are bursting with bounty at this time of year, but so is the wild edible landscape!  If you live in an area where persimmons bloom, educate yourself on tree identification and take a walk around.  You're sure to find branches laden with this rich red-orange fruit (free from the wild!), begging to be baked into your Sunday afternoon dessert.

Ingredients:
Cake:

• 1 c persimmon pulp (recipe below)
• 1/2 c oil
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 c water or milk
• 1 1/2 t vanilla
• 2 c flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1 t ginger
• 1/2 t salt

Frosting:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 3 3/4 c powder sugar
• 1/4 c butter, softened
• 1 t vanilla
• orange slices to garnish (opt)
• wild pecans or hickory nuts to garnish (opt)

Directions:

1. To make persimmon pulp, gather about 2 c persimmons, chopped into fourths.  In a small saucepan over low heat, cover bottom with about 1 cm of water, add persimmons.  Sprinkle some opt cinnamon over top.  Let simmer about 30 min, mashing with a wire whisk periodically.  Add a little more water if necessary.  When water is gone and seeds come loose, remove from heat.  Once slightly cooled, pick seeds out of pulp (best done with gloves).
2. Preheat oven to 350.  Combine persimmon pulp and all other wet ingredients until well blended.  Whisk dry ingredients and combine with wet.
3. Pour into greased cake pans, bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  For a 9x9 pan, bake about 40 min.  For 9x13, bake about 30 min.  For 2 round cake pans, bake about 25 min.  
4. To make frosting, blend cream cheese until smooth, add sugar and blend until smooth.  Add butter and vanilla and blend again, adding more sugar if necessary for desired consistency.  Spread frosting on cooled cake, garnish with optional items.  Enjoy your wild edible dessert!    

Dandelion Coffee

Pictured: dandelion coffee.  In a Nantucket whale mug.

Original recipe from Rose's Prodigal Garden.

This is a non-caffeinated beverage that tastes a lot like Pero.  It's fantastically yummy and has wonderful health benefits besides.

Ingredients:

• Several giant dandelion roots, scrubbed clean
• 2 c water
• 2-4 T milk or cream
• 1 T molasses
• 1 T honey 

Directions:

1. Soak roots in a bowl of water 5 min, agitate and rinse.  Repeat until satisfied with cleanliness.  
2. Pat dry with a towel, then lay out dry over night, 24-48 hours.  Clip with scissors or cut with knife to 1/2'' lengths.
3. Roast dehydrated roots at 350° until they smell sweet and are golden brown, or 15-30 min (time varies on amount of roots used).  
4. Place root chunks in a blender, blend until fine.  This mixture can be stored on the shelf in an air-tight container for several months.
5. To make coffee: Pour water and 1-2 T root powder into a saucepan, bring to a boil.  Simmer until desired potency is reached, 5-10 min.  Remove from heat and pour through strainer into a mug.  Sweeten with milk, molasses (or sugar if you're picky), and honey.  Mmmm.

Dandelion Uses

Mark has a wild edibles hero named Mr. Green Deane.  I suppose he's my hero, too, because he introduced us to dandelion coffee, a caffeine-free coffee substitute (or Pero substitute, in my case) that is my favorite drink when the common cold sets in.  Actually, it's a yummy drink in general, but with the added bonus of steaming out your sinuses.  :)

At any rate, you can find a fantastic amount of recipes on Green Deane's website: Eat the Weeds.  We've used dandelions in three basic ways:

1. Greens: as we would any strong-tasting green (like arugula), on salads and sandwiches.
2. Roots: Roasted, ground, and boiled into dandelion coffee.
3. Flowers: we made fritters, kinda like these.

But seriously check out Eat the Weeds if you want a good time.  Cuz who doesn't want to try Dandilion Blossom Cake at least once in their life?

Read about other useful greens here.