My husband, George, asked me the other day about my subject for my next blog post. I ‘d just woven in the last of the yarn ends and, being very pleased with myself, was modeling my Ambiente Modular Shawl. Having already blogged about knitting the shawl it was out of the running as a topic.
Looking rather blankly at him he suggested I blog about foraging, an activity I can pursue as eagerly as I do knitting. We were planning to forage for morels in a near by woods the next morning. A delicacy, though not to look at them with their gnarled almost bark-like appearance, morels spring up suddenly and seem to disappear suddenly – the very definition of elusive. It seems man and forest animal appreciate the same gourmet treat when it comes to wild mushrooms.
A soaking rain the night before and a dry morning favored our search. Slowly picking our way over rocks and fallen branches, we sought out elm, ash and apple trees around which morels can be found. Our harvest wasn’t bountiful but enough for dinner.
Encouraged we set off to find wild watercress. On the suggestion of another forager we tried a stream several winding roads away. Finding none, the watercress proved more elusive than the morels. We did discover wild mint, it’s fragrance easily released with a light stroke of its leaves and what I think are Sweet William in full bloom.
Wanting to end our foraging on a note of success I left George at home and headed out to dig up the not-so-elusive ramps. Earlier this spring we had found a creek side area overflowing with these wild leeks their long, slender green leaves easy to spot. Frequent foraging trips had provided the key ingredient for a pasta sauce, a couscous casserole, spring rolls, a butter spread and more. We’ve used their leaves and bulbs, and eaten them raw and cooked. Their season is almost past but my trip was successful.
The ramps, morels and mint ended up that evening in George’s version of potato salad dressed in vinaigrette, a recipe that does not exist and at best will be elusive as to ingredients and memory.
By now you’ve gathered there’s a theme to this blog post – elusiveness. And it turns from foraging to knitting when, after dinner, I started a new project – the Elusive Blue Rose Hat, the probable subject of my next post.
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